Honestly, A Waste of Time

Rating: Null/10 (31 May 2006)

You know what, Ellen Page was great as Kitty Pryde. And the scene with her and Juggernaut was fun in a way most of this film wasn't. I also liked the Angel character's introduction. Something the other X Movies gave us in abundance. What else was good? Ian Mckellan as Magneto. And the set-up was fantastic. What's that 15 minutes of the movie? Beast was decently realized, but he ate up screen time without adding much to the film.
The bad... everything else. Action scenes lacked smarts. The clockwork showdown between Pyro & Iceman, against all logic, fizzled out due to lack of breathing room. Especially ill conceived was the decision to have the "Good vs. Evil"-which-color-will-win battle? Who asked for more Halle Berry as Storm?? While her acting isn't as unbearable as the last two films, her role in the story is so small, that devoting so much screen time to her seems like a braindead move. Also braindead? Including the Dark Phoenix. That's a second trilogy right there. It's just too much too soon. And there's already a perfectly good story built into The Last Stand: The cure. That brings things full circle.
Folks, I wouldn't be so harsh if there hadn't been a great set-up. This is still decent Summer Popcorn movie fare. The point is, the first two movies were so much more. The Last Stand is like a carefully planted garden that was just starting to sprout, when someone decided to build a hotdog stand on the spot. You may like hotdogs, but they won't quench your soul.