X3 review **SPOILERS** (No Spoiler Tags Used)

[DaForce]

As explained in the no spoiler thread, I'm seeing this tonight and these threads are for reviews of the movie.

This thread will contain SPOILERS without the use of spoiler tags.


If you don't want to know about certain points in the movie, then don't look any further than this first post.








































You Have Been Warned!!!

[DaForce]

Okay, just got back from seeing it, and it was pretty decent. Much better than X2, but not better than the Spidey movies. The movie clocks in at 100 minutes, and frankly needed an extra 30 min. just to build some stuff up.

Two major storylines played out here; The Cure, and The Phoenix Saga. Because so much stuff needed to happen for both storylines, it really felt like a lot of the actors were just standing around in a 'look at me I'm [insert mutant title]' cameo or just some window dressing while the story flies by (I'm talking to you Rogue and Phoenix).

To tell you the truth, I wasn't expecting much from this one. I mean, it's Brett Ratner. And really, all he does he hit you with action scene after action scene (which isn't bad at this point in the franchise), but his direction of still scenes and any character development is really lacking (take the Eulogy scene that Storm delivers, for example).

Couple that with the fact that they gave Halle Berry way too much screen time in this one, and then cut any explanation of the story down to the bare minimum......and well, you can see where the fanboy in all of us can get somewhat disappointed.

Too many freakin' mutants. Calisto, Psylocke, Jubilee, Juggernaut, Kid Omega (?), Quills, Arclight...etc., etc., etc. Thank Buddha that people like Bishop weren't in it (he's in it in the book), there's already too much crowding as it is.

MAJOR SPOILER DOWN BELOW HERE (DON'T BITCH, CUZ I WARNED YA)





Cyclops goes out like a punk and a chump, and we don't even get to really see it. Charley puts up a really good fight in probably one of the best scenes in the movie., but he's not a match for the ole Phoenix.


The best scenes are still with Wolverine, but Jackman's looking a bit skinny in the beginning, and then fills out by the end. Very weird, but something that could have been fixed if this whole movie hadn't been rushed into production.


All in all, it's going to make craploads of money due to the Ritalin inspired pace.

Rating: Full price ticket 1st viewing, bargain matinee for second viewing.



P.S. Stay till after the credits or you'll miss an extremely crucial scene that sets up X4. (Hint: It involves cueball.)


P.P.S. This background and lettering really really sucks on the eyes.

[Queen Mae]

huh.... it sounds to me like it's a good action movie but a crappy X-Men movie.

[DaForce]

It's got the main workings of the classic X-men stories, it's just carried out way too freakin' fast. The pacing is off (because it's usually at a dead run) and there's no room to do any real character development since a new character seems to pop up every 5 minutes. But that's the reason Ratner was hired...to pump out the movie as quicky as possible with the script he was given.

Now if Fox had waited and let Singer direct X3 after Supes, it would have been his best X movie ever given the script. So long story short, good script, just a hurried execution by a not so talented director.

SPOILER WARNING AGAIN!!








Best scenes in the movie:

1. TIE The battle between Jean and Prof. X in the Grey house, just freakin' awesome. The absolute final scene after the credits that shows what has happened to Prof. X.
2. Juggernaut busting up walls trying to get to Leech, while Kitty tries to first stop Jugs, and then outrun him.
3. Wolvie having to stop the Phoenix. Just heartbreaking especially if you've ever read the comicbook version of it.
4. Wolvie takin out Magneto's guards. Very nice.
5. Finally seeing Iceman actually ice up.



Best quote:

Beast: "Oh my stars and garters."

Why? Because Kelsey Grammer delivered that line exactly as I've heard it in my head for well over 20 years.



Is it a perfect movie? No. But neither were the first two.


It's fun as long as you can quiet down the inner fanboy that knows the comics all too well.

[Belledame]

A friend gave me some last minute passes to a screening in NYC tonight. I took a work buddy and turns out Kelsey Grammer, Shawn Ashmore, and Dania Ramirez were all there. It was a small crowd. Mostly people who won tickets from a radio promotion and a few sailers from the Naval Fleet. The actors got up at the beginning and said a few nice words.

I loved the movie. There is definitely a bridge missing in it between defining the problem(s) and the climax. There's no time to agonize about the central dilemma of the cure vs. nature. We move from situation to situation focussing on so many different people, no one gets enough time to lead us through an emotional digestion of the issue. I got more out of a few panels of "Astonishing X-Men" dealing with the same issue last summer, than out of this. Two people who disagree discuss it, then we see the line of mutants at the Cure Clinic with hellified mutations. Purple people and lobster claws have valid reasons for selling out...

It's amazing how some things were unbelievably well done and others were just tired. Like they didn't even try. Phoenix "raised her voice" (lovely how the music is so distinctive, like Harry Potter's phoenix song), it was phenomenal. The look of her face, eyes, hair. It is wonderful how they conveyed the considerable amount of energy it would take to summon and wield that kind of power. What I couldn't understand was why Phoenix (and to some extent Young Jean) wanted to be so destructive. How did it serve her to waste everything in her path? You can't enjoy living in a world you've destroyed.

