Is anybody else upset?

Rating: 6/10 (27 May 2006)

First, let me say that I am a fan of the Marvel Universe, though I have not read any of the comics.
1) I was disappointed with X-Men 1 because it had to explain a lot about the Marvel Universe and subsequently was kind of slow. Xmen 2 disappointed me because they were still stuck on a plot revolving around Magneto and another one of his attempts to destroy mankind. Surely, I thought, the third installment would not repeat the same basic plot and use only a handful of the mutants over and over again--after all, Psylocke was supposedly gonna be in it, and Angel was featured in the trailers. To an extent, they did broaden the scope of mutants used (Colossus, Beast, Juggernaut, etc). Still, it would have been simple to include more mutant powers during the many fight scenes.
2) The Phoenix was not done well. There was not enough emphasis on the battle going on between it and Jean, and for some reason they decided not to use the fiery graphic which appeared at the end of Xmen 2. It was, however, a nice addition to the plot.
3)Though it started off well, the writing began to become ridiculously average around the middle of the movie. Cliché, unnatural dialogue combined with asinine, out of place one-liners (reminiscant of old Arnold quotes) to completely take me out of the fantasy (see "I'm the Juggernaut, bitch"--funny, yes, but it belonged in a gag reel).
4) The last 20 or so minutes were mediocre, and the end where humans forgive the mutants--who had tried to exterminate them--and bigotry has apparently been eliminated (how exactly did that happen?) would have been laughable had it not been such a tragic waste of opportunity. For a while I honestly believed they were going to end it there, and I was beside myself.
Bottom line, the writers and director should never be allowed anywhere near future projects. I realize they had a lot to live up to, but they failed miserably. I mean, come on. You have 40 some odd years of comics with hundreds of characters, dozens of alternate universes and story lines, and at least 2 other villains who would translate perfectly onto the big screen (Mr. Sinister and to a lesser extent Apocalypse); there is even a cartoon series which translated many of the major sagas onto the small screen! Why is it so hard? Like I said, they had a lot to live up to, but so did Peter Jackson (who also had to appease a legion of fans). The difference? Jackson stayed true to the novels and universe, and didn't see it necessary to add corny one liners, bland dialogue, and make it fit a Hollywood equation. In essence, he translated it directly to the screen and didn't dumb it down. He made a movie that fans of the series and newcomers alike would love; this movie seemed like it was made not for fans but for the morons who clap when Magneto dies.
If such an incredibly rich universe had not already been created (and expanded over decades), I wouldn't be so hard on it; however, I feel like there were too many wasted opportunities and that the potential of this film was not NEARLY approached.