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I don’t care what everyone’s been saying about X-Men 3, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sure, I was a bit worried about the director change (especially since the new director had helmed the Rush Hour flicks), but I think that the newest installment in the X-Men franchise did more good than harm.

X-Men has never been a perfect adaptation, by any stretch of the imagination. When the first film hit theatres, it was evident that the motion picture powers-that-be decided to re-invent the tale of Marvel’s hottest mutant property, completely altering the stories that we had come to know from the comic books and 90’s-era animated series. Some favorite mutants were omitted entirely and some compeltely random, insignificant mutants were unearthed, but in the end all the “true believers” were satisfied.

Perhaps that’s why I wasn’t really surprised by The Last Stand. From the closing moments of X2, I knew that this movie would have something to do with the Dark Phoenix saga, but I also knew that the filmmakers (regardless of who they were) would change the story up a bit. Additionally, I knew a slew of new mutants were joining the gang — which fit in with rumors that James Marsden (Cyclops) would be leaving the flick to join ex-X-Men director Bryan Singer over in Superman.

At any rate, I thought that X-Men 3 had balls. Make no mistake about it, there’s a lot of killing that goes on in this movie. Not that that’s new for a comic book movie (X2, Batman, etc.)… but comic book movies that don’t directly feature any major deaths tend to flop (Batman Forever, Batman & Robin). Not only does this movie have the balls to kill off a couple of bad guys, it manages to murder a few of the good guys, as well. People may complain about this, but I see nothing but positives coming out of the move.

* SPOILER WARNING, HIGHLIGHT TO READ *So Cyclops is dead. Rumor has had it that the only reason they had been keeping Gambit out of the flicks was because he and Cyclops are too similar. With him out of the picture, it seems as if Gambit is all but confirmed for an X4. Jean Grey is dead… but is she, really? We’ve seen her die before, in X2… and she returned as the Dark Phoenix. Let’s not forget that the Phoenix rises anew from the ashes every time that it dies. Xavier is dead… or is he? If you stuck around until the end, you’ll see that he’s alive and well… in another body, of course (also a move from the comics). Maybe he’ll be able to walk around for a while. *

The film is directed beautifully. Sure, some of the acting could have been directed a bit better (*cough* Academy Award winner Halle Berry *cough*), but it’s visually great to look at. It’s shot in more-or-less the same style as the past two X-Men flicks, and the special effects are amazing. The special effects are so good, that’s all that some critics have to say that’s positive about the film.

Of course, that’s not mentioning the Juggernaut… bitch! (A reference to this popular video. Clearly the inclusion of this joke shows that the filmmakers had a sense of humor about the whole thing.)

Speaking of the Juggernaut, another one of the criticisms of this film lies in the inclusion of new characters. Although I thought that some were good additions (Kelsey Grammer as Beast, whom I wasn’t too keen on until I saw the flick), some were ultimately unnecessary (hello Kitty Pryde). I did feel as if some of the mutants didn’t get their fair share of screen time (Colossus has been promoted to the main X-Men team, but I don’t remember him having a single line of dialogue), and some mutants had disappeared altogether (not even an explanation for the absence of Nightcrawler). Worse yet, some mutants were almost completely unnecessary to the plot (Angel).

And I really, really hope that that manly looking woman thing isn’t Psylocke.

Anyway, I praise X-Men 3 for being unpredictable, and forcing the series to change heading into a fourth installment. If you liked the first two, I’d definitely check out The Last Stand.

Also, be forewarned… there’s a bit of extra film after the credits are over. Stay in your seats.