X-Men 3: The Last Stand

Director: Brett "Rush Hour" Ratner
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen...
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by Tom Working

What can be said of a sequel that lives in such large shadows? The first two X-Men films, working together much as the first two Superman films did, offered compelling drama that worked to a collective climax of action. A collective. I was never much of a fan of the X-Men comics, and with the exception of Wolverine, didn't find any of them all that interesting. It had a "we have a super power for EVERYONE" kind of bent to it that I found overwhelmingly cheezy.

But then the movies came. I reconsidered my opinion of the X-Men, after seeing Bryan Singer and David Hayter's re-envisioning. These were people I COMPLETELY related with, especially the "chief villains" (and disturbingly enough) Eric Lensherr (Magneto) and Mystique. It was about struggling of being different and the height (or depth, depending on your opinion) to which you'll take that fight.

The third film is an echo of that sentiment. A faint echo, with a lot of loud bangs here and there. The depth of the film is about ankle deep to what it could have been and while the movement of the film went well, the plotting and substance were comparatively lacking to the prior two.

It was not nearly as good or as bad as it could've been. Given reviews, I was prepared for a stinker but instead got a thunker. If the film had been stretched from 104 minutes to a roomier 2 hours, there might've been more breathing room for all the elements in the story, but as it was there were way too many mutants and not enough time with any single one of them. It felt like you were cramming for exams or something.