FIVE MEN WENT TO MOAN #7: X-MEN 3: THE LAST STAND

[Stephanie Kay]

Reviewers: Alan Bergin, Robin Lewis, T. Martin, Corey Brotherson & Jordan Springer

Editor: Stephanie Kay

Introduction by Stephanie Kay

Yes, the moaning man feature has decided to tread the ground of movie-critique. May is like one of those crazy months afterall: lets do X-Men 3.

Old favorites have returned, and we're also treated to The Mutant Cure, The Phoenix and various new character additions. And tensions are most definitely brewing on the horizon, as Xavier The Tolerant and Magneto The Survivalist begin to ally and then realign, setting the stage for an ultimate war.

Is X-Men 3: The Last Stand to be considered the superhero film which was lucky to ever get made? Possibly. But it has arrived, destined to reignite those old discussions on director-choice, cameos, and whether this potentially final part of a trilogy is as good as its predecessors. Some of Comixfan's resident charmers freely give their five cents.

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Directed by: Brett Ratner

Screenplay by: Simon Kinberg & Zak Penn

Cast:
Hugh Jackman .... Logan/Wolverine
Halle Berry .... Ororo Munroe/Storm
Ian McKellen .... Eric Lensherr/Magneto
Famke Janssen .... Dr. Jean Grey/Phoenix
Anna Paquin .... Marie/Rogue
Kelsey Grammer .... Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast
Rebecca Romijn .... Raven Darkholme/Mystique
James Marsden .... Scott Summers/Cyclops
Shawn Ashmore .... Bobby Drake/Iceman
Aaron Stanford .... John Allerdyce/Pyro
Vinnie Jones .... Cain Marko/Juggernaut
Patrick Stewart .... Professor Charles Xavier
Ben Foster .... Warren Worthington III/Angel
Dania Ramirez .... Callisto
Ellen Page .... Kitty Pryde
Michael Murphy .... Warren Worthington II
Shohreh Aghdashloo .... Dr. Kavita Rao
Josef Sommer .... The President
Bill Duke .... Trask
Daniel Cudmore .... Peter Rasputin/Colossus
Eric Dane .... Multiple Man
Kea Wong .... Jubilation Lee/Jubilee
Bryce Hodgson .... Artie
Luke Pohl .... Flea
Shauna Kain .... Theresa Rourke Cassidy/Siryn
Cameron Bright .... Jimmy/Leech
Omahyra .... Arclight
Ken Leung .... Kid Omega
Mei Melançon .... Psylocke
Lance Gibson .... Spike
Vince Murdocco .... Omega Red (uncredited)
Olivia Williams .... Dr. Moira MacTaggart (uncredited)

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Reviewer #1: Alan Bergin

No doubt, you'll enjoy it. Those of you who spend countless hours fawning over the X-titles or perusing sites like Comixfan, until words like magic and havoc suddenly start ending with "K's”, will undoubtedly pack those cinema stalls to the brim on opening weekend. But while the casual & die-hard X-Fans alike will take some measure of delight in seeing their fave character snap a foot soldier's neck or head-butt a snot-nosed degenerate, it's quite possible that you'll walk away from the cinema, not so much clamouring for more (as was the case with X-2), but wishing they'd paid a little bit more attention in making this one that little bit better.

X-3 is here and we're dropped right back where we left off. Jean has dragged herself out of the lake, Logan is still scowling at Scott and the stylists at Fox are still having the utmost difficulty in deciding how to make Halle's hair look less stupid. On paper, it's tough not to see why this shouldn't improve on the first two films. The cast has been established, the mutant agenda is there to be tackled & with the exception of the new butt in the director's chair it would seem to be a case of business as usual. Except it's not.

Quite frankly, they've bitten-off more than they can chew. New characters are introduced, the old crew are picked-off, numerous plotlines are juggled, relationships become strained, bridges go boom and as you leave the cinema, there's just a huge sense of well...dissatisfaction. It's not a bad movie by any means. The cast, the locations, the explosions et al look amazing. The sheer level of extravagance used in most every aspect of the film makes it clear that everyone involved in this movie threw themselves behind it 100%. It's just that when you're used to seeing storylines being fleshed out for decades, it's quite hard to adjust to the likes of Rogue's power-dilemma addressed with next to no dialogue and a screen-time totaling 5 minutes. Similarly, Angel is introduced and mutters a few lines before flying-off to the film's finale. The Logan/Jean moment at the film's close suffers from the worst case of underdevelopment. It's a little hard to empathise with the couple, or truly grasp the gravitas of the situation, when the fiery red-head is (for all intents and purposes), absent from the latter half of the film. It's more a case of fight, fight, cure, cure, explosion, explosion and oh yeah....Jean! A decreased level of character interaction/development will undoubtedly be the most common cause of complaint about X-Men-The Last Stand, but repetition of a valid point (however tiresome it may become), does not take away from its overall pertinence.

