the X factor

Here’s my review of X-MEN: LAST STAND…

TERRIBLE

Now the real question is… Who is to blame?

THE STUDIO?

Much of the blame must fall to the producers and the studio that financed the film. When Bryan Singer decided to go to Warner Brothers and make SUPERMAN, the folks at Fox seemed to take it personally and rush X-MEN into the theater with one goal… Release it before Singer could release SUPERMAN. Everything that is wrong with the movie can be traced back to that act of pride and ego. When you rush the script and then the shooting and post, you are not going to get a quality film. You are going to get a mess.

THE WRITERS?

This is a terrible script. That is all there is to it. The dialogue is pathetic and there is little to no respect paid to the characters or how they have been set up. But what do you expect? The studio brought in Zak Penn whose credits include the miserable films LAST ACTION HERO, INSPECTOR GADGET and ELECTRA. He can write a screenplay, sure, but can he write a good one?

The other writer was brought in to “help”. Simon Kinberg’s credits include Mr. & MRS. SMITH and XXX: STATE OF THE UNION. I don’t know what his contributions were, but he did not do anything to get rid of the ridiculous one-liners and did nothing to develop the characters that I had grown to love. Major characters are killed with no regard and no sense of loss. This is an emotionally dead film with no drama and no sense of fun.

BRETT RATNER?

Most of the critics are saying that it is not Ratner’s fault how this movie turned out. I couldn’t disagree more. He is the director and the final product is HIS responsibility. He signed on to make this movie based on the script and his paycheck. He signs on and now it becomes HIS movie. The main problem might be the writing, but this is a poorly directed movie without question. With the exception of a select few cool moments, the action scenes are clunky and amateur. Some movies you can watch and see the skill of the filmmaker, but watching a Ratner film is like staring into nothingness. The only thing that I will give him credit for is getting to direct all of these big movies. He must have a great agent.

Whoever is to blame, this movie is a real shame…
The fist two films set up a great world with interesting characters and a well-developed story heading into the final chapter. X-MEN: LAST STAND took that and completely dropped the ball, destroying the world that Singer created. I will do my best to forget I saw this movie and just look forward to SUPERMAN next month.