Interesting to See State of the Art Computer Generated Graphics

Rating: 4/10 (4 October 2006)

Never a fan of the comic book hero outings, this viewer watched X-MEN - THE LAST STAND with a bit of mental prejudice: action heroes capable of destroying everything in sight at the glance of a weird eye or the motion of a hand have just never seemed entertaining. But given that stance, watching this very colorful film was an art study in how far computer generated graphics have come in a relatively short time. And that makes the time spent on the non-story worthwhile.
Of course it is always a pleasure to see Sir Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Patrick Stewart, and the newly buff Ben Foster in action: nice costume effects despite overdone makeup etc. But the story is so slim that it can be ignored and the viewer can watch the rather extraordinary special effects - until they ultimately wear thin (as when the house lifts off the ground, etc!). So advice for those fellow viewers who avoid these Marvel Comic movies: drop the prejudice long enough to see what is au courante in special effects. It is rather entertaining...for a while. Grady Harp