In a way, I'm sad it's over...

Rating: 10/10 (4 June 2006)

...But in another way I am glad it ended with this magnificent movie! The special effects were top-notch, the acting decent in most places (I think Halle Berry is dreadful; fun to look at though), and the story moved fast and never dragged for a second. Of course, it never had time to stop with its 97 minute running time (I didn't count the credits). The action is fantastic and the effects are breath-taking. I was very worried that this third installment couldn't live up to X2 because of its running time of 30 minutes less. But, I think that X-Men: The Last Stand surpassed its prequels. I am no comic reader, but I am very sure that there are dozens of cameos that X-Men fans will look forward to seeing. The mutant battles are spectacular, especially the ones with Pheonix. Go to the last paragraph to skip spoilers.
MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD: There are parts of the movie that I did not like though. These are really just nitpicking, though. I can't stand Storm. I never could, I never will. She first bothered me with her phony accent. She has always had some poorly written lines (Like the one with Toad in the first movie. Ugh!), but for some reason one of her lines really bothered me. Storm and Logan land on Alkali Lake and it's foggy. Logan says, "I can't see a damn thing." And then Storm says in the most sickening cheerful voice, "I can take care of that." Why didn't she just do it? I think they put it in there just to bother people like me. But, no big deal. I just hate her. But then you've got your "Don't get your panties in a bunch", "Who's hiding, dick-head?", and my least favorite line: SPOILER ALERT Mystique changes into a little girl on a prison truck and begs a guard to let her out. When he refuses she says (still as the little girl), "When I get out of here, I'm going to kill you." Then later they crash and she snaps his neck with her legs and says, "I told you so." Again, not a big deal, but I don't like it.
MAJOR GIGANTIC SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!: There were parts of the movie that shocked me. Even though I had been hearing that Cyclops dies at the beginning of the movie, I still half expected it to be a rumor. But 25 minutes into the movie he travels to Alkali Lake, sucks a little face with Pheonix, and then all that is left of him are his red sunglasses. He was never an important character, but this caught me off guard. Then about halfway through the movie Prof. X is turned to dust. It was a stunning CGI effect, but again it caught me off guard. I thought with so many mutant deaths going on, this would be a dark and depressing movie. But, I was wrong. The movie is much too short to focus on such things.
This movie is nonstop action. It is a perfect conclusion to the X-Men trilogy. But, as expected, they leave the door open a crack. I don't think there will be an X4, but I'm not sure I want one. I was very satisfied with this ending. It was the best movie of the three. Oh yes, a few more matters to address. John Powell's score for the movie is very good. Also, Brett Ratner kept his promise. It feels like a Singer movie. The movie does open slightly differently, but it is very similar to X-Men and X2. X-Men: The Last Stand will not disappoint, unless you are looking for character development, which is not contained in the movie. That's what the first two movies were for.