Well Here's My X3 Review: I saw it opening day with mixed but high expcetations. I loved the first two with the second being my favorite. Thus I was hoping to see a great followup.
In General: I was VERY disappointed. Granted the movie had some merits, it was just overshadowed by all the Flaws this movie had. Basically:
-The movie was too character heavy
-Low on character development
-The two major Plotlines (Mutant "Cure" and Phoenix) were badly written and Developed.
-Overall the movie was VERY anti-Climactic. If this movie was truly a conclusion (it's unknown) then it ended with a Whimper and not with a Bang. (The Two Subplots are also poor topics to end the series on)
Here's a more descriptive breakdown:
Characters/Actors (development/Performance)-Both Wolverine and Storm have most Screentime and some Good Development. (albeit uneven)This would be one of the High Points of the Movie Characterwise. Both Halle and Hugh Play well off each other and Alone. There's enough that you can be satisfied, but there could have and should have been more. Xavier and Magneto Start off with some good characterizaton, but it starts to fall apart as the film progresses. Xavier for some reason is being characterized as a self righteous ******* in dealing with Jean. (I'm mixed on whether or not he was right) Magneto eventually came across too much like a Villain when he is more of a Grey area Character who does evil from time to time to get he view across. Maybe I'm naive on How Magneto is but I really found it odd for him to be some who would abandon his close Allies (Mystique) b/c they lost their powers or to use allies as Cannon Fodder. (which is another Gripe I have in General about some movies) Although I do think that Magneto trying to come to the aid of Xavier as Phoenix was doing her work.
Beast was well performed and had some good moments. (Iliked the exchange Between him and Logan) Overall, little was done with him and he was poorly developed. Bobby(Iceman) and John (Pyro) had some ok screentime but again little was done with either of them. (especially Pyro) Iceman did have some scenes with Kitty that were just contrived, mainly b/c she was pulled out of cameo appearances to being a "full-fledged" character. Putting a Character who nver had any development and placing her in the movie with what she was give seemed too forced and pointless. But Shadowcat was a cutie. I was pissed off on how they handled Rogue.
The Others: For the most part just cannon fodder or just cosmetic characters. The Angel was in the movie for no reason beyond that.
Then we Have Cyclops-Like Xavier He started out with some promising development and then is summarily dismissed.(Killed) It angered me at the laziness of the writing crew.
The Plots: Generally, I just found the movie antiClimactic, mostly due to the general feeling like ths was a conclusion. (X-men to me can't be a trilogy) The "Cure" Subplot was used to Try to bring things to a Close which I was one of the main reason I found the movie Anti-Climactic. To me, I thought that both the "Cure" and the Phoenix saga (I will discuss) should have been used to show not the end but the beginning of a bigger Subplot in the future series. (Apocalypse?) As for the Phoenix, For starters I wish that they showcased more of her Abilites. Second, I wish that She wasn't used as a plot device and was an actual character with some depth how her darkside works, the balance of her good side/bad side and Her Motivation. Third, Phoenix Saga if to be attempted should have been Grand/Epic etc. If possible I think the Shi'ar could have been used.
Character Deaths/departures- For the most part I hate Character Deaths/ Removal b/c for the most part I find to be: (A) Lazy of the writer to do so. (B) Strictly used for Shock Value. That's not saying that it doesn't work ever, just not so in X3. I hated that Cyclops Died and I was dissapointed that Xavier had to go, but his death did give that Melancholy feeling. Then there is Rogue, It seems like with Both Cyclops an d Rogue they just wrote them off b/c they were too lazy. (or were strapped for screenspace which is understandable) But I think they shot thenselves in the fot with this one b/c too many characters were put in there to begin with.
End credits scene-This scene Along with Magneto's scene at the end saved the movie for me. But it was too little too late. The scenes might have been more effective if the movie was better developed.
In conclusion: The X-Men franchise stared out well enough with X-Men. It had good characters and development. However, I didn't think that the first was grand enough. That's not saying that it should have been a copy and paste of the comics, but it should have pushed for something more storywise. X2, fixed many of the problems of X1 by being bigger that it's predecessor. It also had more character development that complemented and supplemented X1. It got very ambitious by closing off with the start of the Phoeinx Saga. X3 was a Good action movie but it failed at being anything more.