X-Men: The Last Stand (**)

This is the conclusion to what, so far, had been a great group of movies. X2 really set things up nicely and is widely regarded as one of the greatest comic book movies of all time. X3 is a disappointment on so many levels. There are too many characters, too much action, and people die or lose thier powers and there's no weight to any of it. The movie just feels rushed, and from what I've read about its preproduction, it was. Director Brett Ratner has taken a lot of heat from fans, but I don't think this movie is his fault, though he definitely is a step down from Bryan Singer. No, this movie's faults lie in its script. 20th Century Fox really screwed the pooch with this one. X-Men is one of its key franchises and to end it on this note is just sad. Hopefully, the planned Wolverine spin-off film will be better.