Too much talk, not enough action...

Rating: 7/10 (20 May 2006)

I had the delight of watching X-Men 3: The Last Stand during a special press screening that was held in Tel-Aviv, Israel, 12 days before the US premiere. Although much cannot be said about the film without giving away any potential spoilers (and there are many of those to be spread around), there are certain things that could be said that will help clarify the fog revolving the film's premise.
The most important thing that could be said is that this is indeed the last X-Men film that will be released in theaters. The film ties up the various plot strings that were thrown at audiences during the first two films, and closes up the personal arcs for most main characters. It picks up more or less where the last film left us; As we have seen at the end of X2, the evil Mystique has infiltrated the US government, human vs. mutant conflict ensues, whilst meanwhile back at the X-Men headquarters, we find Wolverine and Cyclops still pretty much shaken up by the loss of Jean Grey. Darkness continues to grow as we find out at the beginning of the film that Jean Grey is very much alive, but the ultimate sacrifice she had made at the end of part 2 in order to save her fellow mutants has turned her into a very different and dark character. Meanwhile, the Magneto-Xavier dispute about how the mutants should live their lives amongst mundanes receives a surprise twist, when we are informed that the humans have developed the ultimate anti-mutant weapon: a vaccine with the ability to "cure" mutant powers. The now ex-prisoner Magneto, threatened by the thought of mutants being wiped off the face of the planet with the help of the vaccine, gathers an army of mutants to fight off the human's new threat. Our favorite heroines, led by Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Storm (Halle Berry, who gets substantial screen time this time around), must make the last stand amidst the chaos, and find the way to struggle for a peaceful solution, even when everything around them seems to be falling apart.
More than anything, X-3 is a fascinating character study, although many characters we met during the first two films are absent, or suffer from very little development. Instead of minimalist performances by Anna Paquin's Rogue or James Marsden's Cyclops, we are now introduced to new on screen characters such as Dr. Hank McCoy (a.k.a. Beast), played by the always wonderful Kelsey Grammar (from television's Fraizer), or the walk-through-walls Kitty Pryde (a.k.a. Shadowcat). Unfortunately, many of these personal arcs take their time to unfold and slow the story. The whole film feels like a major build-up, leaving long minutes of dialog and story which postpone the action. When this does come, it explodes on screen with all it's glory, although I did miss the "Wow!" factor I got from watching the f/x on previous X-Men films.
Despite the feeling of finality to the series, I wasn't completely swept away, mostly because the film took so much time reaching it's climax, that by the time it got there I was feeling a definite fatigue. Had the action sequences been more spread out during the film, and the plot more fast-paced, this could have been a satisfying and inspiring summer 2006 outing. Instead, we are met with a decent comic book film that has its moments, but lacked the depths and emotions director Brian Singer could have brought with him to the set.