You’ll like the film. It’s a grade A ass-whomping which makes for a perfectly suited movie-going experience, but unlike its predecessor it feels somewhat less complete. Your jaw will hit the floor when SPOILER! Dark Phoenix flays Professor X and you may even take a grim level of satisfaction from SPOILER! a newly de-powered Magneto as he is left playing a game of chess by his lonesome but with the closing of the film both of these memorable elements of X-3 are turned on their respective heads, all seemingly altered to pave the way for a possible fourth installment. Bah!

There’s a rushed feel to X-3. Ratner & co try to encompass too much in too little a timeframe and end up doing a merely adequate job as a result. The countless number of characters, most of whom warrant more time in the spotlight are continuously left with their hands in their pockets as the powers-that-be leap from plot to plot. Kitty Pride makes a miraculous leap to the main team and demonstrates an admirable amount of character for such a paltry amount of screen-time, but hers is a seemingly isolated case.

For a mostly negative review, it may seem a little odd to reward this movie with a largely positive mark, but given everyone’s acquaintance with the franchise, it’s difficult not to enjoy & nitpick at the same time. I will say that it’s a very enjoyable action movie, with some wonderful special effects and some compelling plot points. With the exception of some poor (or in some cases completely absent) dialogue, we’re once again convincingly drawn into the X-Men’s world. But while I’d like to wholeheartedly recommend this movie, my gut tells me that I can’t. In short, there’s too much going on, with not enough attention given to any particular aspect. Shortchanging the Dark Phoenix saga is a crime in itself and although a number of danglers have been left for X-Men 4 , I’d be quite happy if they left the franchise to the comics for now.

If Gambit is to be tied to X-3 in the loosest of fashions, it would be in the description that X-Men: The Last Stand is a jack of all trades and master of none.

..I told you it was loose…

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Reviewer #2: Robin Lewis

After the set-up of the first film and the confident expansion in the second, the X-Men franchise has now aimed for epic. I can't remember seeing a superhero film where the full possibilities of superhuman power are demonstrated in quite so spectacular a fashion. I also can't remember a film with so much negative pre-release press surrounding it in the online community. Well, you can stop worrying. It doesn't suck.

It's no Citizen Kane either, mind you, but the things that work here outnumber the things that don't. Foremost in most fans minds will be the new guys. Kelsey Grammer is the standout pick from the new faces, giving Beast the pleasing air of a wistful college professor. He's also allowed to utter Hank McCoy's most famous catchphrase, which made me grin like a loon. Kitty Pryde looks exactly right, and everybody's favourite Russian tinman gets to throw a fastball special (proving that things that look cool on paper don't always transfer well to the screen). Other are less successful. I don't know how Vinnie Jones comes across to an American audience, but in Britain his every word was greeted with an embarassed wince. Most get less time to shine, but there are still nice moments for the main cast. Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart glide serenely through the chaos while Hugh Jackman drops some of the angst and instead goes for the wise-cracking tough-guy angle. Intriguingly, there's the suggestion that Xavier is less of a lily-white figure than has previously been thought, trampling through people's minds and rearranging the furniture when it suits him. Yes: there's actual character development here.

The biggest problem with the X-Men films has always been the logistics of dealing with such a large cast. Getting enough screen time for each character is almost impossible: fully developed character arcs for everyone would require a four hour film. Ratner only has around ninety minutes here and sensibly decides to cut back on the soulful conversations that might plumb the angsty depths of the mutants on display. Logan is obviously pushed well to the fore, and Storm gets a fair amount of exposure, but the real heart of the film is Jean Grey. Having taken the understandable decision to explain the Phoenix as another personality present from childhood rather than a cosmic entity of creation and destruction (which may work in a comic book but would probably elicit giggles from most audiences), Ratner gives her appetite for destruction centre stage. Complaints that nowhere in the film are we able to see the Phoenix effect should be pushed aside as fanboy gripes.

The flaws in the film are those of a project forced to race through a production schedule. There are some jarring shifts in editing (night falls in eight seconds as Magneto attacks Alcatraz) and some uninspiring dialogue lifted straight from the Big Hollywood Book of Cliche. Some sub-plots are resolved with nothing more than a wry smile and a brief word. These stumbles don't, however, cripple the film beyond repair. There's a lot here to enjoy: inventive and even occasionally witty uses of power (Magneto and Pyro combining to murderous effect, or Madrox doing what he does best); constant nods to inside jokes best appreciated by, well, us; a decent premise powering the plot; a cracking pace. There are those that may claim Singer would have delivered a better film: they are probably right, but the one we have instead is a lot of fun. Those who have spent the time since Brett Ratner was announced as the director sharpening a critical knife may well feel obliged to cut X-Men 3 into bite-sized chunks, but it is by no means the travesty some were predicting.

