A lackluster end to a series

Rating: 5/10 (28 May 2006)

X-Men 3: The Last Stand was pretty hyped up. It was built up in the second installment, and got a lot of positive press going into its release. I'm sorry to say, that it doesn't live up to the hype. It doesn't even live up to the first two films.
The story follows a pretty simple plot, something that actually happens in the comics: a cure for mutants. You've probably all seen the trailers so you know what it is about.
I have two main problems with this film. One of them is a pet peeve. After hyping up Gambit, a fan favorite, in X2 (Remy LaBeau appears on the mutant database in Striker's office), he is nowhere in the third film. Apparently, the actor offered the role turned it down, and the writers couldn't quite figure out how to work him into the script. But that's just my personal problem.
The biggest problem with this film is not the direction which many people were worried about; Ratner does a fine job with what he's given. The problem lies in the script. It is VERY lackluster, with major plot points that basically ruin the film. That said, major characters die. Sure the script is littered with messages about the world and acceptance but I think that is overshadowed by the bad parts: Killing off major characters is the biggest one. I think the actors weren't really that committed this time. Also, there's such a small amount of X-Men that actually fight in the film. There's so many X-Men that had been introduced in the first two, why are they all gone here? Magneto has an army and the X-Men fight with six people.
Kelsey Grammar was a bright spot. Skeptics abounded, but Grammar's Beast is a very nice touch. He does play it very well and was perhaps the highlight of the additions to the third film.
All in all, this movie could have been a lot better. The reason the script stunk so much is probably because Brian Singer took his writers with him when he left. Major characters are absent through much of the film, and while I like the new X-Men introduced, they just weren't big enough or written well enough. This movie is fine if it's set in an alternate dimension, but fitting with the other two, fitting with X-Men as a whole, it doesn't work. Pay the money to see it once. Actually, get a friend to pay money for you to see it. It's worth a free trip. I'm not sure it's worth 7.50 or 10.00 dollars. This film will do fine at the box office though, but it's definitely a step down for Marvel. Only a certain web-slinger's third installment can really pick things back up.