mood: *sigh* music: X-Men theme

Saw X-Men 3's first screening.

Being the X-Men fan that I am, I had high hopes, but of course, my excitement was dampened by those negative reviews that started pouring in weeks ago.  I didn't really care about the film reviews. I thought that I'd see the movie because it is an X-Men movie (not to mention the last of the trilogy, or so they say...), and I thought that I'd find a way to enjoy it anyway. 

The effects were great, especially  whenever Jean Grey, who's now the Phoenix, manifested her powers.  The Golden Gate Bridge sequence is also a scene to look out for. Check out the fight scenes too. 

Great special effects, yeah, but where's the firebird that I've been looking forward to all these years?! (it's called Raptor of the Phoenix, by the way ^_^)

If X2: X-men United was the artistic, intelligent type of film, X-Men: The Last Stand is flashy. I think, what happened was that the CGI and other special effect drowned the story. Too many subplots. Too many characters that were not properly developed.  There are great scenes, but most of the lines are forgettable, and I couldn't help but cringe upon hearing Storm's and Wolverine's lines. (Whatever happened to the feral, anti-hero I saw in the previous movies? ). Bottomline is, X3 won't make you think that much (unlike the previous two). it would only make your jaws drop for a few times... I'd pick the "think" option anytime...

The acting was above average. I particularly liked Sir Ian McKellen's and Patrick Stewart's performances. Famke Janssen too, though she could have done better if the filmmakers explored more into her character, gave her more depth... Famke's always been one of my favorite actresses, and she's at her best in villain roles.

And I would have appreciated a longer running time... 1 hour and 40 minutes just isn't enough.

X3's still a good movie in its own right...  I enjoyed it, though I can't help but think of how great the movie could have been if Bryan Singer didn't sign up to do Superman, or if Fox gave new director Brett Ratner more time to immerse himself into the material and complete the movie.


*****


One tip to enjoy X3: try to finish the movie without thinking of, or comparing it to X1 and X2. ^__^