Just as the second film closed with the hint of a resurrection this one closes to not one, but two reversals of fortune. It feels entirely appropriate to a picture based on a comic that deaths and power losses are never permanent, and there's always another story waiting after this one. For all their talk of this being the last one Fox aren't dumb enough to close the door on the possiblility of a new installment in the franchise. If it makes enough money and the stars need another surefire hit to offset failures like Van Helsing or Catwoman we'll see X-Men 4 in three years time.

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Reviewer #3: T. Martin

This review is preceded by a public service announcement.

STAY TO THE END OF THE CREDITS!

Thank-you for your attention. Normal service will now be resumed.

For those people living under a rock the last several months, the plot of X-Men: The Last Stand goes something like this: Worthington Industries has found a cure for mutation and the ‘mutant community’ is divided amongst itself. Some see this as a gift, others as an insult, others as a violent threat. Meanwhile it appears Jean Grey isn’t quite as dead as she should be, but neither is she herself any more (or, more precisely, she is herself and it’s not a self anyone would want to see). All the elements of a really great X-film are present and correct: political themes, teen angst, melodrama, humour, the importance of teamwork, intergenerational conflict and, of course, big action set pieces. In fact, there’s enough here for two great X-films.

And therein lies the problem. X-Men: The Last Stand is very, very busy. The movie is so eager to get to the next plot point that important character moments, like Mystique’s betrayal and counter-betrayal, are dealt with far too quickly and lose their requisite emotional impact. Characters vanish and their threads forgotten for whole portions of the film, to turn up later almost as afterthoughts. The political themes are presented in clunky preaching, much of it given to Storm. The script in general, it has to be said, is appalling bad, even by the standards of this genre. Many new characters are introduced, often to little consequence, with the risk that non-fans will be confused and fans disappointed. In fact, it’s hard to credit it, but it looks like the filmmakers actually listened to the fans, to the movie’s great detriment. As well as overloading the story with new introductions, they’ve included other fan-favourite elements like the Sentinels and the Fastball Special. But they’ve done it so peremptorily that even this X-fan wondered why they bothered. Mind you, all these criticisms are trivial compared to the atrocity that is Vinnie Jones’s Juggernaut. Wasn’t The Rock available?

There are still some excellent touches here. Ian McKellen is great as always; Ellen Page makes the most of her relatively small role as Kitty Pryde; Famke Janssen gets to act more in her desperately sad moments as Jean Grey than she did in both previous films. Beast going feral is a pleasure to behold (one of the suprisingly few impressive special effects sequences). An opening flashback is freighted with sadness for an alliance that might have been, another is gut-wrenchingly tragic. Two aspects of the film as a whole stand out: the creators show a commendable desire to decimate (in both senses of killing and of depowering) major members of the cast and the humans are presented far more sympathetically as well-meaning, if sometimes misguided. After all, the threat from the mutants is real and the human fears not just a blind prejudice.

I was disappointed with this movie. There’s a saying, ‘More haste, less speed,’ and it applies here. I was frequently bored because, for all the incident, I didn’t care about what was happening. It was almost as if the director and scriptwriters didn’t trust the actors. So instead of spending time with the characters and time to feel their losses, we are treated to sermons telling us how important everything is. But in a movie I don’t want to be told the weight of a death or injury, I want to feel it. For most of this one hour forty-three minutes, I felt very little. This isn’t a bad movie, just a mediocre one, but I expect more than mediocrity from an X-film.

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Reviewer #4: Corey Brotherson

I've got to share something with you. Hell, that's why I'm here, right?

While writing this review, I had what in common parlance is called, a moment of clarity. Not that I'm drunk, mind, but coming off watching X-Men: The Last Stand, I had an amusing realisation. However, we'll get to that in due course.

So, while I tease you along like I've mutated Stacy X's pheromone power, let me tell you this in the meantime:

X-Men: The Last Stand, is enjoyable.

The preamble of Marvel's latest film was chock with more quibbles than what usually accompanies a super hero flick. The script, which was leaked last year, was said to be lacklustre. There was well known controversy over certain characters. Oh, and let's not forget the palaver regarding the shift of directors, from the falling out between Fox and X-1/2's Bryan Singer (now leading the imminent Superman Returns), to Layer Cake's Matthew Vaughn jumping ship, to Rush Hour director and -rather unfairly labelled- 'Hollywood yes-man', Brett Ratner. The film, which only started principle photography around this time last year, had "rushed botch-job" written all over it, in big metallic letters.

Yet, from "rushed botch-job", only the first adjective applies to The Last Stand. Surprising, and at the same time, fairly unsurprising.

