"Copy-cat" Director mimics the Singer Style, but lacks the substance

Rating: 7/10 (25 May 2006)

Not the epic finish many of us would have wanted, but not the unmitigated disaster so many thought it would be coming from Brett Ratner.
The film has some nice touches, with better set pieces and superior effects work to previous instalments. The emotional involvement and character consistency seems a little uneven and spoils the feeling of satisfaction I had been feeling. This is where Singer would have nailed the movie showing his superior understanding of the comics universe and its players.
Good points? the "20 years ago" retrospective of the two leading protagonists Professor X and Magneto,an amazing use of digital technology to make them both look younger; the battle over Jean Greys split personality; one of the X-mens death's; the overall special effects and the confrontational climax at Alcatraz.
The middling? The film probably tries to cover too many "bigger" issues and relationship stuff with too short a running time and a broad strokes approach to the emotions.The confrontation at Alcatraz.
The bad points are the "now you see them- now you don't" approach to some of the established mutants such as Cyclops,Mystique and Rogue. For a film that barely gets past the 90 minute mark, there could have been a more patient introduction to newer characters and a better send-off for the old; some of the dialogue falls flat and there are one too many smart Alec one liner "quips"- mostly Wolverines. It belittles the serious nature of the character.
Due to the running time, the films editing leaves a lot to be desired. Perhaps Brett Ratner had poorly constructed key story elements/writing and a general lack of time that even a longer running version would have made little difference too. No doubt there will be a Directors Cut and we can see for ourselves. I do not feel the need to blame Ratner for this, as the Studio was the one pushing for the release-despite the production losing not one, but two, directors! You would have thought they had learnt their lesson on the 1st film.
One major niggle was a continuity error as the Brotherhood of Mutants arrived on Alcatraz and prepared to do battle. The afternoon sunshine suddenly cut to total darkness! Weird! So long as you try to remember the characterisations from the previous films and overlook some of the issues mentioned, then the film is a very enjoyable, effects-laden romp.