X-Men : L'Affrontement final

Positives:

• Most of the action
• Interesting ideas (Though explored better in the comics)
• Main cast
• Musical score

Negatives:

• Writing
• Messy story
• Pacing

Who wouldn't want the ability to walk through walls or fly away into the sky? Who wouldn't want to be able to lift cars hundreds of feet into the air or turn a cloudy day into a gorgeous sunny afternoon? For some this is a dream come true. For others than can't function without destroying their natural way of life, it is a curse. The premise for the latest installment of the X-Men saga is just that.

X-Men: The Last Stand goes deeper into the mutant versus human controversy. All of the favorites are back with the addition of some needed support. The main focus of this film is the introduction of a vaccine that can rid a mutant of its powers. It is called, "The Cure". Magneto, played once again by Ian McKellan, gathers his Brotherhood for a war on the mankind once more. His eyes are fixed on the one person who holds the answer, a small, innocent child with a gift so powerful, Magneto will risk everything for it.

Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) upon hearing gathers his group of X-Men to stop the menacing Magneto. He is short a few of his troops from the last film. Cyclops is still lamenting over the loss of his dear Dr. Jean Grey. When he can't take it anymore, he drives out to where he last saw her. Her voice has driven him to the edge until she appears. Who he meets isn't Jean, but her true self; Phoenix. She is Jean's alter ego, the most powerful mutant Charles or Magneto ever encountered.

Director Brett Ratner of Rush Hour fame delivers an action packed, special effects driven adventure. His style is unlike that of the previous X-Men films. His version is more along the lines of a regular action flick. A lot of explosions, stunts galore, and a so-so script. What made the other films enjoyable was the emphasis on the characters. This film has almost too many to include. Although some weren't present and some don't make it, there are too many side stories going on than are needed.

The mutants are always a blast to watch. Hugh Jackman returns to his old guns, relying on witty remarks and vicious attacks on unsuspecting victims. Somehow it doesn't get old. Kelsey Grammar is introduced as Dr. Hank McCoy, better known as Beast, a blue skinned, blue haired genius who wants nothing more than this war to cease. Also introduced is Angel, who sadly doesn't play too much of a role. On the other side of the battle is Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones). A one man wrecking crew whose momentum is unstoppable to the strongest of obstructions. Beside him is Callisto, a speedy little devil whose impact is virtually just filler. There is more emphasis on characters like Kitty, the girl who can walk through walls, and Collossus, a metal strongman, and less emphasis on Rogue and Mystique.

Without these characters in play, the film is special effects driven. Impressive CGI graphics and and intelligent use of the mutants powers go a long way in the making of this film. Characters like Storm (Halle Berry) rely solely on the effects provided by Ratner and his team or visual effects artists.

As far as summer blockbusters go, this film isn't one to be trifled with. It presents a lot of aspects that a blockbuster should have: a lot of big name actors, reliable story lines, stunning effects, and most importantly, an appeal to a large audience. The movie might be a little bit mature for children, but comic book fans and fans of the films will thoroughly enjoy this. The only remaining question left is; will there be another?

First of all, let me say that X3 was a great action film. If you want to have a great time at the movies, this is a fun film to watch. However, as a fan of X-Men and the film trilogy, there were some problems with the film.

There are a lot of characters that are undeveloped. It's not such a problem with the one's we already know, but it is for the one's that we don't. There's also unneeded information for certain characters that aren't really in the movie. Certain characters play big roles, but we don't get to know them. Others have minor roles, and the info is meaningless. For instance, a character is introduced in the prologue to the movie, but is barely seen in the remainder of the film. The movie was way too short. It seems like everyone's in a hurry throughout the film. If it had been 2 and a half hours, it would have been able to develop all of the characters, and the back stories would have been more relevant to certain characters. The movie is action packed and fun, but it really doesn't draw you into it the way the first two did, say for a couple of scenes.

Overall, it was worth seeing on the big screen, and I'm glad that I saw it. It is a good film. But again, you'll be a little disappointed as an X-Men fan. 7/10.

One final thing, stay after the credits for the final scene. It seems nobody saw the entire movie.

I was able to catch a preview of this film on May 18. I am a huge X-Men fan and was reading earlier buzz about this film's shortcomings from other critics. I was very surprised at this film's quality. This film was very good especially for a third installment. I would venture to say this film was my favorite of the three, narrowly beating out X-Men United. I felt there would be a lot of confusion in tying in Magneto and Dark Phoenix but the story was very coherent. I also felt like Halle did a little better in this installment, considering better powers and better writing. The action scenes were great, especially in Jean's house. I was pleased to see them stay faithful to certain scenes in the Dark Phoenix Saga comic. The other "bit-part" mutants were not as annoying as I'd anticipated, as some of them actually were very impressive. I was very impressed with this film's "shockers" and unpredictability. Some things I definitely did not see coming. While not the perfect experience everyone hopes for, it was still well-made and should satisfy the X-Men fan base. Good story, great fights, great special effects, true to some of the comic stuff, great unpredictability, annoying Pyro. 'Nuff said.

The latest X-Men movie is disappointing to say the least. I don't know who had the final say on the finished product, (Brett Ratner, the producers or editors, or the studio) but the end result is an eyesore that has been rushed through production.

The movie is full of unexplained cut scenes that run into each other, that leave you frustrated and a little confused. The plot is sub-par with very poor dialog. The plot is not that difficult to follow, it's just full of holes. Holes that leave true X-fans wanting more. The music score throughout the entire movie is horrible and off. Music makes a movie. The writer of the score of X-Men 3 should be ashamed of the final product.

The unexplained introduction of a dozen or so new mutants was attempt to cover up the lame plot. The new mutants come and go without explanation or warning and spout a cheesy one-liner of dialog before they are rushed of the screen. There is an occasional curse word that gets all of the prepubescent teens in the audience a chance to chuckle like a little schoolgirl in their Sunday's best.

Brett Ratner was a poor choice to direct the third installment of the X-Franchise. With his not so impressive track record of Rush Hour movies, with Rush Hour 3 in preproduction; he should have been last on the list to direct this highly anticipated movie. It's like the powers that be just drew his name out of a hat and said lets go in that direction.

I'm not saying it's the worst movie out there, but it is defiantly the worst of the three. It was a poorly planned and over rushed movie that doesn't live up to the standards of true fans, such as myself. I've been reading and collecting X-Men comics for years and I know all of their back-stories and sub-plots and I expect it to at least live up to the standards of the previous two movies.

The end result is a movie that does not live up to the standards of the trilogy. The bad plot and dialog is replaced by CGI and special effects that try to district you from this poor movie that you shell out your hard-earned cash to see. It's worth seeing, but try to go see the lower priced day showing of the film.