X-Men: The End

I took the kids to see X-Men: The Last Stand Friday. I was really pumped to see this movie. I grew up on comic books, and the X-Men was my favorite of all. Like many of the comic-reading kids in the 1970s, I was attracted to the theme of persecuted, misunderstood teenagers. Plus, the X-Men (X-kids, really) were unlike any other "heroes" in the comics then. Cyclops. Wolverine. The Beast.

And the first 2 movies delivered the goods. X-2 was the best movie version of a comic book yet made. So, needless to say, I had high expectations. Well, I was disappointed...and that's an understatement. New director Brett Ratner (wasn't he a character in Fast Times at Ridgemont High?) emphasized perfunctory (but assuredly expensive) bangs and bright lights over character and plot.

The result is less than a badly drawn comic book. Characters that the audience have become invested over many years, are treated with little respect. Cyclops is killed off without any explanation or even a chance to fight back. Great characters like Angel and Juggernaut are introduced and then thrown away without any development. Scenes that were obviously intended to be weighty are devoid of emotion and heft. Even the incredibly awesome Ian McKellen is reduced to little more than a Shakespearean trained cardboard cutout. Someone stop Ratner before he directs again.

John Hartl's MSNBC.com review sums up my thoughts exactly. Even more to the point was my 17-year old daughter's review. "That movie sucked."