X-Men: The Last Stand

I watched X-Men: The Last Stand on Saturday at 3:45pm at Empress Walk theatres with Darryl. Movies at Empire Theatres really sucks because it just costs way too much money. But considering that I didn't have to leave my building.. that was an okay trade-off.

I came into the movie with very low expectations. I knew that the original director of the first two films, Bryan Singer, was off this project because he had chosen instead to do Superman Returns (which I expect to be very good, even if I don't like the casting choices). Brett Ratner, maker of the Rush Hour directed this 3rd instalment of X-Men. So I was not expecting very much substance, just a good ride, good action.

What can I say about this movie without giving away most of the plot. Jean Grey supposedly died in the previous movie, but as they panned out on the dam where the huge explosion was that killed her, you saw the sillouette of a bird under the water. That bird is Phoenix. Phoenix, according to the X-Men cartoons I used to watch, was an alter-ego (or was it an alien being to took over her?) of Jean Grey, who was extremely, extremely powerful. So powerful that she became the most powerful mutant ever, more powerful than Xavier or Magneto. The synopsis of the movie is that the government develops a "cure" for mutants, a drug of some sort. The mutants are outraged because they don't think they need to be cured. Magneto gets a bunch of mutants to attack the drug production area. The X-Men come to save the day. That's gist of it. Oh, and Phoenix is helping the bad mutants.

I thought Halle Berry played a good role. I recently heard that Halle does not plan on reprising her role of Storm in future X-Men movies. I think that is a huge mistake. I mean come on, it's not as if her career is going anywhere. She had a good cry scene that won her an Oscar. Big deal.

Hugh Jackman can't really act, but he doesn't need to. He just slashes and jumps around and heals real quick as Wolverine. I was surprised to find out that Kelsey Grammer ("Frasier") was playing Beast. I don't recall him doing an action movie before. Beast is pretty much a strong intellectual type stuck inside a blue furry animal. Kelsey can't act either.

Make sure you stay til the end of the movie, after the credits. There's a redeeming scene at the end that makes you feel less empty.

If you go into this movie with less expectations than the first 2 movies, you can come out thinking it was a pretty cool movie. It's just another of those blockbuster summer hits. I enjoyed it, but I think it could have been better.

7.5/10.