Worth the wait. Worth the admission. Worth a fourth...?

Rating: 8/10 (2 June 2006)

***CAUTION***SPOILERS***AHEAD***
On the whole it's a great watch and worth every penny of admission. Sadly, and I mean that literally, it is marred by a number of annoyances. These range from small to potentially catastrophic. The several story lines entwined in this movie need and deserve a run time close to double the 1 hour 40 mins they are given. The character development and motivation that Singer was so good at is lost in Ratner's short and frankly rushed attempt. The Dark Phoenix is the best example, simply shrugged of as Jean Grey's twin personality before being reduced to a creator of special effects. Rouge is also pushed too far into the background as the one mutant the movies 'cure' storyline should focus on. Another example is The Juggernaught's (a mis-cast Vinnie Jones) and Maverick's instant allegiance to Magneto's cause the minute they are released with no motivation considered or explained. Other mutants reasons are also left out (Pyro's turn to evil and most of Magneto's new henchmen lack that elusive third dimension minor characters require) although forgivable, these are just more reminders of Brian Singers absence. The film also relies too heavily on the masses of visual effects that drag the movie from action sequence to action sequence with each one only lessening the great emotional story that is trying to get out from behind the green screen. And finally and least excusable is the laughable and inexplicable lapse in concentration in the editing suite. In one scene (a particularly good one if you ignore the production teams lack of respect for their audiences intelligence) the daylight becomes pitch dark in a single cut that covers a few seconds of the story (no deleted scene will explain this)
The saving graces though come, thankfully, by the bucket load. Retrieving The Last Stand from the depths and transforming it from watchable to memorable, leaving most of my grievances in the theatre is something Ratner has done with ease. Singer is obviously missing from this instalment but the film does not suffer in great amounts. The films reliance on FX is less of a problem when you see them: Magnificent and cool to say the least. A look inside the Danger Room (at last) sits well with many fans of the comics and animated series as well as providing some brilliant Wolverine moments. As I mention Wolverine it only suits to hail Hugh Jackman as a colossus (sorry) of an actor as both the feral Wolverine and the human, love torn Logan  silencing critics with believable and inspiring scenes with Jean and most notably in reaction to the Professor's fate. Jackman (as good as he was) is not the best thing the movie has going for it. The ever calm and collected 'bad only when necessary' Magneto is so brilliantly portrayed again by Sir Ian McKellan and is the centre of some fantastic CGI. Again the focal point of many scenes, he along with Patrick Stewart steals the show in the final two scenes (stay in your seat until after the credits).
A point I can't place as pro or con is the screenplay. It is often rushed and clumsy regarding the main emotional aspects and new characters but it is spot on in wit and one liners (if you remove Juggernaught's contributions) and when handling emotional issues involving old, well known characters. When writing it the powers that be also had no hesitation to kill/cure a large number of mutants (some pawns and even a bishop of a king or two). I found this hard to take at first but I think I prefer this to the cliché save the good guy routine. In reference to the final scenes however they seem to be insensitive to two of the most important (especially if considering a 4th) events from the film.
The largest downfall and saving grace I leave to the end. The downfall that leaves this film lingering below the amazing finale standard it deserves is simply the films it follows. They are intelligent and appropriately packed with action and emotion while taking great care over each character. In Lehman's terms X1 and 2 rule in this trilogy. The saving grace happens to be its ending, even though I found it lessened some of the big twists and turns. It redeems itself solely because it leaves the door well and truly open for a fourth. I hope this is the case as I feel, as a fan of the comics and TV series, there are many more stories and characters to be explored. X4 would do the series good as once you've made three you might as well make four and give it the ending it deserves. X3, so called 'The Last Stand" doesn't feel like the end and fits more the role of mid series action fest that thought provoking and definitive finale.