DISAPPOINTING (to say the least) **Possible Spoilers**

Rating: 3/10 (30 May 2006)

The first movie in this series was slow, but did introduce everyone not familiar with the story to the characters. The second installment was far better than the original, expanding on Wolverine's background (who by far is the most interesting character of the comics). We even get to see Mystique for more than two minutes... then comes Brett Ratner, the crappiest of all directors to screw up a completely good story. Phoenix was NEVER explored. The effects on Phoenix were crap. Why was she all demon-like instead of FIRE like? Yeah we get she's the most awesome force ever, but she's in the background- much like Colossus. Why wasn't there a fight between Colossus and Juggernaut? HELLO! Awesome scenes would ensue. What happened to Wolverine? His character was much darker in the first two films and then Brett makes him a whimpering dog the entire film. All I have to say is that Halle Berry was miscast from the beginning. It should have been Angela Bassett or Iman as Storm from the get go. Halle whined through each of her lines, trying to hard to be "tough". Halle is not regal like Storm. She never understood the character. She suckity sucked sucked. I'm happy I didn't have to see Cyclops for more than a minute. He sucked from the start (but he sucked in the comics too). Mystique was completely wasted and they didn't even explore Raven Darkholme as best as they could have. There were two stories - Phoenix and the cure - both were hurried and not explored to the depths that were possible. Rushed, hurried and a complete disappointment. It should be banned from the trilogy and re-shot by Brian Singer.