Should have waited for Brian Singer...

Rating: 6/10 (7 November 2006)

Imagine it like this. You leave your home in the hands of a friend while you're away on holiday. You come back, the kitchen has burnt down, the pets are dead and what used to be upstairs is now a makeshift Gazebo in your front lawn.
Ratner did not have the investment of Singer or the fans in this film and he did not treat it with the respect it deserved.
He dropped an immensely well acted and favoured character from the series.
He took Joss Whedon's premise and did it himself, never a good start - Alien Resurrection anyone?
The plot is mangled and nonsensical.
He then took liberties and leaps with the characters he had no right to. So drastic that it is now almost impossible for anyone to reassemble the pre-X3 franchise in any sensible way.
He didn't understand the relationships between the characters and didn't try to. These are not the characters that we left in X2. The effects are cool, there are some neat moments but there is none of the emotional resonance or connection with the characters the other films had. He sacrificed what could have been great for the sake of a poorly done "shock" moment and some cool effects that will age quickly.
Watch, if only to see and learn why sometimes it is best to wait for a genius than hire a stand in.