Why? Just why?

Rating: 4/10 (22 July 2006)

A movie series is like a species. It starts here, evolves, and each time it evolves it should build upon it's previous films. If it keeps evolving, it should keep getting better. Once I was talking with a friend of mine, and I asked him "Don't you find it ironic that some smart monkeys evolved into some really dumb people?". The same goes for the X-Men series. Some really smart movies evolved into a truly dumb sequel.
Acting:4/10 This time around the acting consists of bad dialog and cheap melodrama. It is unbearable. The terrible script pulls horrible performances out of Oscar worthy talents. Famke Jannesen does surprisingly and especially bad, doing nothing but standing around and giving icy stares. No time is given to develop any characters in this stupid popcorn schlock.
Writing: 3/10
In the tradition of their film ELEKTRA, Zak Penn and Simon Kinberg produce a shallow, poorly explained script that will definitely kick your IQ down a dozen points. A large part of the blame goes to Brett Ratner. See Below.
Directing: 2/10 Why is the script so bad? Because dumb wise-cracks and explosions are the only thing Brett Ratner knows how to do. If we'd had Bryan Singer back we'd at least have some direction and plot.
Effects: 7/10
I hate to say it, but even the effects are worse this time around. Many are impressive, but too many are horrible and unrealistic.
Score: 5/10 As with the rest in this film, it is below the average previously set by Singer and Co. I love John Powell, but Ottman's catchy and adventurous tunes are quite missed.
Cinematography: 9/10 The film is well shot. There are some great and gorgeous shots in this film, and I am too happy to finally use the word "well". The best thing in the movie is here.
Diagnosis: C-