REVIEW: X-men: The Last Stand

I know, I know, I havn't been posting much lately. This summer is going to be a bit of a hiatius cause of my job and lack of high-speed internet. I'll try and post now and again, but we'll see how it goes.

But right now, it's time for my newest review. X-Men: The Last Stand was a movie with perhaps the highest potential of any comic book movie made thus far. That is why this movie is perhaps the biggest disappointment of any comic book movie made thus far. And this is coming from someone who never read or knew about the Pheonix Saga prior to X2. From the pure awe and astonishment of my friends, unable to say anything other then a faintly whipered "Pheonix," upon seeing that shadow under the water, I knew X3 could be the most kick-ass film specticle ever witnessed by man. Ok, so the potential is a bit of an exaggeration, but my friend's reaction was not.

So you are going into a movie with the basis of one of the best comic storylines of all time AND you throw in the premise of a "cure" for mutants. Wow, that sounds awesome.

And it could've been. That's the thought that is going to haunt movie goers for years to come.

Instead what has been presented to us is a mediocre script and poor direction. The script at least provides room for some very moving and intense emotional scenes. But the setups are poor and the development worse. Characters are killed off or losing their powers, and not all of them are minor characters. There are characters we've come to love after the first two installments, and yet when their taken from us Ratner manages to not let us care. My girlfriend really liked the first two movies. If a major character (and often minor characters too) dies tragically and she doesn't so much as shed a tear, then it was handled very poorly.

That's not the say the movie a complete failure. When the action gets going, it really kicks ass. But action alone isn't enough to make up for poor storyline. So many characters are just tossed aside carelessly, and when the movie wraps you kinda look back on it all and think "where the hell did that come from."

Ratner was completely careless with the amazing gift that was given to him. He was handed an incredibly solid foundation to build upon. He had been given an excellent story and character the world already knew and loved. All he did was completely disconnect from his fan base and push the X-Men out of our hearts. I wanted to care, I really did.

Ratner, this movie would have been a lot better if it was the first outing. But you'd been handed a prepackaged success, and you threw it away.

BOTTOM LINE: 4/10