Great adaptation of classic heroes.

Rating: 8/10 (5 October 2008)

While it'd be impossible for any films to do justice to Marvel's legendary team of super-powered mutants, I really feel that these films are almost as good an adaptation as we could have hoped for. The casting was strong, the action was solid, most of the characters were portrayed memorably, and the stories largely stayed true to the spirit of the X-men. The first film felt a little rushed due to the sheer number of characters introduced, but all things considered it was a very enjoyable film for both the uninitiated and old-school X-fans. Hugh Jackman was spot-on as Wolverine, the most iconic X-man and arguably the hardest to cast and Famke Jansen was a fantastic Jean Grey for at least the first two films. Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellan (Magneto), and Rebecca Romjin-Stamos (Mystique) also delivered outstanding performances playing their respective comic icons. The story was a nice update of the comics and followed Rogue's induction into Professor X's school for mutants and Magneto's first big terrorist attack on mankind. All-in-all, a satisfying start to the series. The second film really kicked the series into gear and introduced more of our favorite X-men, including Nightcrawler (whose opening sequence was the highlight of the film), Pyro, and Iceman. The story involves Wolverine's past and the government's attempts to control the ever-growing mutant population. The result was one of the greatest comic book films ever made that firmly cemented the developing series as one to watch. For some ridiculous reason, at this point the powers that be decided that the third film would be the last. This was a bad choice that made no kind of sense, upset the films' fans, and severely hurt the quality of the third film. Ah, the third film; a mixed bag to say the least. The plot deals with two classic story lines involving a cure for mutants and the legendary Dark Phoenix. My personal list of complaints is a long one, but I'll just hit a few in this review. "X-men: The Last Stand" tries to cram two movies' worth of material into one film that is too short to begin with. The introduction of the Phoenix was obviously forced and no care was taken in this storyline which is one of the all-time classics in comic history, and the result is several pointless character deaths and gaps in logic, like why an all-powerful entity is content to hang out at an aging terrorist's side and just look menacing for most of the story. The series' former darling, Rogue, is reduced to a brooding plot-nuisance, has no real influence on the story, plus she never gains the fantastic powers she obtained in the comics that made her such a powerhouse of a character and a personal favorite of mine. On the other hand, more classic characters are given parts such as fan-favorite Kitty Pride and Collossus (both of which had cameos in X2), Angel, Multiple Man, Beast (played nicely by Kelsey Grammar), and the almighty Juggernaut (whose battle with Kitty was as awesome as it was unexpected). But as many characters as there were that made it into the three films, there were so many great ones that were reduced to either tiny, unnamed cameos in the series, or forgotten altogether. No Gambit, Emma Frost, Sinister, Apocalypse, Scarlet Witch, or Havok to name just a few. Furthermore, the final film's resolution in extremely unsatisfying and leaves little doubt that this franchise as we know it is dead, though they do leave us a glimmer of hope. There are talks of Wolverine and Magneto spin-offs and possibly a New Mutants project; promising ideas, but hardly a substitute for the ensemble we know and love. Still, in the end, I really did enjoy X3 as a film as it did have several great stand-up-and-cheer moments; it just upset me as a fan of the comics and as a fan of the the movies because there wss so much more that could have and should have been done with this series. In the end, whether you're a fan of the comics, the cartoons, or just a fan of sci-fi or fun movies in general, you really shouldn't miss out on these three movies. The series is full of memorable characters, fantastic battles, sly humor, references for hard-core fans, and, of course, the classic X-men social commentaries about discrimination and the importance of both individuality and cohesiveness. There doesn't appear to be much in the way of special features from the first two films on this edition; but for about $10 a flick, I'll let it slide since it is still a hell of a bargain. Highly recommended set.