X - Men: The Last Stand - $4

A "cure" for the mutant X gene has been discovered, it is developed thanks to the discovery of a mutant who causes other mutants to lose their power or "mutation" when they are near him. At first it is said that this cure will be administered only to mutants who volunteer to take it but it is quickly discovered that the government has developed weapons that fire darts filled with the cure, this sparks a backlash from mutants who become suspicious that the government wants to exterminate them.

Magneto, leader of all the angry mutants, wants to start a war with non-mutants and Charles Xavier, leader of the X-Men, wants to find a compromise and work with the government. Even the mutants who follow Xavier are angered that these weapons have been made, some even that this discovery is being called a "cure" since this implies they are sick rather than just different.

The plot falls apart at this point for me, we have X-Men fighting alongside non-mutants to stop Magneto from destroying the cure; the cure which they hate and don't think should exist. In an amazing twist of hypocrisy the X-Men even use the cure at one point in the battle on one of the bad mutants. I didn't know who to cheer for, or if I thought anyone was right. It's hard to get into a movie which centers around a battle wherein I could care less about the outcome.

This movie felt like no-one wrote it, instead the actors were just told the 3 things their character usually says and then they just said variations of them over and over. How many times will the X-Men come upon a situation where they need to hide and someone has to suggest to Storm that she make is foggy. Just once I'd like to see her think of it herself.

Despite a cast that I thought did a great job with the first two movies, there is no making up for the bad writing in this third installment. The jokes are lame, the drama is hokey and the plot is convoluted. New characters are introduced and given no development. One new character has wings and is the son of the man who developed the cure yet he is basically given 3 lines in the whole movie.

If you love special effects there are plenty in this movie and some of them are quite impressive. Visually X-Men is stunning and there is some entertainment value in that. Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart as Magneto and Xavier respectively, do an admirable job of acting with the simple and limited script they were given.

If you enjoyed the first 2 X-Men movies you may want to see this 3rd one but let me assure that it pales in comparison.

I put this movie on my 'Don't Watch It' list and give it a value of $4.