The problem with this movie is that the quality of it is tainted by some MAJOR deviations.
It just doesn't FEEL like X-Men when Cyclops dies in the beginning, and Wlverine marches up to save Jean at the end. Nor Wolverine barking out orders like the leader he's not. Nor does Rogue getting cured really feel like the X-Men to me.
And to me, with "X-Men", that's the most important thing, is make it feel like X-Men.
But the original poster is right. Other than that, the movie got everything right. And overall, outside of my problems with it that I listed above, it DOES feel like X-Men.
Beast was handled spot on. That is, no if's, and's, or but's about it, the Beast from the comics. Amazing portrayal. I never got my Gambit, but as far as X-Men members go, I got my #2 in Beast, and it was done perfectly.
Magneto was taken to another level. The character and set up was done brilliantly in X-Men and X2, and now we get to see the ACTIONS that perfectly describe Magneto. In X-Men and X2, it was all about the attitude and words that was all Magneto. In X-Men: The Last Stand, we got the ACTIONS of Magneto. Gathering an army to march to war against the humans, destroying the Golden Gate Bridge, and the little moments like the terrorist tape, and lecturing Pyro about Xavier's importance to the mutant cause are vintage Magneto. I absolutley loved those moments. His betrayal of Mystique shows just how serious he is in his campaign against humans, that even someone who stuck by his side from the beginning is no longer "worthy" without that X-Gene. And I particularly enjoyed that scene because I have always hated Mystique in the comics, cartoons, video games, and movies, so it was good to finally see her get ***** smacked out of the way.
The teamwork has ALWAYS been there in the X-Men movies (X-Men was pure side by side, combining powers for 1 objective teamwork, while X2 was splitting up to accomplish multiple tasks at once), but the fighting side by side and lining up in a row at the final battle are all things that reminded me of the original cartoon. Anything in these movies that reminds me of the cartoons is a good thing, since that was my original exposure to the X-Men.
Wolverine's scene in the forest, sure it should have been Cyclops going out and fighting to bring Jean back, but you can't tell me that scene wasn't classic Wolverine. And Wolverine WOULD do his fair share to fight for Jean as well.
Iceman finally iced up.
Angel's introduction, even if he did nothing after that and had minimal payoff for huge buildup.
Juggernaut was great.
And even though I hate the very thought of Wolverine marching up to save Jean, the way it was done was badass, showing off his adamantium skeleton. I actually thought there'd be a point when he'd be ALL adamantium, and that was something I was gonna be looking forward to.
This movie did more right than it did wrong, just like the previous 2. However, where the previous 2 got some minor details wrong but kept the essence, the changes in this movie actually changed the essence and foundation of the story being told. This movie may have taken a few direct things out of the comics like Fastball Specials and some dialogue here and there, but this movie was the worst for remaining true to the source material. What it changed was huge.
But it did keep a lot of the essence and foundation of the source material and the previous 2 movies, and overall, remains a good movie, better than X-Men, though not quite as good overall as X2, however it is on point with, and even exceeds, X2 in certain points.
I didn't think X3 was all that good BUT it's certainly not in that league of poor quality
