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This, the third X-Men film, has had quite the storied past. Rather than trace all the way through it, I'll sum it up here: Fox is apparently run by a bunch of big, whiny babies more concerned with throwing out a big, bloated mediocre franchise "finale" (yeah right) then taking their time and allowing a true final masterpiece to be created. First they destroyed the "Alien" and "Predator" franchises in one quick blow. Then they finished off any chances of a proper "Daredevil" sequel by throwing together that mess of celluloid known as "Elektra." Now they've succesfully brought disgrace to a once proud stable of heroes known as the X-Men (and women).
I guess Fox just hates its franchises.
When Bryan Singer was removed and Brett Ratner was thrown onboard (after "Layer Cake" director Matthew Vaughn took off), it was sort of the same as if Spielberg decided to not do Indy IV, and instead handed the directing reins over to Lucas. Yeah, it may have been ultimately all right, but something was sure to be amiss. And something is defiently amiss here. However, I do not lay the entire blame on Ratner. Nor do I blame screenwriters Zak Penn and Simon Kinberg. Instead, I blame a greedy studio willing to sacrifice a prime franchise so they could beat that "other big superhero movie."
Picking up where the last (wonderful fucking film) ended, "X3" deals with the rise of Jean Grey, now known as The Phoenix. Now I was never the biggest fan of the "X-Men" comic series, but I adored the Fox Kids cartoon when I was younger (and, sadly, even now when I can catch it at seven in the morning). So I know how deep this Phoenix Saga goes and I know how cool it would have been to see this thing come to the screen properly. However, our answer as to why Grey has all of a sudden emerged as this demon-trapped-in-the-body-of-an-innocent-girl is quite simple: "I don't know."
Weak. Hella weak.
That's pretty much a way to describe this entire movie actually. In fact, the other half of the plot could have also been very, very cool if it has been handeled correctly and given more time. A young mutant named Leech (Cameron Bright... he's that kid who seems to be in every movie requiring a little creepy bastard with big eyes these days) has the power to turn mutants into regular humans. Just getting close to him can cause a mutant to temporarily lose everything that makes them unique. This is somehow turned into an antidote which can be easily shot out of a special sort of pistol and this just seems to piss everyone off.
Every single second of this movie shows that it was rushed. Even the cool parts (which there are a nice handful of) feel like they could have been so much better. Characters are so jam packed into this thing, that we barely get to see our favorites, both new and old. Let's go down the list of characters that actually appear for more than fifteen minutes total in the movie:
-Wolverine -Storm -Magneto -Phoenix
There ya go. Where's Professor X? Where's Cyclops? Where's Angel? Where's that F**KING SENTINEL WE WERE PROMISED!? They're all there, but might as well be missing. They really just don't matter that much.
Is it all bad? Not at all, actually. Probably the best part of the movie is the introduction of Juggernaut, as played by Vinnie Jones (a casting decision from Vaughn... if only he had stayed...). If you haven't heard by now, the seven foot gargatuan of a man does in fact bellow out an, "I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!" (if you don't get it, look it up on Google). I was dreading this line. I was terrified of this line. Yet, surprisingly, just like the character himself, it really, really works.
Another plus is Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, even if he is just reduced to a sideliner that spouts out inane one-liners every so often. I truly hope he gets his stand alone film, as I am sure it could be much better than what this ultimately turned into. The same goes for Ian McKellan as Magneto, a character that he perfected in the first sequel. Another highlight is Rebecca Rimijjn as Mystique (the shape-shifting, blue-skinned badass from the first two). Unfortunately, though her early scenes are extremely well done, she quickly dissapears as well.
I should note here a very big, all though I suppose minor problem: the included cameo of Toad, a character that I thought was done very well by Ray Park in the first film. Unfortunately, though it is very obviously him clinging to a church wall in one scene, that is all we get. Not even a line. Very peculiar and a tad dissapointing.
