Mini Review of X-Men 3: The Last Stand

I went to see X-Men 3 last night at the cinema, alone;(

I haven't been following the hype or previews of this movie. I have seen and enjoyed the previous two X-Men movies and I follow the X-Men cartoons. I haven't really read many of the comic books.

Simply put, if you are a fan of X-Men, and enjoyed the last two movies -- just go out and watch this movie now. It's good. Remember, I haven't been following any previews of the movie so I came in not expecting anything at all. There are complete shockers in the movie, and I found myself having to pick up my jaw from the floor many times (like Ikelah say, be careful not to dislocate your TM joint <- sorry medic joke).

I also haven't been to the movies for a LONG time and the last movie I saw was King Kong. I was absolutely impressed seeing the advancements in computer generated graphics. Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) nowadays just look so real, and it's more and more difficult to distinguish between real images and CGI. The special effects in the movie is of course spectacular. The obligatory explosions, special effects, fire effects (which are apparently difficult to be done in CGI), the bridge (see the movie to understand) and the stunt doubles are all done nicely.

Eventhough X-Men 3 is an action movie, I thought at times it managed to induce the viewer(s) to emote. Let me just say that throughout watching the movie I was brought along a roller coaster of emotions from lows to mid-highs.

I just hate spoilers so I'll spare you guys from the plot.

Please be aware that most reviewers out there rate this movie quite poorly, as they claim the current director (the same director who helmed Rush Hour 2) is not up to scratch with Brian Singer. That's arguably true but if you're a fan of the X-Men movies, do yourself a favour: ignore the reviews and just watch the movie. It's entertaining, action-packed and it continues the story from the previous 2 movies really well.

Rating: 4/5

Random Notes:

1. My favourite character in the movie is Kitty Pryde (she's so tiny yet they put her against Juggernaut!)
2. Storm is done better than any of the previous movie, her hairstyle is very nice too.
3. Although I was awed by Phoenix's powers, I hate the way her character is portrayed in the movie. They could have made her prettier (instead of literally hideous), I don't like her costume which is very goth and she rarely emotes. She could have been envisioned much better - I'm disappointed. Her powers though, that's a different story ...
4. You can find an alternative review by Roger Ebert here.
5. Not featuring Psylocke prominently makes me really angry. What a wasted opportunity!