This is a rewatch for me, because *of course* I saw it in the theater. Hello! Geek girl!
Anyway, for a third movie in the series, and one that was plagued with as many director changes and script re-writes and other assorted woes as X3 was, this is surprisingly good. I'm not sure it beats the pure coolness that was X2, but it's pretty darn nifty nonetheless.
I'm shocked that someone thought the Dark Phoenix storyline wasn't strong enough to carry a film. Did they read the comics? I am happy with the removal of the aliens and such -- other than "Annhilation," for the most part I don't dig Marvel's "Superheroes in Space" storylines.
The action scenes with Jean/Phoenix were spectacular, and I liked the way they changed the story. I was even happy with what happened to Cyclops, because I never liked that guy anyway. But Jean herself ... apparently, having phenominal cosmic power translates to "stand around looking distant and sorta cranky."
I can just imagine the inner dialogue now:
"I am Phoenix. I can have whatever I want, whenever I want. I can reshape reality with my mind. You are mere bugs before my greatness ... Do I want a sandwich? Is the cosmic force of Phoenix hungry? Hmmm. Turkey and provolone sounds good. With tomatoes -- there must be tomatoes. The Phoenix Force demands tomatoes!"
The mutant cure storyline was good (an alien-free version of the story in Astonishing X-Men) but like the Phoenix saga, it could have been a movie on its own. Questions of social conformity, ethics and the responsiblity of power -- how is this seen as "not enough plot?"
I would have preferred if they had left what happened with Rogue ambiguous, and Angel appeared tacked on for no other reason than "Hey -- wings!" Which is disappointing, because his first scene was powerful and moving.
Oh and did Quills have the dumbest mutant power ever? That's like mutating and realizing your special power is to shapeshift into a purple hamster.
Other good points -- the scene at Jean's house rocked; "I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!"; Magneto was cool as always; Fastball Special!!! This also was less of "The Wolverine Show" than the previous two films, which made me happy -- it's a team, lets treat it like one.
Not the best of the X-Men flicks, not the worst -- which means its still in the top 10 Superhero flicks of all time. I bought the DVD, and I am happy.
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