Doubt there'll be an X-Men IV

Rating: 9/10 (30 May 2006)

This was at least as entertaining as X-Men I and II, maybe more so. The action was good. Acting wasn't too bad. Halle Berry's depiction of an angry Storm wasn't great, but then, her acting rarely is. Angel was window dressing; hardly part of the story at all. If Beast was director of Mutant Affairs, where was he in X-II at least, if not X-I? I have to say here I was pleasantly surprised by Kelsy Gramer. He is NOT one of my favorite actors, but he did a decent job of playing Hank McCoy, the Beast.
And where was Nightcrawler? You'd think that there would at least have been a storyline explaining where he was, and I think, based on a conversation he had with with Mystique in the last movie, I expected to see him in line to get the "cure." If it was a question of special fx costs, they should have shelved Angel and stuck with Nightcrawler.
I hated the way they made Jean Grey's Phoenix persona look like something out of the exorcist and never really explained what made her so murderous, or why it took her so long to re-surface. And it was a bit lame to blame Phoenx on a hidden part of her personality all along that Xavier was trying to get under control, considering that was never even hinted at in the previous films.
Still, there are just as many good points. the storyline of Rogue seriously wanting the cure so she could actually be embraced and kissed by her boyfriend was riveting, although I expected her to come to a different conclusion at the end. I was thrilled to see Kitty Pryde get a major role in the movie. She's always been my favorite X-Man (or should I say X-Woman?) with Rogue a close second. I was disappointed that they didn't establish the relationship between Xavier and
As for the end (and here are major spoilers, so if you don't want to know the end, read no further), it's pretty obvious to me that, except for the possibility of a prequel or another reincarnation (several, in fact), there's not likely to be an X-Men IV. Two of your major villains (including THE major villain) are no longer mutants. The same for a major X-Man (woman). And with the deaths of Xavier and Cyclops (told you this would be a spoiler), what can they possibly do for a real sequel? I liked the story and the major ending better than the last X-Man movie (except I hated who decided to take the cure). Magneto's rejection of a major supporter and ally the moment she involuntarily got "the cure." was magnificent. I did want Rogue to show up at the last moment and siphon off Phoenix's powers so she could be Jean Grey again. And why did Wolverine do what he did to her when he could have just shot her with the cure when he got close enough to use his claws? Sometimes, movie lines just defy logic, even if you can buy into the fantasy settings.
X-IIII pretty much ended the movie franchise in my opinion. An X-Man movie just wouldn't be an X-Man movie without Xavier. But I guess we'll have to see. Money does strange things in Hollywood.
Bottom line...X-Men III is definitely worth watching.