The entire scene at the Grey House was on fire! Logan and Storm got stomped so bad it was like they'd never been in a fight. But the obliteration of Xavier...was unexpected and shocking. I wanted to yell "nobody told me this shit was gonna happen!" (Did she consume Scott or destroy him?)

Whatever that one guy was growing out of his arms to throw at Logan, that was completely disgusting. Was that horn or bone? And Quills? He was just one of the people I would have a recommended a forcible curing for. But Phoenix took care of his crap. And the Volcano Guy? You don't want him walkin' free. I'm not sure what that clapping girl was up to. Seems like she could have kept that up and really thrown people off for a good while. Kitty's cleverness was good. I'm not sure how Juggernaut got out of the floor. Usually when someone materializes within a solid structure, they die. He didn't fall through a hole, his body fused with the molecules of the floor. WTF?

The film didn't adequately explain the Boy and his power or the nature of the Cure. It suppresses the mutant gene sure, but are repeat doses necessary? Apparently, judging by the chess board. And the Boy, his power is to suppress gene activity, but how? Pheromones, telepathy, what? I'll do my research, but a story should tell itself. No primer necessary.

Poor Mystique. She was a cold-eyed killer among other things, but to lose those amazing physical abilities... And then be dumped like that. Angel was nice to see if only because, given his horror at being a mutant, he found some peace and joy in it eventually. Rogue was not that interesting. Her complaint is valid, but they could have been more illustrative in her storyline to make the viewer sympathetic to those who wanted the cure. If they'd made more of her trademark gloves and showed some utter freaks in line with her that would have established a lot in bried images.

Halle Berry's been saying a lot about Storm having a point of view. Not sure what that is though. She was completely unsympathetic to Jean even though she's worked with her for years and likely went to school with her. Did no one explain the split personality issue to Storm? She had lots of stunts which is fine, but I'm not sure it matters. It would have been great if the X-Men brought more students to Alcatraz. There are plenty of older kids to recruit.

I could definitely see it again for the Phoenix scenes alone. (How are mutants classified by levels? Who does this testing and how can Callisto sense something that specific?)

Enjoy!

[The Tyrant Virus]

I caught a press screening last night as well. I've been ecstatic ever since. I cannot WAIT until Friday so I can see it again. I thought it was the best of the three X-movies, and there were a lot of total geek-out moments that made me warm and fuzzy inside. I really liked Singer's first two X-Men movies, but I always felt like there was something a little off. This is the first one that actually felt like it was made by a real X-Men fan just because of the little things that were put in.

SPOILERS!!!







Some of my favorites moments:

Phoenix vs. Xavier. Very emotional and intense. I knew what was going to happen because I spoiled something for myself before going in, but it still had a strong impact.
Anything and everything Colossus. Especially the 2 fastball specials.
Storm vs. Callisto in the last battle. Finally Storm gets to totally let loose and not suck. I very much enjoyed this showdown.
Iceman vs. Pyro at the end, and Bobby finally icing up. LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this faceoff.
Wolverine being absolutely brutal in the forest scene.
Mystique getting shot with a "cure dart" during Magneto's rescue. Holy crap, sexiness.
I liked seeing Moira. If they (please, please, please) make a 4th, it'd definitely be nice to see more Moira.
I liked the explanation of what the Phoenix is. Believable and non-outer spacey.
Wolverine facing down the wrath of the Phoenix, and finally taking care of business. My eyes teared up and I was very emotional at this point. Very well done, in my opinion.
The ending, teasing at the non-permanence of the "cure."


Minor gripes:

Psylocke not using her psychic knife like the actress said she did :(
Angel not being in the movie much at all.
Rogue having little screen time.
Cyclops going out like he does. Though its not ever shown and only implied, so who knows. The could take the cheap route if they ever wanted to bring him back. :dunno:
It is too short...I wish it was longer.


Favorite quotes:
Juggernaut: "Don't you know who I am? I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!" If you've seen the redubbed X-Men cartoon episode that's been floating around the 'Net, you'll understand why this quote is awesome.

Beast: "Oh my stars and garters." For the exact same reason as DaForce.


I thoroughly loved this movie and think its closer to what the X-Men should have been like from the start. I highly recommend it, if only to see Rebecca Romijn pretty much naked and non-blue. :wink:

[Queen Mae]

What I couldn't understand was why Phoenix (and to some extent Young Jean) wanted to be so destructive. How did it serve her to waste everything in her path? You can't enjoy living in a world you've destroyed.


Because she was wearing her crazy-pants that day.


It's fun as long as you can quiet down the inner fanboy that knows the comics all too well.

*ahem*Or fangirl*ahem* :D

[Belledame]

I've changed my mind about Rogue. If she hadn't gone off to get cured, she might have been able to stop Magneto by draining him. The X-Men gave him the cure as a last resort, which betrayed what those three people believed. If Rogue had been there, she could have weakenend Magneto long enough for the others to contain him.

It would have been perfect justice for what he did to her in the first film.

[TrekSucksHard]

Well it was better than I expected and came close to being a very good movie instead of just an above average one for me (thanks to Daforce for telling me to stay until after the credits rolled).

