X-Men III: Rebuttal

Rolf, a frequent reader of the radar and movie aficionado, writes:

> I hope Dave McCoy (of MSN Movies) got this wrong,
> but something tells me the "review" is spot on:

Haven't read it, and won't. There is a reason Dave McCoy reviews movies for Microsoft: His reviews suck. I saw X-Men today and it's as good as the other two entries. You guys must be friends, I can't think of why else you would choose him to reference!

(A related note: Use the comment field, folks! No need to privately email me your thoughts--I've had worse comments posted here!)

I referenced Dave's review because it was the one pre-(general)release review I stumbled upon before seeing the film.

As for the film itself, I don't think it was as bad as Dave indicated, but nor do I think it's on par with the previous two movies. The dialog was stilted (and sometimes very silly), the characters were stiff and two-dimensional, and the story and overall plot were flawed at various fundamental levels. What the movie did well was to set up the Evil Brotherhood of Mutants under Magneto's lead and how Magneto and Xavier stand on opposite ends of the mutant-and-human relationship.

What the movie did very poorly was place action over story and character development. Magneto's Golden Gate Bridge bending overshadowed everything else in the final confrontation. Sure, Magneto is prone to over-the-top feats, but there was no other way for the EB to reach Alcatraz? IMO, using the bridge as a weapon, not transport, would have made a better vehicle for the special effects. Angel's relationship with his father never paid off either--unlike Bobby's relationship with his parents/family in the second movie. I also hated the “direction” Wolvie and Beast kept giving the disarmed military soldiers--“guard the doors,” “stand over there,” “get out of here,” etc. Those interactions were totally unnecessary and the time could have been used much more effectively in character interaction between the folks we really do care about.

All that said, again I want to stress that it wasn't a bad movie. I did like seeing many more mutants and their powers, the storyline of the Dark Phoenix, etc. I just wish Bryan Singer would have stayed with the project--it would have been a much better movie.