Although I'm a pretty big comic book geek, I'm not a huge fan of the "X-Men" comics. There are way too many of them (more than 10 "X-Men"-related comics come out each month), and the origins and storylines are all over the place. Each character has had so many changes happen to them over the years, it's impossible to know what's going on. Aside from that, I prefer DC Comics. I like a lot of the characters in Marvel Comics, "Spider-Man" "Daredevil," and a few others, but for the most part, when I buy my weekly stack of comics, it's typically 90% DC, 5% Marvel, and 5% other.
When a comic book movie makes significant changes to the comic it's based on, it's a little easier for me to deal with when I'm not really into the characters. However, even die hard fans of the "X-Men" comics were happy with the first two "X-Men" films. Changes were made, but they were acceptable changes, changes that made sense. Comic book geeks are really picky about how a superhero costume looks in the feature film version of their beloved comic, but for the first two "X-Men" films, readers were forgiving, because if the characters used the same costumes that they used in the comics, they'd look ridiculous.
At the conclusion of "X2: X-Men United," "X-Men" readers knew that the third film was likely to include "The Dark Phoenix Saga," a wildly popular story in the "X-Men" comics involving the resurrection of a very different "Jean Grey." What happened to the character at the end of "X2: X-Men United" never happened in the comics, but again, most "X-Men" readers were forgiving, especially since they knew that it would lead to "The Dark Phoenix Saga." Unfortunately, the filmmakers took the basic elements of the story, stripped it down considerably, made some shocking additions, and ultimately created something that doesn't even come close to resembling the excellent "X-Men" story. I know that changes had to be made, because in the comic, it gets into a whole galactic thing, fighting in the cosmos and whatnot, stuff that wouldn't work in the movie, but the way it's depicted in this film is completely different from the story entirely. A lot of things happen in this movie, major things that happen to major characters, and none of these things ever occurred in the comics.
Although it may seem like otherwise, I actually kinda liked "X-Men: The Last Stand." In fact, I think that most people will love the movie, but comic book geeks are gonna have serious problems with it. Also, I think this this film is the worst of the three. It's a pretty good movie, but "X-Men" was a happy surprise, a very entertaining film, and "X2: X-Men United" was an extremely well-crafted action film, and the best film of the three.
As most of you already know, Bryan Singer, who directed the first two "X-Men" movies, didn't direct this third one because he went off to direct "Superman Returns" (a movie I'm really looking forward to). He was replaced by Brett Ratner, who, ironically, was himself slated to direct "Superman Returns" at one point. A lotta people were terrified at the thought of Brett Ratner directing the third "X-Men" film, but I was okay with it. None of his previous films are masterpieces, but I've liked all the ones I've seen ("Red Dragon," "Rush Hour," "Rush Hour 2," "The Family Man," "Money Talks"). Watching this movie, I think that Brett Ratner did a decent job, but the problem has to do with the script, not Ratner. The script was written by Simon Kinberg (who wrote "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" and "XXX: State of the Union") and Zak Penn (he helped write "X2: X-Men United," "Elektra," "Suspect Zero," and "Behind Enemy Lines"). I think that the script needed another rewrite or two, and more importantly, they should have tried to make it truer to the comics.
Most of the cast returned for this third film (though I really missed Alan Cumming as "Nightcrawler"), and there are some new faces as well. I was surprised at how great Kelsey Grammer was as "Beast." Truth be told, however, it might have been someone else in the blue makeup during the action sequences. Still, I thought he was really good. Vinnie Jones was really funny as "Juggernaut," and I really liked Ellen Page (she starred in "Hard Candy") as "Kitty Pryde." One of my favorite young actors, Ben Foster (he was "Spacker Dave" in "The Punisher," which also featured Rebecca Romijn, who's so good as "Mystique" in the "X-Men" films), was good as "Angel," but he was in the film for a grand total of five minutes, if that. Daniel Cudmore had a small role as "Colossus" in "X2: X-Men United," and his role is expanded for this third film. The cast all did a fine job, I just wish they had a better script to work with.
I should probably mention that you might wanna remain in your seats till after the closing credits roll. I made the mistake of leaving during the credits, and as it turns out, there's a pretty significant thing that happens afterwards. I found out what it was online, but I would have preferred seeing it for myself. Don't make the same mistake I did, sit through the closing credits.
"X-Men: The Last Stand" isn't a bad movie, but it does seem like a little too much effort was spent on trying to shock audiences. Readers of the "X-Men" comics are gonna hate the movie, but everyone else will probably like it. It's entertaining, but it does feel longer than the running time suggests, and it's definitely the least satisfying of the three films. Pretty good movie, but I really hope that it's not the one to conclude the franchise.
Scale of 1-10: 7