The Dark Phoenix storyline wasn't pulled off very well (comic purists like myself didn't like it too much because it violated canon- no way Dark Phoenix would ever kill Cyclops) although the way it was presented (sort of like a multiple personality disorder) kind of made sense. The Cure storyline was very good though and made me think about prejuidice and being under pressure to be normal as opposed to accepting oneself and living with it.

But my main gripe (and this is with all the X-Men movies) is that there are WAAY TOO MANY CHARACTERS HERE! You can't create any sympathy for people if you give them just a couple of one-liners (Angel, Kitty and Colossus are so underdeveloped that they are nothing but minor plot devices) . I am a big Cyclops fan ever since I first read the comic books decades ago but even his death didn't resonate with me because he came and went so fast that you didn't have the time to care for him or Jean.

As usual, Wolverine gets the most amount of screen time but even then there is no character development- he is primarilly there to advance the plot along- I'm glad he's gonna get his own movie so that if they ever do decide on making X4 they can start developing the other characters for once (let's hope it happens that way).

The only character that had good screen time was Beast- a perfect mixture of personailty and action hero all in one mix.

If the people at Fox read this and if they are planning another sequel then here are my suggestions:

1) Limit the main characters to 5 or 6 at the most- you will not get any sympathy from the audience if you go with a super large ensemble like that.

2) Try not to combine two storylines from the comics- rather just focus on one- this way there will be no rushed scenes and better character development.

3) Bring back Cyclops! Next to Wolverine and Prof X, he forms the triumvirate of the most important X-Men and there shouldn't be any new X-Men movie without him (and develop the character too).

[Deacon]

Well, everyone's pretty much made the points I would've. I enjoyed the heck out of the film; don't know if I preferred it to the second, but I certainly thought it was the most exciting of the three - the scene in the house and the finale were as pulse-pounding as anything else I've seen lately. Great score by John Powell, too.

But the script left a lot to be desired - too many characters, as others have already stated, too many contrivances and plot holes, clunky dialogue and exposition, and some truly cringe-inducing gags (although some of the jokes in the last third made me laugh).

But considering that early word was mixed, I thought that it turned out great. Far better than I thought it was gonna be.

Oh, yeah... and that scene after the end credits. Hated it. Hated, hated, hated it. The final moment with Magneto made me smile, but the post-credit bit made me cringe. It just seemed cheap.

[The Tyrant Virus]

Oh, yeah... and that scene after the end credits. Hated it. Hated, hated, hated it. The final moment with Magneto made me smile, but the post-credit bit made me cringe. It just seemed cheap.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't Xavier done something like that before in the comics? I had absolutely no problems with it.

[Deacon]

I've never read the comics, so it's entirely possible that you're right. But just in terms of this movie on its own, it seemed like a cheat. We saw the character get obliterated. So for him to suddenly pop up at the end (or, at least, for us to hear his voice), it pissed me off.

[Magell]

I thought the movie was awesome. I knew that the Canon of the comics would be violated in the movie because it was violated in all of the other ones. The movies are there own thing so I just enjoy the movies for what they are.

I really didn't have any problems with the way the movie was made and Ratner did fine. People are just pissing on him because he's the easy target. So stop it! :) Cyclops dieing early is what James Marsden gets for wanting to do Superman with Singer.

I kind of disliked Rogue not showing up to help at the fight scene because I like the Rogue character from the comics but the Rogue character in the movies has always been lame and it's good to get rid of her. Kitty Pride is much better than her anyways. She had some awesome moments in the movie with her chase/fight scene with the Juggernaut. I loved the "I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!" line.

I just loved this movie and thought it was awesome.

[The Tyrant Virus]

But just in terms of this movie on its own, it seemed like a cheat. We saw the character get obliterated. So for him to suddenly pop up at the end (or, at least, for us to hear his voice), it pissed me off.

I understand where you're coming from, but they did foreshadow it slightly earlier in the movie when Xavier showed the video from Moira in his class. I guess for someone who hasn't read the comics it could seem a cheap excuse, but personally didn't have an issue with it in the least.

Now, if Cyclops had shown up at the end and joined in the battle somehow, I would have thought that was cheap. :dunno: To each his own I suppose.

BTW, I can't wait to see this again tonight...1 1/2 hours till I leave work, YAY :D

[DarkJedi]

I had absolutely no clue about the plot of this movie other then "there's a cure" and "mutant war" (We've heard that before in the previous two films, Mr. Magneto.)


So, I sit down with coke and M&M's and I sit through the previews("Snakes on a Plane" made me laugh like mad cheesy fan boy, "Fast and Furious" made me furious & cringe, "Jet Li's Fearless" looked interesting..).


Time for your Feature Presentation

Twenty years previous...

Interesting beginning, showing Magneto sporting some funky hairdo and Xavier walking into the Grey Home with more of a buddy/buddy atmosphere. Oh, the dad is ashamed of little miss Jean Grey. Haven't I seen this before????? Oh yes, I have.....Bobby's parents deja vu.

