X-Men III: The Last Stand

Should've been called "The Biggest Disappointment".

It's like waiting for Christmas because you've been good only to get socks.

Socks, I say!

Revelling in X2, the awakening of the Phoenix was something I was looking forward to this summer. Well, after months of waiting and pining, we got to see Phoenix. Unfortunately, her revelation was not that impressive.

Well, it was, I guess, but then, how can I really say it was good when you can't even enjoy or empathize in her metamorphosis?

(Don't read beyond this point if you don't want me to spoil it for you)


Let's start with the drama between Scott and Logan. It was one of the tension-filled moments in X2. In three, there was very little of it. When I say LITTLE, I mean, to the point of non-existence. I do understand why they had to do so. James Marsden (Cyclops) had to act in 'Superman Returns' as Lois' man-friend and father to her child.

Moving on...

The love triangle among Iceman, Kitty and Rogue. Wow. I was waiting for it and it was almost non-existent. How could Rogue be so shallow? There was no chemistry between Iceman and Kitty. One question: did George Lucas write it?

Xavier's death: its impact was lost. Really lost. So lost, I don't want to discuss it. It just hurt!

Mystique's humanization: LAME. She was like one of the most important characters of 1 & 2 and to just lose her in the first 40 minutes? Really, if they were planning on losing her, choosing Pyro to replace her was almost like saying replacing the star of your (insert your favorite sport here) with the "Little Sisters of the Poor".

Colossus, Jaggernaut, and Archangel: I wanted more. So much more. But since there were so much more mutants, none of them got the spotlight to shine on them. Colossus barely said a thing, Archangel was nothing but a walk on. I guess Vinnie Jones was the only one that got something out of it. He had a chase scene with Kitty and that was asking too much.

Storm: too much of her was in it. For someone who was in the background for 1 & 2, all of a sudden she's the spokesperson? Give me a break. If the script was calling for the non-reciprocated Logan love, definitely, Logan and Storm didn't translate it well on the big screen.

Phoenix: Wow. Where do I start? Her hair was too fake. Her special effects looked like it was done by a second grader learning to use Photoshop. Her lines? Inconsistent. Again, for someone who was supposed to be intellectual and spirited, she was weak, confused and aloof.

If there was only one character that remained true to form, it was Logan. Even at that, I thought his scenes were okay at best. And at that, his scene with Magneto was probably was the most consistent one with 1 & 2.

A lot of people would crucify Brett Ratner for the slow, short and impact-less X3. I would say the blame lays on the studio. For a series to die an ugly death because they didn't want Superman to beat them off the blocks, well, the only thing they did was blow money.

Bryan Singer should've finished it. He should've not taken his writing team.

X3 had so much potential and lost its punch. I, for one, very disappointed.

An hour later, I still am in a quandary. Was the movie supposed to focus on Phoenix or the cure? Maybe that was one of the bigger issues. The writers should've stuck to a central theme. I didn't care which but they should've chosen. If the story revolved around Phoenix's rebirth, then they should've kept it at that. If it was on the cure, then they should've chosen that.

When X3 was being batted around (rumorville, of course) the 2 strongest plots were the rebirth and the love triangle.

We got neither.

For the most part, I think Bret had done everyone a favor for the X-Men saga. It's dead. This is dead.

Maybe his Wolverine movie would fare better because it would just revolve around him.

As long as he doesn't include Jackie Chan in it, I think Wolverine would make a better impact than this movie ever will.