somewhat disappointing, but nevertheless entertaining

Rating: 3/10 (30 June 2006)

X-Men: The Last Stand, or X3, is a film of epic proportions - in special effects and action. In storyline and direction, however, it falls short of its predecessors. Brett Ratner fails to capture the magic withheld by Bryan Singer's X-Men an X2: X-Men United. The cast has some strong performances, and a few poor showings. The writing does not develop the new characters (there are a ton), but doesn't have much to work with in the below average script.
A cure for mutations has been found. There are four sides to the war. The government, those who want the cure, those who want to maintain peace (Professor X and the X-Men), and those who want to end this mutant/human war. Violently. This is the Brotherhood, led by Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Pyro (Aaron Stanford).
There is a startling revelation of Jean Grey, and a few character deaths, one of which you won't see coming, and an ending that you will either love...or hate. You can stay after the credits to see an extra bit, but if you want mystery, then don't stay.
The writing and direction do not develop the characters, in particular the characters of Angel and Callisto. These characters are both very interesting, especially Angel, because Ben Foster and Dania Ramirez respectively portray them very well. They really leave a lot to be desired. Okay, I'm done ripping X3. As usual, Patrick Stewart is in excellent form as Professor X, giving his best performance yet. Hugh Jackman does yet another great job as Wolverine, and has some of the coolest lines in the movie. One minor disappointment was Halle Berry as Storm. Her character is given a lot more lines in this threequel, but she doesn't make the most of it. It's hard to say that about an Oscar winner. One new character that does receive development is Beast, played wonderfully by Kelsey Grammar. Grammar is great as one of my favorite X-Men. Now, the best part about X3 is the incredible action and special effects, which is no surprise coming from Brett Ratner. All of the mutant's powers are in top form, and it's amazing. This is a very entertaining movie with a few goofs that only movie buffs like myself will catch. I recommend it to X-Fans and to any action fan, because it will definitely satisfy that appetite.
7/10 --spy