Okay, I'll live with this beginning Mr. Ratner, if only cause I liked watching the two opposing leaders of each side sitting side by side.

Ten years previous....

A boy cutting his wings off. Ummmmmmm, what's the point of this whole scene? We get it, he's scared....he's ashamed. Okay. Ty for that scene. What's the point again?

Angel is cool, though....


Future time......

Wtf is this?????? Xmen meets Terminator?? Laser beams? Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo A Sentinel! Very good cameo at least.

PHEW, it's a damn simulation. Wtf though, Mr. Director. We get it, we get it, Wolverine is a rebel. That particular card has been overplayed already but it was in the comics too so I can understand it being overplayed.


Folks, I'm not really dissing the movie here, I'm just very VERY curious on where it's going so far and were not even 10 minutes into it. I will speed things up so you don't fall asleep.


Cyclops becomes like Wolverine. Non-caring other then his loss. I can understand that, he's in love and the actor is not really involved in this film anyway.

Holy cow, he dies! HAH! Already a death twenty minutes into this baby. Oh well, I don't really like Cyclops anyway. What a N-sync listening whining punk he was in these film versions anyway.

Very earie settings for the return of Jean Grey...errrr the Phoenix too, having the fog and Wolvie-Storm walking into that strange gravity anomoly ridden lake bed. Very cool and it set a tone early for Phoenix's chaos to come. Foreshadowing of something very dark and forbidding.

They weren't kidding around either.

Just 10 minutes later, something happened which I had not heard, nor had a clue about.

Mystique is gone? Just like that? After all her bad-ass ness throughout these films thus far, she's obliterated by some tiny weak ass needle???

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.


Alittle more Anger this time then dealing with Cyclop's demise. I could deal with Cyclops. I never liked him compared to some others. He was a whiny tool in the movies too. Mystique, however, rocked!

Watching Magneto turn his back on her and having her shivering in the truck, naked in more "ways" then one to her new world was pretty damn shocking. Didn't see that coming. The second of many shocks in this damn movie.

Then, it happens. At this point, I know NOTHING is safe from this point forward. Turning Mystique human gave me a hint of this realization but what happens next opened my non-spoiler viewing eyes UP.

Xavier dead????!?!?!?!??!?!?!? WTFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.


*Jarrod is in Extreme Anger Mode at this point*

1. For not having a clue about it, the shock is unbelievable.

2. I cannot believe they killed Xavier!!!

3. Now, I see why I stay away from spoilers these days. This anger is kinda cool.


The memorial service rang kinda dead cause Halle Berry, while crying, didn't sound all that sad about it. Her eulogy wasn't said with any real conviction...at least from what I saw. Maybe when I go watch this movie again, I'll see more conviction there but that's not a story point as much as hollow acting on Berry's part. Like I said though, on second viewing, maybe it will ring more true to form. I had an annoying kid a few seats talking at this point so maybe I was alittle distracted.


You can tell Magneto is falling down a few notches on the Soldier with Skills ladder with the loss of Mystique when they show "his camp".

He seems to have had more of a scarier demeanor with just a few high ranking powerful soldiers then a whole army, at least in my viewpoint, because his camp left something to be desired. Then again, as he said in the end, just "pawns". That's all he wanted these "camp losers" for after all.


Two of my favorite X-Men characters is Colossus and Juggernaut from the comics. The actors did a FINE job in this one potraying these characters. I guess I didn't like that we had to lose Mystique to get Juggernaut and that Colossus once again didn't get much screen time but you know what, part of a problem with the movies has been TOO MANY characters to fit into the film. It's why the "Brotherhood Camp" scenes rang hollow(we know their pawns) and why some major characters didn't really mean much.

That all said, Juggernaut is truly awesome in this film. The scene where he's smashing through walls to get to "that kid" is priceless. Especially with KittyHawk's line.

"I'm Juggernaut, Bitch!"

LMAO Awesome!

"Who's hiding??"

WHAM.........THUD....

"Dickhead!"


As also pointed out above, the last third of the movie had some great laughs...which is really needed in a film with so much death and loss.


Mystique losing her powers is devastating. Magneto losing his powers is even more devastating to me.

It's why I wanted to pump my fist in the air at the very last scene BEFORE the credits. Haha, you can't keep good Evil Mutants down, baby! Mystique and Magneto will live on cause they're powerful enough to overcome this "cure"!

Oh yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss. Muhahahaha!

Like Deacon said, I loved the humor in the last 40 minutes. The score for the film was very very cool.

Unlike Deacon said, I loved the scene AFTER the credits, with Xavier being back into play and introducing his comics girlfriend doctor friend Moira into the storyline. I don't care if it takes away from the loss and grief of Xavier's earlier demise. I don't want Xavier dead, dammit. I'm being selfish here, Deacon. SELFISH.

Okay, folks, I liked this movie quite a bit. I've thought the second movie was the best so far to this point. I still do, after seeing this movie.

If the second movie would rank a 9 out of 10 on the Jarrod O'Meter, this baby here would rank 8.5 out of 10.

