X-Men

Having the day off today, we got to see a matinee of X-Men: The Last Stand.

I disagree with nearly every review I've seen of this movie. There was nice continuation, characterization, dialogue, action, development, etc. What is driving the bad reviews is one simple thing: It disregards the canon of the comic book X-Men. The last two movies were decently respectful of the stories already told in the comics, but this one promised to tell the epic "Dark Phoenix Saga" on the movie screen, and it didn't do that. Too bad, so sad, nerds!

First of all, it couldn't tell the Phoenix story as written in the comics unless it delved into comic book fantasy crap that would never work in the movies involving X-Men in outer space and aliens.

Second of all, the first two movies built a story arc on prejudice and government regulation that had to be concluded in this movie.

I thought that this movie did a good job of concluding the story arc, while telling a Phoenix story that made sense in context, even if it was the back-up storyline in the movie. It also set up the next trilogy of X-Men movies with new, younger team members if they choose to make them.

Fanboys might sulk over some deaths to major characters that happen in this movie, but this happens in the comics all the time in order to move characters aside so that new ones can be featured, and I expect the younger members of the team to take center stage in the next movie.