Could have been so much better

Rating: Null/10 (19 June 2006)

Bryan Singer along with the talented cast and production crew did so much to create an extraordinary momentum of excellence in the first two X-Men films. They were among the very best films adapted from a well-known comic. Full of action and special effects but never compromising the depth and angst of the complicated characters of the X-Men saga. It is unfortunate that despite all his successes the studio couldn't wait for Mr. Singer to take the helm again. Director Brett Ratner along with writers Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn did not come close to the potential that was created by X-Men and X2. The story has little plot, character stories are either rushed through or totally dropped, various characters themselves are permanently dispatched with in an awful way and a number of the talented cast members are totally under-used.
The cast and special effects crew do an admirable job to make the film work and do make it watchable. But if this was the caliber of the first film, there probably would never have been a second let alone a third.
Ian McKellen is as always excellent as Magneto in spite of the poor storyline he goes a long way to bring subtlety and nuance to a not so well written part. The same can be said for Patrick Stewart, Halley Berry, Hugh Jackman and Anna Paquin to name a few. They are trying hard and sometimes succeed in keeping our interest. But there are too many flaws. The character of the Phoenix is poorly explained and under-used. It deserved way better treatment. Cyclops and Mystique are now minor characters and newcomers to the film do a good job, but we see too little of them to care one way or the other. Kelsey Grammar does a great job as Beast and is given adequate time to do so.
Mr. Ratner has chosen to severely trim down a film that he has way overloaded with character and storyline. In more talented hands this film could have and should have been twice as long and would have been much better than this final product that so many loyal fans looked forward to seeing.
Again I say, were it not for the hard-won momentum created by the first two films would we have liked this that much?