I'm saying I like it here but I'm also admitting to being quite angry and rather shocked throughout the film. Enough so that I'm going to go watch it again tomorrow and let it seep in further. Maybe the second viewing will put it over the second movie in my eyes, maybe it won't.

[LeiterCIA]

Just a few quick thoughts....

I was thinking tonight that I've probably got just the right amount of X-Men 'fanboy' in me to REALLY love this movie! I knew and loved the comic, but dont know/remember all the details enough to see the flaws.

I thought this movie was off the hook! I absolutely loved the opening scene in the Danger Room! When I saw the original X-Men, I liked the characters they started out with, loved the interpretations of the Xavier School, and the peeks at a few supporting characters, but thought it was slightly limited. Here, I thought we were finally seeing the real X-Men crew altogether was awesome. (This is the spoiler zone, right?) And when I saw the hed of the Sentinal hitting the ground, I was freaking out. This scene to me was STRAIGHT out of the comic.

The whole movie was really fantastic. Great plot, some REAL surprises! I agree with all the highlights and quotes that were already mentioned. And yeah, casting Kelsey Grammer as Beast was perfect!

Mild concerns.... You'd think Colossus would be a really remarkable (and relatively easy post-'T2') effect to do, but it was a pretty lack-luster look.

Oh...and where was 'elf'?

[KingVoyeur]

Just got back from seeing it with a friend, after watching the first two. I had a blast at X3! My jaw was on the floor more times than in the first two (mainly due to the shocking deaths and "curings"). The action was fantastic, and I loved seeing all the new characters like Angel, Beast and Juggernaut. Unfortunately, that's a double-edged sword. Being the 3rd film in a loose trilogy, introducing all of these characters now is like meeting a lot of new characters in the last 20 pages of a mystery novel. It just complicates things and confuses the reader.

My first experience with X-Men was the cartoon that started off with Jubilee being attacked by the Sentinel at her house, so I pretty much freaked out when they fought the Sentinel in the Danger Room. I'm glad Colossus got more screen time here, he's a cool character. I liked the tortured Cyclops, gave his character a little more to latch on to rather than just whining all the time. I wasn't real pleased with his "death", mainly because I feel like they didn't actually show it so they can have him appear in a later film.

The cure storyline was a really good choice. Unlike the first two films, it wasn't just about the superheroes and archvillains duking it out. Instead, we get to see how the human/mutant conflict was affecting the general populace. But by focusing on that plot, it made the Phoenix storyline seem forced. Not that I didn't like the Phoenix stuff, I just wish that it had been allowed to develop more. It's nice to know that the "cure" isn't permanent. Just like if you're not actually in Leech's prescence, he doesn't affect you, so why should the cure be permanent?

I guess that brings me to what most people have pointed out as a misstep of the film, the pacing. It was definitely wall-to-wall action with dramatic scenes interspersed mainly to give us a breather and nothing else. If you look at X3 as the 3rd film in a trilogy (X-Men vs. The Brotherhood), then this is the bit where everything snowballs to a huge climax. While X3 did this to great effect (finally an all out war sequence! Rock!), the introduction of so many new characters detracted from what could've been a powerful ending with fully-realized characterizations of the major characters. It didn't really feel like you could trace the main characters' journeys through all 3 films. One thing that really bugged me was that after the serious deaths they cut to the "teenage love triangle" subplot. I felt like it took away from the good emotional stuff.

What the story lacked in depth, it more than made up for in kick-ass fights and jaw-dropping twists. How could they kill Professor X like that?!? WTF?!?!? And Mystique "cured"?!?:( :angry Dark Phoenix scares the hell outta me. That was a serious display of pure rage at the end, visually terrifying. I agree with everyone else, finally seeing Iceman "ice up" elicited a cheer from me and many other people in the audience. Seeing Storm finally kick some ass made up for her uselessness in the first two films, and Beast was the most well-balanced character, being able to crack some skulls and speak before the entire nation (next to Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart, Kelsey Grammar is the most perfect casting choice in the series.).

In a nutshell:

Pros - New characters, killer fight scenes, Phoenix, Juggernaut, shocking twists, good humor.

Cons - Too many new characters at once, not enough character development on the ones we had, clunky dramatic scenes, and a little too short.

Future of X: Now that this storyline is wrapped up, I'd like to see them move on. Focus on a new main character (let Wolverine expand in his own spin-off) and deal with some new issues. What I'd really like to see would be the Apocalypse storyline with the Four Horsemen. They'd be able to expand on Angel's role (he deserves so much more than the little he had here) and maybe even do some more with Phoenix.

All said and done, this was a pretty damn good movie and a great addition to the series. Check it out!!!!

[KingVoyeur]

Oh, random question. I noticed that Wolverine actually referred to the team as "X-Men" before they went off to fight at the end. Have they referred to themselves specifically as the X-Men before this in the films?

