Excellent Action and CGI Flick

Rating: 9/10 (30 May 2006)

I've been anticipating the third film for the X-Men series for quite awhile now. So much so that I was a bit worried about the end result. I tend to get my hopes up way too high for a film. I can say though that I was quite relieved with this installment of the franchise. It delivered what I was looking for most in the film: escapism.
The cast is extensive and the mutants plentiful even considering there is a "cure" floating around. We see the old favorites like Professor X, Magneto, Mystique, Rogue, Ice Man, Pyro, Storm and, of course, Wolverine. It's a bit obvious the studio is gleaning Hugh Jackman for a flick of his own as the fan-favorite mutant. However, since he's fun to watch I enjoyed his scene- stealing scenes. There are a plethora of new mutants to enjoy and savor - like Kitty Pryde, Multiple Man and Colossus for instance. Dark Phoenix plays an interesting, although tough to swallow, part in the interweaving of the story. For me, Juggernaut steals the show though.
So, yes, the movie lacks a bit of character development. If you're looking for long, in-depth and heart-wrenching stories of each mutant than please go read one of the slow-moving Marvel comics out today. If you're looking for well directed action than I highly suggest you see the movie. Ratner shows his chops for directing straight action with some very memorable mutant-on-mutant fighting scenes. I thought they were awesome and so did my fellow movie-goers. I always like to comment on an audience reaction - and this one was very positive.
There were some very shocking twists so head out and see X3 soon because someone may ruin the film for you. I also want to add that staying past the credits is very, very, very key. If you didn't do it you missed probably one of the coolest after credits scenes I've ever seen. For my husband, it salvaged the entire film.
So X-Men: The Last Stand is not going to please all the fanboys out there. Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons would probably give the film an "F." But for the general public, this is the start of the summer movie season and this is the movie to see.