Don't let the fanboy whiners scare you away...

Rating: 10/10 (8 November 2006)

**SPOILERS ABOUND**
Geez, comic fanboys must by the most cynical, joyless people to don the hat of movie reviewer in all of history.
I consider myself a fan of the comics, as I read regularly and collected for a time in the 80s and 90s and was quite surprised that I liked Bryan Singer's first X-Men film. I'll say liked, not loved, but I thought it was certainly worthy of the franchise and entertaining.
The second was much better, primarily because the filmmakers had more money, and it shows. Nightcrawler was a great addition, but he never really did much after the assassination attempt at the White House. While this film built up to the conclusion much better than the first, it was the whole Jean Grey plot that really gave it impact. He sacrifice at the end of X2 was arguably the best emotional, powerful, surprising scene in the series.
It's that ending that lends X-Men: The Last Stand it's strongest tool in terms of connection to the previous two films. Personally, I hadn't realized how invested I had become in the Grey character until she disappeared into the wall of water in X2. In this third installment, she's back from the dead thanks to her bipolar second-half, Phoenix. The point here is that throughout almost the entire film, Janssen is playing Grey/Phoenix in a spaced-out, confused kind of way, which is utterly perfect. The Grey character we've come to know and love appears only once or twice, and always briefly ("Where am I?" "Please kill me before I kill somebody else."). These glimpses at the old Grey made me long for her to fight her way back and suppress the Phoenix.
And here's where Ratner deserves some serious credit. She doesn't! The characters (Grey/Phoenix) are gutted at an emotional climax in what was really a heavy, surprisingly-sad scene. And it doesn't stop there. The writers killed off Xavier and Cyclops. Props for having the guts to shake things up. If the printed comic book world wouldn't kill off and suddenly resurrect characters every time they need a plot point, it would have the same kind of impact these deaths have here.
The battle between Phoenix and Xavier is incredible. I was watching it on DVD and my heart was actually racing. And what's with the slamming of the score by reviewers here? I thought it was perfectly epic, which it needed to be, given the scope of what was going on. Especially in this scene. Oh, it's hard to forget Magneto's "Charles!" right before Xavier is obliterated. Jannsen's detachment from the scene after all she's just done is creepy, moving and sad at the same time.
That being said, the film's not perfect. I do think Colossus deserved more screen time and it would have been better without the Juggernaut character altogether. The character is just served so much better on the printed page, along with the X-Men spandex costumes. The makeup used on Janssen for Phoenix was unnecessary, as I think she could have played cold and possessed without it. But she still sells it, and that's what counts. Look at the way she rises to her feet in front of Xavier before she takes him out. Chilling.
Singer did a great job by the time he got around to X2, and he built the franchise. It's not Ratner's fault he bolted for more money and an inferior superhero, leaving those of us that had climbed on board feeling abandoned. Ratner, contrary to what some people who have no idea what they're talking about, did infuse a huge amount of emotion into this flick.
Well, never mind. Ratner did an admirable job, as did the writers and the rest of the crew. I personally hope this is the last X-Men movie, as it's a perfectly respectable note to go out on. It probably made too much money for that be the case, though.
Anyway, ignore the hate-filled rants on this comments board and try to look at the more moderate reviews. It's nowhere near as bad as the worst reviews here. In fact it's highly entertaining and often moving. To be enjoyed with popcorn.
7.5 out of 10 from me.