[Alpha]

Well, I agree with all the gripes that have been voiced in this thread. I think I give the film a B- grade.......perhaps good with a small g, but far, far, from fantastic, or even great. I actually felt a bit let down afterwards, for the reasons everyone else has already stated (pacing, character development, depth, etc etc). All of my previous fears of Bryan Singer being absent had vanished as the release date got closer and closer, but now it seems that it was warranted. Aside from the lack of depth, there were just little things throughout that bugged me, such as the music that played at the end when we saw Scott and Jean's tombstones - it just felt like the completely wrong mood. The dialogue and editing/cinematography seemed like it could be much better. And the conflict, the war, somehow didn't seem worthy of all those deaths (Scott, Jean, Xavier). It didn't feel like those who died really gave their lives for something that was worth it - it just felt like needless killing of characters. This is because everything was just way too brief and flew by too fast. And honestly, the 'big fight scene at the end' just didn't impact me that much for some reason. It just breezed by like the rest of the movie. I honestly felt more tense and excited in the final fights of the first 2 movies.

I guess in a nutshell what I'm trying to say is, every aspect of this movie was lacking in some way for me. Bryan really was genius, and I think wistfully upon the X3 that could have been had he been at the helm. We would have gotten something much richer, with much more depth and intricate detailing - just plain more. At the end of this film I felt unsatisfied, as if I'd been invited to a feast and only gotten a fast-food burger. And I'm not saying this because I'm biased in favor of Bryan or because Brett is an "easy target" - I went into this film pretty much convinced that Brett would make a great X-Men film, but I was wrong. Brett did his best, but whereas Bryan was a gourmet chef, Brett is a good backyard barbequer, and he couldn't do more than his abilities. The film certainly wasn't bad, but it wasn't great, and definitely not as good as the first 2 for me.

[DeathScythe]

I agree Alpha. It was just so rushed.


Biggest problem I had, was the needless deaths. Especially Cyclops, and not just because he's my fave, but because it seemed so... pointless and out of character for him. It seemed more like, "Oh, Marsden wants to do Superman, so we'll just have him die real quick because misses Jean." To me, his actions and behaviour really seemed out of character based on all my years of knowledge about Summers. I understand him in his deperession and everything, but Cyke woulda kept it bottled and focused more on his responsibility of leading the team instead, becoming and even more uptight drill-sargent ******* than normal. :p

but then, Berry wouldn't have gotten the more screen time she wanted.


Xavier's death was very well done though I think. Even if it was just Jean and him staring at each other, you could really feel the psychic battle that was raging in the middle of the huge phsyical battle outside between the X-Men and Brotherhood. I'm disappointed that they did have him die, but atleast he went out like a champ, instead of a chump.

which leads me to the best character driven aspect of the entire movie. Magneto. Despite being enemies, you could really see the concern Erik had for Charles, from his death on. Three major parts stand out. the first is of course, his reaction to Xavier's death. the second is his convo with Pyro, where he defends Xavier and of course, the end where is is sitting alone at the chess board, where you would have normally seen Xavier sitting across from him.

The Phoenix effects were definately really well done and I quite enjoyed the story behind it. Although does seem alittle weird to me that a second personality would call itself "the Phoenix"...

Overall, a good movie and an enjoyable action movie. Wasn't the best of the trilogy it was atleast on par with the first.

-Lord Scythe-
(woulda liked to have seen the two part movie Singer wanted to make about the Dark Phoenix)

[TrekSucksHard]

Hmmm, from what I read in other blogs it seems that James Marsden appeared just to film a cameo of Cyclops so he could get back to Superman- looks like the dork killed the Dark Phoenix storyline just so he could be in two movies (Superbman Returns)... Cyclops going out like a punk two movies in a row (they should have gotten another actor to play him and flesh out the Dark Phoenix storyline- that was one of the greatest events in the history of comics)... sheesh... http://messageboard.cinescape.com/cinescape/forums/images/smilies/SmileyAngry.gif

[sickness]

Oh, random question. I noticed that Wolverine actually referred to the team as "X-Men" before they went off to fight at the end. Have they referred to themselves specifically as the X-Men before this in the films?

I don't know if they refer to themselves as that before that point but when Charles is describing the school to Logan in the first movie he points out that the children refer to the crew as X-Men. Later, when Logan has his discussion with Storm about chosing a side, he uses the term "X-Man."

[sickness]

For all the build-up to Ice v. Pyro, am I the only one who was sitting there through the whole movie waiting for Colossus and Juggernaut to duke it out? Although it was nice to finally see Bobby's full-body ice form, even if the VFX on it weren't that great.

[Intelligent_Design]

I liked this movie no more than the the other 2. As others said I think they crammed way too much into this. Now I get the meaning of Jean Grey last name. 2 sides one dark, one light = Grey.

[Sgt. Awesome]

I've probably seen that little ending scene more times then anyone else here. I saw it... 12 times today. Another 12 yesterday...

I love listening to people's reactions every time. Seeing as we're not using spoiler tags...


So they are bringing Charlie back... will he look the same? That's what I want to know, is there a conviently located Prof. X lying around in a room somewhere, or are they gunna give Stewart a hairpiece?


But if they are bringing back Prof. X will they also bring back Cyc? I mean really... if they are making X4 (which I'm pretty sure they are or else the ending would have been the bit with Wolvie) then shouldn't he be around as well?


My other gripe with the film is what happened to Nightcrawler? Did he go away somewhere that I didn't notice after X2?

