Good effects; confusing story.

Rating: 7/10 (6 June 2006)

"X-Men: The Last Stand" was OK for a summer action movie. The special effects were good and the story moved quick enough to keep me entertained. The story consists of the mutant X-men against the government, who want to "cure" mutants. If you are familiar with the stories this episode is just more of the same. That leads to one of the criticisms I have about the movie. Too many of the characters, and events, have a back story from the comics and in order to really appreciate the fullness of the plot the audience must be somewhat intimate with the Marvel comic culture. Many events and characters are presented in a kind of abbreviated fashion, like short hand. I never read Marvel comics and so much of the movie was not quite confusing but hazy, like who was Kelsey Grammar supposed to be, someone with testosterone poisoning and a heart condition? I figure he was a mutant due to the blue skin and hairiness but since I wasn't privy to the back story the character was just another oddity. I'm sure I could find lots of information on his character on the web but I think a movie must stand alone and not require research before seeing. The acting was OK given the preposterousness of the plot. I found the interpersonal scenes a bit maudlin. Of course the scene with Ian McKellen at the chess board hints at more sequels making the "Last Stand" part of the title a bit of a joke. Overall the movie was fun with good special effects and if you don't take it too seriously, nor care for character development, it is worth seeing.