Best X-Action Yet

Rating: 9/10 (27 May 2006)

My summary up above sums it up perfectly. X3 was a step up in several areas, and those that it was a step down in didn't ruin the movie at all. First, a comparison.
My big problem with X2 was that while the story was great, the action was very not. The only real fight in that movie was, to me, a giant "Who cares?" between Wolverine and Deathstrike. X3's plot is loosely based on a combination of both the famous Dark Phoenix Saga with Joss Whedon's recent "Gifted" arc from Astonishing X-Men #1-6. The stories mesh relatively well together to form what was a pretty good original story. There are also aspects, namely death, that give this a very "gloves off, fight to the end" kind of feel of desperation, and it was refreshing and interesting to see a comic movie not afraid to kill major characters, and it leaves the audience wondering if their favorites will survive.
While the story isn't as good as X2's, X3 more than makes up for it in action. The action in this movie is better than both previous films combined. The final battle scene between the six remaining X-Men and Magneto's army (literally) is amazing, particularly Kitty's one-on-one with Juggernaut.
While the dialog was wooden at times, several characters are handled much better in this movie. Particularly of note is Storm, who in her role of leading the X-Men is much more fleshed out and is done much better by Halle Berry. Overall, improved by leaps and bounds. I'd be amiss, however, if I didn't mention Kelsey Grammar as Beast. In reviews I've read, even people who didn't like the movie find it hard to deny that his portrayal was perfect, a word I won't use often for comic movies. His class and occasional pompous arrogance shine through perfectly while he is still likable, and his job in the movie (political ambassador for mutants) fits both the character and plot very well. Along those lines was Pyro, who was Magneto's perfect right hand man in this. Aaron Stanford did a great job portraying him as a very bad guy that you couldn't help think was cool, and that makes for an entertaining villain.
Some characters are changed dramatically from the comic to the movie, namely Callisto. Her powers of enhanced senses, abilities, and tactical planning have been replaced with what seems to be a combination of Quicksilver and Sage's powers (in the film, she has super speed and can detect other mutants and the strength of their powers). Multiple Man is a villain. Most of it works well for the story, though. It was a joy for the comic fan in me to see Storm and Callisto develop a rivalry and fight one-on-one several times, as the two had a similar relationship in the comics. The only problem I had was Kid Omega, who's powerful psychic abilities were replaced by spikes protruding from his skin. It would have been just as easy to keep this character as Quill, who is only slightly more obscure, and Kid Omega isn't a big enough name to draw more people to the theater. Also, Psylocke is credited, and for the life of me I can't figure out if she was a girl in a class scene or a villain with a very different power. I hope for the former.
I've seen people divided on this movie. Some call it awful, some call it the best yet. I'd give it a relative tie for best with X2, and definitely the most entertaining. I'm seeing people say that they're true X-Men fans because they don't like this film, which is a little offensive. I believe it's clear from above that I'm not just a fan, but a geek. I thought it was a fine film worthy of the X-Men title, and that's this true fan's opinion.