[DeathScythe]

I'm sure Xavier will look the same. After all, in the comics, if a psychic is powerful enough, they are able to phsycially change the forms of their bodies. (Ie. Rachel Summers when she started changing herself into a Dinosaur) so there's no reason Chuck couldn't do it himself.

and considering that his best student died at Alkali Lake and he sensed/knew it, Chuck was still pretty calm about it. So perhaps he was able to do the same thing with Cyclops? it leaves it open I suppose.


and as for Nightcrawler, apparently the videogame X3: The Official Game fills in the gaps in between the movies and explains why Nightcrawler isn't in the third one. (Wolverine, Iceman and Nightcrawler are the playable characters in it)

[DeathScythe]

and I don't know about the Cyke. They could have easily written him out of the story without having to kill him. I mean, after Jean's death (first) in the comic books, Scott did leave the team for a period of time. They could have had him ride his bike off into the sunset at the beginning and then have him show up for the climax of the movie. I'm sure they could have tried to work a workable schedule if all parties involved tried.

[Metuzalem]

I saw this on Saturday and I loved it. It's the only film I've ever seen that has 2 fantastic endings. Sadly my geekness towards the X-men is not what it should be (I never read the comics and the only knowledge I have came from the TV cartoons of X-men and Spiderman) so can someone fill in the gaps for me? I mean, how did the danger room know what a Sentinel looked like? They must already exist for one to get programmed in no? Or maybe there's been a bit of time travel action already that we don't know about? I also thought that Jean and Scott had a kid as well. Whatever, those endings are leaving me with withdrawal symptoms, I want my X4 damnit!

[southpaw]

Those are some of the questions that have pissed off the hardcore fans of X-MEN. The X-books were never ones I picked up, so the changes made didn't bother me all that much. I can understand how fans of the books would be letdown by X3. I liked the flick myself. IMO they did a pretty good job with what they had. It could have been better of course...but it could have been ALOT worse.

[Alpha]

I had never really read the comics myself, but I'm still disappointed with X3. And having so many deaths in the movie just lessened the importance of those deaths. There really wasn't an appropriate "mourning period," especially when they're killed off at the beginning or middle of the movie. These are MAJOR characters here, and they were killed off like flies being swatted. The way it was done just made it seem like the characters were killed off for the sake of being killed off, and that's what bugs me. The only death that was "necessary" was Jean's, and even then the audience wasn't given the chance to really care. The movie zipped to the end, Logan shows practically no grief in the aftermath, and we're treated to HAPPY music as the camera pans over the graves of Jean, Scott, and Xavier - as if their deaths hadn't really mattered. I felt more emotion in X1 when Logan thought Rogue was dead than for all the deaths in X3 combined, and that is a result of good film-making compared to bad film-making.

On a side note, I also don't think that the Ice Man vs. Pyro fight lived up to its build-up.

[Queen Mae]

I saw this on Saturday and I loved it. It's the only film I've ever seen that has 2 fantastic endings. Sadly my geekness towards the X-men is not what it should be (I never read the comics and the only knowledge I have came from the TV cartoons of X-men and Spiderman) so can someone fill in the gaps for me? I mean, how did the danger room know what a Sentinel looked like? They must already exist for one to get programmed in no? Or maybe there's been a bit of time travel action already that we don't know about? I also thought that Jean and Scott had a kid as well. Whatever, those endings are leaving me with withdrawal symptoms, I want my X4 damnit!

The Dark Phoenix Saga is incredibly complex, so I recommend googling it. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of sites that recap the entire thing in fairly readable formats.

As much as I despise Cyclops, it makes no sense to kill him. The writers/director/producers went for shock value over staying faithful to the story. I expect some adjustments and I can typically overlook them without geting pissed (unlike my best friend who constantly grumbles about Rogue's botched background story); but killing Scott makes it seem like they are telling the fans that we'll never see Rachel or Madelyne. But, like I said, I hate Scott, so I'll still cheer when I see the movie on Friday.

[neglet]

I'm a very casual X-men fan--don't know much besides what I read here and got from the first two movies--and I was still disappointed by X3. I agree with Alpha, the early deaths in the movie seemed unnecessary, only for shock value, and went by too fast for us to properly absorb them.

Actually, that's a criticism I have for the movie as a whole--the pace was too fast to really get into the whole "mutant cure" storyline. (The Jean/Phoenix-Wolverine story was at least set up by the first two flicks, and thus worked a lot better.) The movie seemed so crowded with characters that we weren't given enough time to learn and care about them. Mystique loses her powers? We get 30 seconds to see her rejected, then move on--forget about her except for a 10-second shot later on. Angel had about 5 minutes screen time, and for what? To show up at the school and then save his dad--who we don't care about either, because we've only seen him for a couple of minutes and thus don't really know what he thinks about his son.

I will say that Beast was a great addition to the cast, I liked that Storm was a more take-charge character, and the Phoenix storyline worked for me (except for the death--or was it?--of Cyclops, which went too quickly to really understand what happened).

