Not Pleased. Not Pleased at All!!

Rating: 7/10 (27 May 2006)

This is easily the worst of the X-Men movies and it may be the comic-based movie that has done the most damage to a franchise ever.
High points: Kelsey Grammar is fantastic as The Beast/Hank McCoy. That was a great piece of casting. It was also nice to see at least the head of a sentinel (and a nod to Days of Future Past). Bobby Drake/Iceman has a nice moment near the end that should please fans of the comics. Halle Berry as Ororo/Storm is absolutely gorgeous. I've never seen her look better. Hugh Jackman is excellent as usual. There is more use of Kitty Pride/Shadowcat and Peter Rasputin/Colossus (although the look of Colossus was far superior in X2). It was nice to see Angel. Finally, the effects are outstanding.
Unfortumately, the story leaves much to be desired.
As much as Bryan Singer did a good job of brining the X-Men to the big screen, I have always been upset with him (to put it mildly) for his treatment of Rogue in the movies. It gets only worse. As much as I hate the story, because I'm an X-Man fan from way back, the movie was FAR, FAR TOO SHORT to tell it properly (which MAY have helped a little). While I can accept the changing of the Phoenix storyline to fit the events that have come before in the movies, (this is nit-picking, but I still waited for it) the lack of a "Phoenix Effect" in the sky was disappointing. Also, Xavier is, frankly, a jerk and a$$hole in the movie.
I could go on and on. I can only hope they don't screw up Wolverine and Ghost Rider as badly (although using the original series as a basis seems to lend credence to my fears for GR).
Bryan Singer should be strung up by his ankles for leaving the franchise in apparently incompetent hands.
It gets 5 of 10 because the few things it does right, it does very well.
TSTKE