Beats X2 in my book...

Rating: 8/10 (23 July 2006)

I know, my subject line is heresy. But hear me out.
I thought "X2" was a dull film because the human antagonists, led by the extremely hammy Brian Cox, were too weak to pose a serious threat to mutantkind.
"X-Men: The Last Stand" circumvents this problem by giving humanity the mutant cure, the first truly effective weapon against Magneto and company. The cure ensures that the battle scenes are actually exciting.
It also forms the basis of a solid plot, rich with the kinds of ethical issues that nudge the X-Men films above your standard action-movie fare. I particularly like Rogue's dilemma over whether she should take the cure. Her story arc is brought to a very satisfactory conclusion.
The special effects are great, too; I wanted to cheer every time Ian McKellan hurled a car. (That's superficial, I know, but hey, I'm a superficial guy!) The closing battle scene is truly thrilling - much better than anything we've seen in the previous two films. And it was nice that some unusual X-Men, like Shadowcat and Beast, finally got good parts in this film. I always had a crush on Shadowcat, to be honest...
I guess I liked this so much because of the aforementioned cure plot, and because it focused on Magneto, my favorite character. Ain't Ian McKellan brilliant? He manages to be extremely dignified and chew the scenery at the same time.
The Dark Phoenix elements of the story are somewhat glossed over, I admit, but then again I always thought that story was overrated. Certainly the Wolverine/Jean romance works well here, even if it doesn't get a ton of screen time, and lends the film emotional punch.
I think people wanted this film to be bad, before they even saw it, because of some weird prejudice toward Brett Ratner. I think he did a fine job, while Bryan Singer, by comparison, sort of dropped a bomb with "Superman Returns."