I purchased X-Men: The Last Stand solely on the strength of the first two X-Men movies. Ten minutes into my first viewing I feared that I had made a terrible mistake. Here's the scene:

Scott (Cyclops), still distraught over the death of Jean and tormented by her voice in his head races to Alkali Lake. He screams in torment and fires a random blast of energy into the lake. Jean emerges, alive.

Scott: Jean?
-pause-
Jean: Scott?
-pause-
Scott: How?
-pause-
Jean: I don't know.

That is a half-baked story lacking even a half-hearted attempt to write a decent script. The story and script never get any better than this; the script just trudges on--predictable, uninspired line after predictable, uninspired line. Similarly, the story bumps along in a contrived and predictable fashion, lacking any momentum to bring the movie together. The writers were tired and out of ideas, or simply lacked the creativity, the motivation, or the time to come up with a good story. It was a script that someone as uncreative as I could have written, and I would not feel proud of it. I certainly would not waste people's time and money converting it into a major motion picture.

In the first two X-Men, the characters made a formula that worked. The wise and patient Dr. Xavier, the rough-around-the-edges hero Wolverine in a part-tense, part-comedic love triangle with diffident Jean and nice-guy Cyclops, backed up by silvery Storm and a handful of developing characters. Now comes movie #3 and subtracts Jean, Cyclops, and Xavier. The whole thing falls flat--the acting of Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry fail to prop up this stilted plot. I don't really fault the actors--even the most brilliant acting can't compensate for a poorly-written script, and this certainly was not brilliant acting. The actors couldn't believe the story themselves, so they could hardly convince an audience.

The movie also comes with several "alternate endings," but none satisfy, nor are they any better than the previous 104 minutes of poorly-written script.

Character development Character development is not done in this movie. The movie quickly incapacitates or kills off half the important characters of the first two X-Men movies while rolling in a host of new mutants. These new mutants are given no depth, either, casually brought in for the apparent purpose patching holes in the story without being forced to actually write a good story. The character of Jean Grey/Phoenix is the only one that changes at all, though little of this is apparent in the vacuous expression on her face. Some attempt is also made to move the character of "Storm" into a more responsible role, but Halle Berry is not at all convincing in this third movie.

Special effects & photography The special effects are the highlight of the movie, but not incredible enough to justify watching the movie more than once. The Golden Gate Bridge scene is the only exception.

Otherwise, the photography was predictable, along with the standard skin and bust shots. Mystique's transformation from mutant to a normal was well-done.

Running Time: 104 minutes
Rating: PG-13


Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older