Great action, good story...MORE PLEASE!

Rating: 8/10 (26 May 2006)

Possible spoilers below for those who don't want to know ANYTHING about the plot. But for those who don't mind knowing a little bit about it, read on. I haven't included anything that you couldn't gather from the trailers, my critique notwithstanding.
The action in this film, while never quite reaching the level of impressiveness as the opening scene in X2 with Nightcrawler, was impressive nonetheless. You really get a sense of just how powerful any given mutant can be if his/her power is used cleverly enough.
The story is a continuation of the theme started in X1, where it's basically Mutants V. Everyone Else. This time, though, Eric/Magneto steps over the bounds. If the writers were trying to remove sympathy from the character then they succeeded quite well. McKellen did an excellent job of turning a well-meaning man into exactly what he used to oppose.
There is a possible "cure" for mutations, a serum that is capable of turning a mutant into just a regular human. As you can imagine, this "cure" might be desired by some mutants, but opposed and feared by many others. The X-Men try to follow a middle-of-the-road philosophy and stance, as is Professor X's wont, but of course Eric won't allow it. Thus, the conflict arises.
OH, WHAT A CONFLICT! This is where that great action that I was talking about comes in. *POSSIBLE SPOILER HERE* In the end, nothing is truly resolved, as it is with most conflicts that are this complex. *END POSSIBLE SPOILER* And that's why I'm left at the end begging for more. What will ultimately happen to all the characters? Has anybody learned their lesson? Can there be enough grace and forgiveness on both sides to end the conflict? And who is on which side now that things have changed like this? If there's anything I'm disappointed in with this film it's that it's too short and I want more! When does pre-production start on X4?!