X-Men 3, on the other hand ...

... blows.

OK, that's probably a bit harsh, but the stakes were huge. All I can say is that the "Dark Phoenix" saga from the X-Men comics was probably the biggest thing to ever happen in comics, and it would have been impossible for a single movie to encapsulate the story and do it justice. So what should Ratner have done?

Chosen another story, for one. Going forward with the Phoenix plot was a recipe for disaster, and if you can't do something right, you shouldn't do it at all.

That wasn't the least of the problems. One important character was handled with the least amount of respect I could imagine (though extenuating circumstances with the casting may have played a role, and I'm being intentionally vague), and at least one massive plot point was completely undone by a throwaway scene after the credits rolled.

X-Men 3 wasn't a bad movie, and the friends I went with seemed to enjoy it despite not haivng seen the first two (free passes might have played a factor there), but it was certainly a movie that lived up to neither its potential nor its pedigree.

Technorati tags: X-Men, Movies