The previously maligned script, does indeed have its problems, starting with the story. Namely, there's just too much of it for the film to cope with in 105 minutes. Like the Daredevil movie (which suffered greatly from not being its noticeably longer and far superior Director's Cut), the writers decided to pack far too much X-Men mythos for one film. The premise of a mutant cure is a strong one, setting up the conflict of Professor Xavier and his X-Men's voice of reason verses Magneto and his growing Brotherhood's scream of reason. But despite the obvious ties within the prior two films, it's still tad too close to them thematically, made worse with some rather galling decisions by some characters that runs directly against the moralistic tone the previous stories set SPOILER! - Rogue taking the 'easy way out' being chief of them.

If that wasn't enough, throwing in an adaptation of the Dark Phoenix saga was ill-advised. It comes off half-baked and despite what the press material would have you believe, Jean's role in the film is muted and rather perfunctory; an attempt at an emotional lynchpin for the story, but tragically failing. Jean's apparent resurrection isn't given time to be explained or to evolve past providing the X-Men a difficult moral decision during its staged conflicts, and as such she plays decidedly forced (and controversial) yet minute parts, then proceeds to hang menacingly in the background as a motiveless stooge until the end. It's a misstep that suggests the writers shoehorned it as a subplot to satisfy fans, but it's more likely to leave them enraged.

Part of the reason why it's such a problem is because there are far too many characters to allow breathing space. We're thrown in at breakneck speed through the film, but its character-driven moments are too small and almost inconsequential because it's in such a hurry to get to the next set piece. Angel's part is terribly underplayed, as is Rogue's, with the hinted love triangle between her, Bobby/Iceman and Kitty never concluded by the film's end. Logan, Jean and Scott's emotional ménage a trois is similarly and painfully killed without any true resonance. Instead we get sweeping attempts at moving scenes that fail on their own merits, made worse by some trite dialogue, leaving you with a lingering dissatisfaction. X-2 had many characters but wisely focused on developing a few relationships at a time. X-3's approach by comparison seems to just throw as much as possible at a wall and hope it sticks. Most of it doesn't.

Where The Last Stand manages to fare better is when it's just doing plain ol' superheroics. Ratner's good eye for action keeps the big scenes going brilliantly, and in terms of huge super hero fights, some of the set pieces here are among the best on celluloid; Storm's use of lightening and Magneto/Pyro's combo work being wonderfully imaginative. A few cameo appearances by characters like Phat and Spike are nice fanboy moments, and the direction is competent (despite its lack of subtlety and slight continuity clangers) with enough explode-fizz-bang special effects to make it a visual joy. To that end, it's great fun to watch.

The actors are also clearly enjoying themselves throughout, with the usual top drawer performances from Ian McKellan, Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman in particular. Ellen Page makes a cute and emotive Kitty Pryde, while Famke Janssen's Phoenix is convincingly scary when she needs to be. And Kelsey Grammer's Hank/Beast is a delight, both in his acting and when he's bouncing around manically during fights, just like his four-colour avatar.

But ultimately, X-3 tries too much, too soon, and the film hurts because of it. Is it the train wreck it could have been and many of us were expecting it to be? Hell no. X-Men: The Last Stand is enjoyable, popcorn fare. It's certainly not the masterclass of comic book filmmaking that was Batman Begins, nor is it as well-rounded as the Spider-Man flicks, but it's a good step above relative fodder like The Fantastic Four. Altogether however, it acts as a rather galling reminder that perhaps with a little more time and consideration, The Last Stand could have been far greater than it turned out to be. And that's a massive shame of mutated proportions.

Oh, and that moment of clarity I mentioned? Well, despite all its flaws and problems, it's ironic to note that The Last Stand is still far more affecting and entertaining than many of the main X-Men comic book stories written during the late 90s.

Sigh.

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Reviewer #5: Jordan Springer

When I heard that X-Men: The Last Stand was being directed by Brett Ratner, who helped to make the awful Rush Hour and Rush Hour 2, I, along with many other X-Fans, had very low expectations for this movie and was afraid that the very possible last film in the X-Men family would end on a very low note. However, when I went to see the movie last night, I experienced something I thought I wouldn’t…

I actually enjoyed this movie.

Granted, it didn’t reach the level that Bryan Singer was able to reach with the previous two films, but Ratner did manage to create an enjoyable movie to watch. However, that doesn’t mean there weren’t a few points that definitely could have been improved in the film, from my view as movie watch and X-Fan.

The story in X-3 is basically a combination of the classic Dark Phoenix Saga and the first storyline from Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men, with Dr. Kavita Rao and the announcement of a cure for mutants. While some, like SPOILER! Rogue, who can’t touch her boyfriend Iceman , want the cure, others, like Magneto and his Brotherhood seek to stop it and in the middle of it all is a very powerful and very mad Jean Grey, played very well once again by Famke Janssen.

