An explosion is worth a thousand lines of character development

Rating: 6/10 (26 May 2006)

So I finished watching this movie and I can honestly say that it didn't work for me. One problem a movie of this size (in terms of cast) has is that you can't focus on anyone. Therein lies the problem - by the end of the movie, you don't feel anything for any of the characters. There are some scenes I didn't see coming, but they're dealt with quite heavy-handedly and don't have the shock-factor Ratner must have hoped.
The story is pretty straightforward, but it all seemed like they got into a room, went "Okay guys, we want this scene, this scene, this scene and this scene. How can we fit it together?" The story doesn't really flow, and none of the characters are particularly well fleshed out. You can tell Halle Berry got her wish for increased screen time, and she was incredibly annoying, delivering a robotic performance in stark contrast to some of the other roles she's done.
On the plus side: there were some nice references to the comics. Certain phrases and actions were straight out of the comics (Beast's entrance, the Fastball Special) which was good for me as a fan boy. Kelsey Grammar did an awesome job as Beast - he conveyed all the intelligence Beast is known for in the comics. Yes, he sounded like Frasier in a blue furry suit, but thats exactly who Beast is. So that worked well.
I make the movie sound like a disaster, but it really wasn't that bad. A problem most trilogies face is that by the third movie, they've developed a good fan base, and the first two movies must have been well received. X-Men 2 was phenomenal and following up an act like that would be difficult for even the best directors and writers.
I look forward to the directors edition. The addition of a few more scenes might flesh the movie out better so my above criticisms would be be moot.