Too many sub-stories

Rating: 6/10 (28 May 2006)

First of all: A quite good movie. But it couldn't top the previous two parts. If you watched part I and II and you really liked'em, you'll like this one too. But you'll also notice a difference in storytelling due to the new director. X-men 3 comprises much more action than the previous movies but also much more story. Too much for my taste.
I really appreciated the fact that mutants slowly discovered their abilities and first were confused by them while learning to control and use them under the supervision of the professor in the first two parts. The characters were drawn very finely and the different sub-stories crafted together seamlessly. The spirit of the original comic strips was conveyed well and I'd recommend the first two movies to every cineast, even those who don't like fantasy films. In the latter part the case is different. While the spirit and the stories of marvel's x-men are built in well, there are too many sub-stories, each told well on it's own, but having no grave meaning for the main two stories: "phoenix" and "the cure", which themselves would be better explored in two separate movies. But this way too many characters got a raw deal and too many story-lines are left undone.
The play and the balance of powers among the different mutants are another special aspect of x-men. Again, in the first parts, each mutant could contribute his power to give the story a different turn, and each ability was shown in full activity, like for example the ray-eyes of Cyclops. X-men 3 features dozens of new mutants, whose abilities are shown on a small spectrum, contributing rather to the action and the spectacle of the film than to the story. That's a pity, as I believe.
All in all, it's a well done picture with the spirit of the original comic strips, but craming too much story and too much pure action in one movie, not topping the first two x-men films.