A Huge Let Down

Rating: 4/10 (20 October 2009)

After the great X-Men, and the superb X2, fans were left itching for the third movie in the X-Men franchise. Unfortunately, as is the case with so many trilogies, the third movie tends to be the weakest, and X-Men: The Last Stand seems to come off worse than other third entries.
The problem with The Last Stand seems to be the treatment of so many of the characters we came to love in the previous outings. Characters seem to be shoved here, there and everywhere, and some are omitted from the story entirely. Notable examples being Rogue, Angel, Magneto's followers and the absent Nightcrawler. Whereas other characters seem to be hogging the limelight for no apparent reason (I'm looking at you Halle Berry) A major flaw that crops up in the movie is that of Jean Gray. Fox were not keen on having a story focus on her, and it shows. After a few key scenes, she is moved into the background, looking stressed and upset, until the conclusion of the movie. It is very obvious that the film makers just did not know what to do with her. There are also far too many unintentional laughs in the movie, as it tries to come across as serious, but just can't pull it off.
It is not all bad news though. Ellen Page and Kelsey Grammar prove to be great additions to the cast, and there are a couple of plot twists thrown in early in the movie that are just enough to keep your attention going. But these few positive points can't help the fact that the original X-Men trilogy ended with a whimper.