Granted, this is the set up for a lot of action and Ratner doesn’t disappoint with amazing special effects, including a spectacular scene with Magneto and the Golden Gate Bridge as well as having Storm finally be able to fly, that culminates in a grand battle between the X-Men and the Brotherhood at SPOILER! Alcatraz . Doing this eliminates a lot of the possible moments for characterization that were present in the previous two films, but thankfully Ratner manages to give the right amount and type of action to the viewing audience and not overdoing it like he did in the Rush Hour movies, in my opinion.

Despite the good story, there were still a few flaws in it that I definitely noticed during the movie. While all the actors and actresses played their roles well, a few characters were definitely robbed of having a good amount of time on-screen or impact on the plot such as SPOILER! Angel, Colossus, Arclight and Psylocke . Also, I felt that the deaths of SPOILER! Cyclops and Professor Xavier, the former of which may not be dead, came way too early in the movie to have the impact for which it was intended. However, I feel Jean’s death was handled very well, with Logan dealing the killing blow and holding her body, but I felt it would’ve been much more appropriate if it was Scott who did it instead Also, there was little time for characterization as I mentioned earlier, which was something I definitely enjoyed from the first two movies.

In terms of the acting, all the actors and actress did a wonderful job with the roles they were in, even the ones who were on for a short period of time. Ian Mckellan does as great a job playing Magneto as he did in the previous two films, playing the role of the Master of Magnetism to perfection. Of the newcomers, Kelsey Grammer definitely stole the show as Beast, playing the role of the feral-looking Secretary of Mutants Affairs better than I ever would have thought with one of my favorite lines being when he said the catchphrase ‘Oh my Stars and Garters’. However, Ellen Page also did very well as Kitty Pryde as well as the very hot Ben Foster as Angel.

All in all, while no one can say that X-3 is the same as the previous two, Ratner has surprisingly managed to end the possible last film in the series on a good note. Despite the flaws within the plot and the script, it is still a good film to watch and you will definitely not fall asleep at any point while watching. Oh yeah, I know this has probably been said many times already, but I thought I might as well say it one last time…

STAY TILL AFTER THE CREDITS TO SEE THE BONUS SCENE!!!!!!!

Thank you and have a good day….

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For more astute opinions, admittedly usually on comic books, please check out Comixfan's Reviews

[Kevin Sutton]

There were one or two good scenes, and a few ideas that could have worked, but overall I was dreadfully disappointed in this movie. (Even with low expectations)

I think the only thing in my experience that truly stands apart from everyone else's is that I also felt that the acting was ruined by the script. Further, I wasn't even impressed by the fx. I've seen stuff that was as good or better than the stuff in here.

Really; Magneto's escape from prison in X2 was so much cooler than the bridge scene in this movie, the fights were better, the jokes were better, and this isn't even touching on the plot, dialogue, and whatnot.

I couldn't give a damn how close it was to the comics, but it wasted some bountiful plots and drifted away from the characters in the previous movies.

This movie was very disappointing to me.

[ImpossibleM]

The film was disappointing, but fun ... I couldn't even fish out Psylocke or Omega Red. The "Don't you know who I am?" bit was amusing, though ... It was still disappointing. The Ghost Rider preview looked interesting.

The script was really weak. Not just plot development, but the words, too ... The whole affair felt like a solid made for t.v. movie. I thought even Sir Ian was having difficulty finding any sufficient dialogue to act with.

Originally Posted by Stephanie Kay

STAY TO THE END OF THE CREDITS!

[/url]

I'm one of the suckers that didn't stay til the end ... Can someone please spoiler that one for folks like me?

[Setsuna_san]

i was a bit disappointed but i think this is better than the first two movies.

i think that if xmen is going to be a movie it has to have a lot of action and battle scenes and display of mutant powers which in a way this movie have shown more than the first movies did. there were some inconsistencies or shall we say awkwardness with some scenes, plots even characterization but i guess since this is a movie adaptation i could let it pass. though i agree that it could still have made better.

[Filthy Mutie]

I'll get burned in the town square for saying this, but I thought the movie was awesome. I've been following its "production" and all the calamity that came with it, so I went in knowing how a lot of the movie was going to go and with pretty low expectations. Then I ended-up seeing it again a couple days later.

There's a lot going on in this movie, but I liked the break-neck pace. I'm tired of action movies being bogged down with too much plot and talking heads--something I thought the first movie really suffered from and the second balanced out nicely. I look forward to watching this back-to-back with X2, from Nightcrawler's attack on the Whitehouse to the massive assault on Alcatraz. In the first two movies you get all the talking, the set-up, the exposition, et all., but I was always left thinking, "man, I want to see more of THIS" (whereas "THIS" is usually a display of power and/or some kind of imagined action scene). I think that's what makes my experience different from a lot of peoples' on the boards. I wanted to see powers, fights, and so on; I didn't really want to watch quiet moments and conversations.