If you don't mind really, really great characters either dying or dissapearing for half of the movie, you might just like this. If you don't mind missed oppurtunities (seriously, nobody ever thought to have Collosus and Juggernaut duke it out!?) sacrificed to make the swift deadline of a greedy studio, you might just like this. If you thought the epitome of comic book adaptations was "Fantastic Four"... well, go for it. You might just like this one.
As it stands, I like me some cool characters, I hate me my missed oppurtunities, and I thought "Fantastic Four" was probably the worst super hero flick since "Batman & Robin."
And I also happened to dislike "X-Men: The Last Stand."
I'm going to try and check this out tonight or tomorrow night. I'm really interested in seeing why you hated this movie...it looked pretty good in the previews...but that's the best part about most movies these days.
After re-reading my own review, I think I came across as a little too harsh. I still stand by my Thumbs Down, but there are some positive aspects. They just happen to be weighed down by the negative side a bit too much. Basically, I think they just tried to squeeze in too much in a too short ammount of time. Like I said, there is a good movie to be made out of this one and I think Ratner could have even pulled it off.
Also, something I forgot to mention is the clip after the credits. Many websites are really making this Easter Egg out to be some sort of mind-blowing revelation. While it is a nice little afterward, it is nothing too surprising, all though viewers may still want to stick around to see it.
i saw it tonight, unfortunately Americansyco is right... its kinda lame. i guess thats what happens when u trade in Bryan Singer for Brett Ratner.. The screenplay is below average and amature and The acting isnt even in the same league as the other movies
I just got back from seeing this and I think SyCo's harshness is well justified. I won't go into spoilers, but as has already been mentioned, two key characters are killed early on (characters who are the foundation and have been ever-present in the comics since day one -- this really pissed me off) and the overall film feels rushed, half-assed and remarkably soulless. Even the finale, between Wolverine and Phoenix, felt devoid of any real emotion or impact. Probably because all Phoenix does for the whole movie is stand there and turn green from time to time. Eh.
I disagree about Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut, though, and I'll sum it up in two words, one a hyphenate: rubber-muscle suit. His helmet made him look like Ram Man from the He-Man cartoons and, as mentioned, where the hell is the Colossus vs. Juggie fight? HUGE missed opportunity there, and instead Jugs is taken down by the wimpiest member of the entire team.
Plenty of fan-boy moments though...a couple "fast-ball specials," some other moments recreated from the comics (Jean kissing Scott while holding his powers back with her mental abilities, as seen in the Phoenix Saga by Claremont and Byrnes)...and, my favorite of all the fan-boy moments, The Beast gets to use his catch-phrase.
But, though it's obvious the film was written by fans of the comics, that does not mean they should have been allowed to write the script. It's disjointed, contradicts itself on numerous occasions (if you've seen the flick, remember the very last shot of the film vs. the "permanently removes your mutation" serum...) and the fact that we're introduced to no less than NINE new mutants, all of them in key roles, and given nothing about them other than a quick blurb about their powers shows that this movie was about nothing but cramming as much shit into a movie as one can. There's no heart to it like the first two at all, and eliminating those aforementioned key characters has just ruined the series as far as I'm concerned.
So I get through the long credits and... Oh I won't spoil it.
I enjoyed the film but have a feeling we'll see an extended edition on DVD. I new it from reading SyCo's review, they're screwing with us like a lot of films do nowadays. Keep the best for the DVD release.
I hope I'm right because I longed for more, the idiots behind me kick the seats, talk, make stupid remarks and do other things I dare not mention throughout the film.
They set up another film but I doubt they will ever get around to that before the actors are old because of Wolverine. (Box Office and DVD money will persuade them though like always)
the idiots behind me kick the seats, talk, make stupid remarks and do other things I dare not mention throughout the film.
i had some kid doing that to me the last time i went to the movie. i turned around and said "quit f'ing kicking my chair!!!" so the whole theater could hear.
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X-Men: The Last Stand
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