Cinematic Apocalypse

Rating: 1/10 (25 May 2006)

Let's start positive: the special-effects are awesome.
Now that that's out of our system: the biggest problem with this film is story,story,story. Where the first two X-men always prioritized character development over effects, never forgetting that these characters have a story to tell, the third installment almost seems to disregard that this movie has characters at all. They are empty vessels for big explosions to happen to. The characters that we learned to love have vanished, their initial traits are altered and the only this that's left is a big sticker on their forehead saying either: GOOD(!) or BAD(!).
There are the old characters that are barely recognizable, characters that are constantly on screen but never say anything and characters that make a promising entry into the plot and then mysteriously disappear halfway through the film (and not intended).
Then there is the problem with the dialogue with its only purpose to tell us what to think. Mr. President says: "it's hopeless" and it's obvious what the director wants us to think. Problem is that you can say it as many times as you want, but the audience is not that easily fooled. I've read complaints about the previous movies that Storm's lines were unconvincing, always stating the obvious and just plain ridiculous. Well that virus has spread over all the other characters now and it hollows out the movie.
And the most heartbreaking thing is that we know it has nothing to do with the actors, we've seen what this cast is capable of. But with a story that has absolutely nothing to it, which flies around like a missile, and a director that is unable to control that missile, you're left with a movie that wants to portray an apocalypse, but is really a cinematic apocalypse of itself.