I will agree that it does feel short, but honestly, I think that's just because I enjoyed the film and wanted more of it. I wanted to see SPOILER! a Juggernaut vs. Colossus fight for example. I'm not saying it's the best film ever made, but I really did have a great time, I hope they continue to make more (but don't run it into the ground), and I look forward to watching some of the sequences over and over again in my living room.

The "Don't you know who I am!?" bit was very risky, I might add. I liked it, because I'm familiar with where the joke comes from, but I can only imagine the horror everyone else felt who weren't clued-in. Very interesting fan service, though.

Let the burning begin.

[raul grau]

I was so excited... so very excited. I had greatly enjoyed the previous two X-movies, the second even more than the first, so my natural assumption was that this film would continue that impressive momentum... but then I went and ruined everything by actually watching the flick. I will not say that this was the worst comic book film ever made... as I have not seen every single comic book film that had ever been released... but I will say that it was the worst that I have ever seen.

For the comic book fans, Callisto and Psylocke were about as far removed as possible from their literary versions. For the X-film fans, Jaime Madrox (the walking sight-gag) stands as the first retcon of the series. For summer blockbuster fans, the only explanation is that the budget must have been slashed considerably, because Iceman looks more metallic than Colossus, and Storm utilizes the same lightning welded by the Emperor back in 1977. Lastly, for fans of fiction in general, the script consisted entirely of one-liners and in-jokes, even the major characters are denied screen time (SPOILER! I would think that Cyclops deserves better than an off-screen death... and what was the point of even including Angel in the print advertising, if his 'role' would just consist of four scenes (two without any dialogue)?), and Halle Berry might have delivered the most passion of any performer in the movie... which just scares me.

As for this list, Martin earned my vote, since his list was the closest to being entirely negative.

- Raul

[WeaponX]

The problem is it was all this. You need a little build up other wise you just have action highlights. The inclusion of the sentinel was just excessive. A good potential villian reduced to a training holigram. And would it have killed them to hire a better fx studio? I mean that I thought was the most glaring step down from the last movie. Except maybe the dialoge.

[WolverAce]

I had already posted a comment on comixtreme.com, so here goes.


I agree with most points. It felt like "Return Of The Jedi" to X2's "Empire Strikes Back", if hat makes sense.
It delivered a lot of action, and a huge bodycount, like you said Beast was rendered beautifully, and the incluson of a whole lot of mutants. I sat in the movie theatre whispering to my girlfriend "Jamie Madrox...Multiple Man", "Leech", "spoiler", "spoiler"...and did try to recognise most of them. I was glad I got her to read the "Gifted"TPB (Astonishing X) beforehand, since they took so much from the story from characters to scenes.
Phoenix?? Yeah, too easily explained. It became an issue of it could have been so much more important.
The one character that for me stuck out more than Beast and Shadowcat was Magneto. More true to his character than in previous films. Liberating Mystique and raising the bridge were simply awesome moments. "Let the bodies hit the floor"...indeed.

Before I forget, ultimate geekmoment...FASTBALL SPECIAL.

[Ovid]

Originally Posted by ImpossibleM

I'm one of the suckers that didn't stay til the end ... Can someone please spoiler that one for folks like me?

Well, you might have made the wise choice. The development buggers up one of the key scenes in the movie, but here goes: SPOILER! Xavier's transferred his consciousness to the coma guy Moira's looking after.

[Rayeye]

Kid Omega?

Did I miss something?

[Duncan]

It's an enjoyable action movie.

I didn't expect a deep and meaningful film where mutants are a metaphor for homosexuals, and the main plot resembling the attitudes towards homosexuality in America. I would have like to see that plot expanded on, pushed more to the foreground, but I, as an individual, am not the entire audience.

So now we get only a slight edge there, a slight criticism of how the ultra religious parents are sending their children away to camps where they can be cured of their homosexuality. Unfortunately it's a bit lost underneath the pounding action, perhaps it was a bit too controversial a stand to take and present to the conservative American population? Probably not, it was probably a need to deliver something big and impressive, something exciting and grand, something that would fit right in with the other non-stop big action movies playing in theatres this summer.

The rest is non-stop action.

The action dominates, and as such it's an enjoyable event where one effect follows another into a never-ending battle. It's not a deeply philosophical movie, and it lacks the quiet down-to-earth moments that made X2 just that more relevant to the current climate.

As far as story goes, it could have used a scene or four, making the characters just that more human, struggling with the problems of taking the cure, or refusing it, breaking away from the action-sequences and giving us a moment to catch our breath and let it all sink in.

Still I left the theatre feeling like a ten year old kid.

Excited, baffled by the effects and with an imagination that's going full force into the rest of the night.

[Radiate]

People who keep saying that some of the characters were far removed from the comics are well...griping. Since when have X1 and 2 stayed true to comic book characters? Sabretooth was nothing but a dimwitted lackey, not the feral sadistic killer we know he is!

