X-Men III Review

Ok, let's just get this straight: Jean Grey is the shit. I mean, yeah she's evil, but, wow...she is awesome.

X-Men III tells the story of the final war between humans and mutants (or so you think...). All of the originals return, except for Nightcrawler, which sort of made me mad. Anyway, Wolverine, Iceman, Jean Grey of course, Magneto, Charles Xavier, Mystique, and others return, along with a few newcomers such as Colossus and The Juggernaut (bitch!). Anyway, the story goes that Jean Grey apparently survived the huge ending of X2, but she's now unleashed her true personality, the Phoenix. This is an evil side that lusts for power. She then sides with Magneto's gang in their attempt to destroy a boy who renders mutants' powers null and void. The humans then harness this boy's ability and use it as a "cure" for mutants. Of course, Magneto is greatly offended, so the war between the bad mutants and the humans is on. Xavier, however, wants to stop the bad mutants. Whatever the case, it's good versus evil, and you'll see it.

So, the movie. It was...ok. I don't really think it was as good as X2. X3 definitely has way more action, but less emotional focus. I really liked the path X2 began to go on, but X3 kind of takes a step back in that department. First off, let's go over the acting. This is pretty good, actually. Jean Grey is the obvious crux of the movie, so Wolverine's love (Cyclops dies...hope that wasn't too huge of a spoiler) kind of comes out. Wait, before I go on, the one HUGE problem I had was that Cyclops dies, but everyone kind of forgets about it. He is a huge part of the movie franchise, and when he gets killed, no one cares? Whatever. Anyway, where was I, ahh yes. Acting. The Juggernaut of course is, without a doubt, THE JUGGERNAUT BITCH. This was a huge ploy for the now popular internet movie, but I still loved it. And Mystique was quite good, until she, well, wasn't. You'll see what I mean. There are cliches and cheesy lines, along with a fair share of overacting and overly tense moments. But, it's a summer action movie so it's forgivable. Was anyone really expecting an Oscar worthy performance?

The directing was...good. It wasn't outstanding or terrible; it got the job done. The biggest part of the movie comes in the visual effects, and there are TONS of them. Anyway, the tons that are there are really well done. It really is getting harder and harder to distinguish between CG and real life. I think, by far, my favorite part occurred in the house, with Jean Grey going crazy. In the middle of it, time slows down and kind of gives a view of everything going on. It is an amazing shot. So the visual effects were excellent. I would say that they are about on par with Revenge of the Sith, though not quite so many.

The script is...typical summer action movie. Again, I really expected more, but I guess the new director wanted more bang. It's just that sometimes I wish that there would be dialogue other than what is EXTREMELY relevant to the plot. Just kind of, act like you're not acting. Oh well. There are also so many cliches and typical movie things that they just come off as a little cheap. The veteran actors, such as McKellan and Stewart, really elevate the script though, which is a nice touch. And might I say Ian McKellan is starring in THE two biggest movies of these months, which is pretty amazing, considering he is probably the best actor in both of them...save for Janssen (Grey). I still loved her role in this movie...it really is, to be blunt, so badass.

Love it or hate it, it's X-Men. It's fun, it will keep you more entertained than The Da Vinci Code, and it's quite explosive. Would I say it's worth $8.75? No probably not. But a matinee of $6.00? Yeah, probably.

3/5