X-Men 3 aftereffects

Rating: 7/10 (30 May 2006)

The Last Stand was a movie I highly anticipated, scanning the internet daily looking for the newest photo, or the latest interview. I was eagerly anticipating seeing a bird of fire. The Phoenix saga was altered to be more movie-friendly. There was no celestial bird of fire, but all the tragedy of the Dark Phoenix is there. From the repressed and insecure Jean Grey of the first two movies (did anyone else notice that she looked frazzled and tired?), here she is is in her full power but, of course, she's spinning out of control. Famke is awesome in her powerful cold stares and dimentia, capturing the danger and terror of a "level 5" mutant out of control. Brett Ratner made the Phoenix into something demonic, like Jean was decomposing as she was overtaken by her power. It sticks with me. It's creepy and beautiful. And this from a comicbook movie!
The Last Stand, as is widely agreed upon now, was rushed and that's too bad. X1 was slow, X2 was a release and X3 was too fast. There were some really corny scenes, too, like Wolverines pep talk--"Sure we're outnumbered, but...we're X-men!" Certainly no Braveheart here. And Angel-- maybe it's 'cause I'm a guy, but other folks in the theatre laughed as well when angel had his "big moment"--I think it was his funny facial expressions-- did I see a slight head shift? Like he was saying "That's right, honey!" There's a continuity problem with Magneto's army's arrival. Ouch!
I like how The Last Stand had a little of the X-banter during fighting scenes--most notabley the scene with Wolverine and Beast.
I see the next true X men movie (not just a Wolverine prequel) being the "Days of Futures Past" storyline. It was foreshadowed in The Last Stand, and it's the next most memorable story from the comics. Who wouldn't love to see Wolverine have all his flesh burned off in a fastball special? Let the movies continue to develop the characters in to who they are in the comics. Rogue gets her super-woman powers, and the baggage to go along with it. Iceman continues to learn new tricks with his powers. Mystique and Magneto both go through changes of heart. It's all ready to go, and I see this movie as just getting the X movies warmed up.
Days after seeing the movie, I'm still thinking about it, breaking it down in my mind. Great action scenes and a valiant effort at putting something so diverse and character-history-heavy as the X-men into a movie. It's a tragedy that speaks its own language, sometimes stuttering or messing up, but it's just great to see my childhood heroes come to life so faithfully and with such a big budget. Can't wait for the next one.