All i'm saying is people who are saying that Callisto was different or Psylocke need to understand that this is a film, and can be very different from the movies. True, X3 had more comic book moments than the previous two, but that's the liberties the scriptwriters have. They can take elements from comic books or they can distort them.

OVerall, i thought it was a solid movie. Not perfect, but still good. So i agree with all the reviewers really. I can't choose

RADIATE!

[russbrett77]

Originally Posted by Duncan

I didn't expect a deep and meaningful film where mutants are a metaphor for homosexuals, and the main plot resembling the attitudes towards homosexuality in America.

Why not?

I certainly did.

It was this metaphor that allowed Bryan Singer to craft two super-hero movies that had actual relevance.

If anything, it was the loss of the metaphor that hurt this film the most. The scene in X-2 where Bobby "comes out" to his parents is probably the most poignant in the series. To not follow up on that in this movie where there is an actual "cure" is just lazy.

It is for that reason Singer would have made a better movie (not that I blame Ratner exclusively; also Kinberg and Penn).

And for those of us in the dark: What's the inside joke with "Don't you know who I am?"

Oh and as for Callisto, Psylocke and others being so completely different from their comic book counterparts... they were never actually named on-screen. So I'm just going to pretend they were random, nameless mutants.

[PsiWar]

i really liked the movie.

i loved the actions scenes. storm was amazing. the /phoenix vs charles and charles' death was greatly executed...

x3 gave me what i really wanted...the x-men using their powers....to the max!

movie adaptations of either novels or comicbooks, i watch it not thinking what i've read from those stuff...for it will definitely ruin it for me. the producers made those films thinking of the general public and not just the people who read the book/comicbook...

[Duncan]

A lot of people didn't see why Angel was introduced.

I do, after all, he is what leads his father to fund and research the Cure. He's the instigator of this whole mess without knowing it.

[LoganBane]

I'm sorry but I almost cried when SPOILER! Xavier died. Just that image of only his chair sitting there and Logan & Ororo huddled in front of it was just the release I needed to see after watching my second favorite character intensely slay Xavier. It was an intense fight to leading to the break and the break was brought to the audience with tears. Powerful stuff that.
I've heard people say there was no room for emotion in this film, and I kinda thought that too, until I saw it again and I was blown away but the subtleties and the not so subtle emotions.
Not to mention the brutality of the fights I had to check the rating again due to the language and the extreme violence.

[BadMotives]

Originally Posted by Duncan

A lot of people didn't see why Angel was introduced.

I do, after all, he is what leads his father to fund and research the Cure. He's the instigator of this whole mess without knowing it.

True indeed. That was quite obivious. I was very apprehensive about this film.
When I started hearing tidbits about Halle Berry not coming back and Fox indecision to make the third movie causing Singer to bail (lets face it... they could have locked him up before he was offered Superman), I felt this franchise was going to crap. The bang! They are making at movie. Scripted was rush. Filming was rushed. And this is the result. Angel should older. They should have tied him being trained along with Scott, Jean, and Ororo and his father being very unhappy about this situation. It would have given us a much more richer explanation.

[Jenny Spark's Sister]

Even with the issues I had with this film SPOILER! (Jean killing Scott, Rogue taking the cure, Baaaaaaad script) I still really really enjoyed it.

Kelsey Grammer was great (seriously! I though that was great casting). The action was good. McKellen - I love him, he can't do wrong in my eyes

It felt too short though and they were cramming too much in the limited time.

The homosexuality/mutant analogy was still potent in the film especially with the "cure". SPOILER! Young Warren, hacking his tiny wings off was particulary effecting and sort of equated to self harm/being "caught" by his parents. That scene was beautifully shot.

I don't know about other people, but the myself and people I went to see it with were defiantely routing for the brotherhood to destroy the cure. Which I thought was odd as technically we should be routing for the X-Men (who I do love)... but they should have emphasised why the X-Men were going to protect the people that had ultimately found away to destroy their community. I guess we were meant to see how honourable the X-Men were in protecting the humans, even though most would want them erradicated.

The scene where SPOILER! Jean and Wolvie nearly get it on? Unintentially hilarious, as there were plenty of young children in the audience and it made the parents sqirm! Ha!

Originally posted by russbrett77
And for those of us in the dark: What's the inside joke with "Don't you know who I am?"

Go to youtube.com and type in "I'm the Juggernaut, B****" (apologies for the swearing ) and see what you come up with. You may have to sign up, as it's "adult"

I slightly geeked out that I had to explain that reference to my self proclaimed "pop culture geek2 brother, who had no idea what that was about.