Still, before the flick I saw the latest Superman trailer--which looked really, really good--and thus after the film was over I couldn't help but wonder how much better X3 could have been if Bryan Singer had stuck with it. Oh well ... I'll still go see a Wolverine movie if they make it.

[KingVoyeur]

X3 inspired me to start checking out comic books again, and while I was in one of our local stores with a friend, I overheard the two guys behind the cash register talking about the film. One guy had seen it the night before and was telling the other guy the whole storyline. I eavesdropped a little cause I was interested in what two serious fanboys had to say about the film. THEY UTTERLY RIPPED IT TO SHREDS!!!! I'm not completely ignorant of X canon, so I know most of what was changed for the movie, but DAMN! You'd think X3 had been directed by Uwe Boll or something! If being a fanboy means being that upset over a pretty good movie because it didn't follow exactly with what you wanted, I'd rather stay in the dark!

[DaForce]

X3 inspired me to start checking out comic books again, and while I was in one of our local stores with a friend, I overheard the two guys behind the cash register talking about the film. One guy had seen it the night before and was telling the other guy the whole storyline. I eavesdropped a little cause I was interested in what two serious fanboys had to say about the film. THEY UTTERLY RIPPED IT TO SHREDS!!!! I'm not completely ignorant of X canon, so I know most of what was changed for the movie, but DAMN! You'd think X3 had been directed by Uwe Boll or something! If being a fanboy means being that upset over a pretty good movie because it didn't follow exactly with what you wanted, I'd rather stay in the dark!

Honestly, I can see why they ripped it to shreds. Ratner took one of the most famous storylines (The Dark Phoenix) and made it a subplot to a relatively mediocre X-Men storyline (The Cure). To put it in terms you might understand, it's like when Vanilla Ice used the classic Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure" for the abysmal "Ice Ice Baby".

Or, when Mel Gibson did that watered down version of "Hamlet" back in the 90's.

Either way, they (Ice and Gibson) attempted to destroy classics by either trying to 'freshen' them up, or add something that wasn't there. In Ratner's case, he took out a lot that already was there to put in a lot of subpar fluff.

Granted, I can separate the comics from the movies because I've never felt that the X-Men movies came anywhere near the level of the comics and are therefore separate entities. The only thing that was done somewhat right in all three movies was Wolverine. Although, this Wolverine is a bit more restrained than in the comics.

For me, X3 was an action movie. Plain and simple. X2 was boring for the most part other than the beginning (with Nightcrawler), the middle (with Wolverine taking out Stryker's team) and the end. X1 needed the slowness to introduce all the characters (something that X3 sorely needed), and was therefore an okay movie, just missing a lot of action.

[KingVoyeur]

From IMDB.com

'Last Stand' Delivers

Mutants jolted the box office to life over the weekend as 20th Century Fox's X-Men: The Last Stand set a record for the Memorial Day holiday, earning an estimated $120.1 million over the four days, 33.1 percent above the previous record of $90.2 million set by The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997. Between Friday and Sunday, the film drew $103.1 million, making it the fourth highest-grossing weekend ever. The film far surpassed analysts' expectations. Most had not expected it to exceed the $85.6 million that the previous sequel, X2: X-Men United, raked in, given the fact that it was competing against Sony's The Da Vinci Code, which had a spectacular opening last weekend. X2 had no such competition. As things turned out, Da Vinci Code suffered a big 56-percent decline, but nevertheless added $43 million to its total, bringing it to $145.5 million in 11 days. DreamWorks Animation's Over the Hedge dropped 30 percent to $35.3 million over the long weekend to bring its 11-day total to $84.4 million. In another surprising debut, Al Gore's global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, amassed $365,787 at only four New York and Los Angeles theaters -- or $91,447 per theater, the highest-ever average for a documentary. (By contrast, X3 averaged $32,554 per screen.)

[SinisterPryde]

I really liked this movie. X2 is still my favorite, but this was fun to watch. It felt like it was a little on the short side, though.

There were a couple of problems I had with it, however. They are all minor and don't detract for the most part.

The first is the speedy death of Cyclops. I don't mind him dying, but this was quite possibly the second worst death in movie history for me (after Kirk's death in Generations).

The second is the idea of the mutant cure. Now, in general, I don't have a problem with the idea. It just too closely resembles the idea in the first movie. Instead of making humans mutants, mutants are being made human.

The third is the sheer amount of characters being introduced in this film. Beast was easliy the most fleshed out of the new mutants (and the most fun to watch). Angel, however, came across as superfulous and could have been replaced by anyone. Outside of that final moment when he saves his Dad, this character was wasted. It was also disappointing to see Psylocke killed without ever really getting to shine. She's one of my favorites (next to Gambit) and she proves as useless as Cyclops or Angel in this film.

There were a lot of good things though. The fastball special, Ice-Man, er, icing up, Collosus getting more screen time, Juggernaut, and the battles! Finally we get some superhero action! I never agreed with Singer's decision to keep the characters grounded in some kind of reality. I want to see Storm fly and Collosus toss Wolverine.

All in all, this was a solid, if not great, climax to an excellent trilogy (say what you will, but this beats The Matrix sequels).