Enjoyable, but a wasted opportunity.

Rating: 7/10 (25 May 2006)

This is, without a doubt, the worst of the 3 X-Men films. But I don't think that would come as a surprise to anyone.
With Brett Ratner in place of Bryan Singer, I honestly had pretty low expectations of this, the third installment and supposedly the last. Truth is, for the most part, those low expectations were met. But I still enjoyed it. It certainly isn't a complete tragedy, but is a wasted opportunity. This could have, and should have been the biggest, and best so far.
The action is decent. And there is plenty of it, which will not disappoint. But the first two movies had something this doesn't, and that's heart. This more feels like a bunch of scenes thrown together that Ratner just really wanted to do. Lots of action, minimal feeling. While there are moments that are meant to be emotional, as there is little to no time spent with each character, we are left disconnected, its as if we are expected to already feel for them before the movie begins.
But Ratner's strength isn't in dramatic moments, and the X-Men films aren't exactly where you'd go for drama. This is pure escapism. And it works on one level, but its just not nearly as fun as the previous films. Performances are what you'd expect, strong from the stronger actors and everybody plays their part to provide some good support.
Finally, this film is drenched in special effects. It's very big on the razzle dazzle, but relies on it too much. With the first two films each time a mutant revealed their power it was exciting and awe inspiring at times, wowing the audience each time. But this one is built on effects, rather than the human element, and it suffers for this. It tries to show off new characters and their powers and never gives us a moment to get to know any of them.
All in all, it isn't a waste of time, but sadly is not the movie that it should have been.