[Cyclops1280]

This was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. There are certain truths about this movie that make it a bad movie, and which make it a popcorn movie. There was NO character development. No one develops. They are the same people as they begin as.There is a difference between chracter development and just all the sudden showing different sides to people like Rogue, Xavier, Jean Grey, and others. These new sides to these characters come out of nowhere. It's not character development. There is NO Emotional Impact. People die and lose powers, and their is no emotional impact because you can't feel bad for anyone dying or losing powers. The audience just watches it, and can feel nothing. The Characters have NO Motive. You don't really know why people are really doing what they're doing. The mutants that Magneto frees in the truck join in a second without any second thoughts or hesitation. That makes no sense about it twhen you think about it. There is no reason for them to just join like that. Beast says he'll never work for the government again, and everyone knows what happenes to him at the end of the movie. Also, Why would a near-god just follow around some older man? She's not getting anything from him....no training, no help, no fun, no feeding on any emotions, or anything liek that. There are things in this movie that just make NO real sense. Again, Why would a near-god just follow around some older man? Also, why do only certain people get funerals? Also, Wouldn't Xavier know if his students died or not? Doesn't seem like it in this movie. There is a diffferece between a situartion that people react to and an actual story. Spider-man is a story. The Batman Begins movie was a Story. This was a situation(the cure) followed by action scenes. There is No Lasting Effect. At the end of the credits, it nullifies one of the major points in this film of a certain character and by the end of the movie, it seems like the effects of the cure might be questionable. So at the end of the movie, we're where we began. Although it may be FUN to watch, its a terrible movie.

[X-MOT]

The movie was OK nothing less nothing more...
One thing that I Really enjoyed though (the only scene I actualy felt like :"wow this is cool") was the last scene right before the credit(even more than the one after the credit)

[Will Carper]

I completely agree with T.'s view on the film.

[ScottyM]

I honestly might have cared about this movie if Cyke was a focal point instead of Wolverine. Cyke and Jean in the dark pheonix storyline would be a better fit and Cyke is a leader compared to Wolverine. They try to make him into one and it doesnt fit

[impulseucf]

I think I can explain the movie in a nutshell .

Could have sucked, but should have been awesome.

I think the common criticisms pretty much say it all: It was a fun shallow run through a few great X-stories, but could have been so much more.

I feel that this movie had all the right ingredients to be the best in the series, but lacked the soul to pull it off. It could easily have moved up a letter grade from a C+/B- to a solid B+/A with a meager 20 minutes mor footage. If there was a bit more (er, any) characte interaction and emotion, we would have been drawn into it. Instead, we have a movie that tries to be too many things without the time and focus to be any. There wasn't so much a Dark Phoneix saga as there was a Phoenix who happened to be dark.

Start: "See, she was dark." Jean acts dark.
Middle: Doesn't really do anything.
End: "I'm dark, kill me!"

Cure:
Beginning: "there's a cure!" Controversy controversy!
End: Fight. Some people got cured!

Although, to be fair, in one regard this was JUST like the two previous films.. Cyclops is completely wasted. One of my biggets nitpicks is that Scott has basically been furnitire for the entire franchise, and in the 3rd and "final" installment, 95% of his screen-time was shown in previews and clips. 95%!!! What a waste!!

Ah, well. I enjoyed the pretty good movie that could easily have sucked but could have been so much more.

[MrGreen]

X3 was okay but not nearly as good as the first two X-Men movies. First the things I liked about the movie. Kelsey Grammar did a great job as Beast and he was my favorite of the new characters that were introduced. The special effects in this movie were astounding and there were some great moments like Magneto and Pyro throwing cars at people and the fight between Iceman and Pyro. The acting in the film was phenomenal with Halle Berry being the only real exception. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan alone make this movie worth seeing.

Now for the aspects of the movie I didn't like. While people say Angel played an unnecessary role in the movie, what about Colossus? All he did was fight and maybe say two lines. SPOILER! Killing Cyclops really ticked me off. I can almost understand it since Brian Singer completely trashed him in the first two movies by making Scott look like a complete wuss and having him being beat up all the time. But why not have him come back as a complete badass instead? It could have been done. And why kill Professor Xavier in the first place? It felt completely unnecessay. Why depower Magneto if only to bring his powers back at the end of the film? My other problems with the film include turning Wolverine into a leader when that is Storm's job, not resolving the love triangle between Iceman, Shadowcat, and Rogue and trying to combine a cure for mutants plot and the Dark Phoenix saga into one movie. Concentrating on one of those stories would have made the movie much better in my opinion.

The film did not feel as deep as the first two either. Between all the one-liners and nonstop action, the writing really did suffer. In conclusion the movie was very entertaining and could have been much worse but it did not live up to the first two X-Men films.

[spinarakboi]

The simple yet not simple reason why I thought this movie was amazing is because it went and did what no one thought it would dare do (for those who didn't read about it before they went in saw it) Like it or hate it, it was shocking none the less.

Two Thumbs up from me. Plus I thought the main plot was good and really got down to the core of what the X-Men were all about.