***A good finale to the original trilogy***

I think the X-Men films have been so popular because the X-Men dare to be different. The concept of the X-Men strays far from superhero conventions. If you approach the X-Men films thinking you're getting something akin to Superman, Spider-Man or Batman, forget it.

The unique concept of the X-Men is that humanity is starting to evolve to the next level and humans all over the globe are starting to manifest superhuman powers from the mutant "X" gene. Two mutant leaders, who are also old friends, take highly contrasting positions. Charles Xavier starts a school for mutant youths in upstate New York. His attitude is positive and his goal benign. Eric Lensherr or Magneto, on the other hand, is fed up with the paranoia of non-mutants. He starts a "Brotherhood of Mutants" with a clear attitude of superiority. And, as they say, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

You could say that Xavier takes the approach of Martin Luther King Jr. while Magneto goes the route of Malcolm X, an interesting comparison.

Although everybody has their favorite, I feel all three films in the original trilogy are of the same general quality - "X-Men" (2000), "X2: X-Men United" (2003) and "X-Men: The Last Stand" (2006).

"X-Men: The Last Stand" is generally well-regarded but has a very vocal segment of fans who revile it. This makes little sense since, despite having a new director, the film has the same tone and principle actors as the previous two and brings to culmination the ideas presented therein. Aside from the final fight between Magneto's Brotherhood and Xavier's X-Men we get the resurrection of Jean Grey and her struggle with the dark side of her psyche.

Some complain of the deaths of two prominent characters, but how often are characters resurrected in comics? Isn't one significant character resurrected in this very film? Others complain about the supposed short runtime and lack of depth but X3 has the exact same runtime as the first film (104 minutes) and there's plenty of depth to mine, take Rogue's dilemma over taking a cure in order to have human intimacy, Phoenix's incredible inner conflict symbolizing the universal clash of flesh and spirit (id and super-ego), Cyclop's grief and astonishing discovery, Pyro's moral degeneration, Mystique's plight after getting kicked out of the Brotherhood and Wolverine's struggle to do the right thing despite his deep love, to name just six.

On the downside, the big clash on Alcatraz Island feels routine and dull. They should’ve kept the focus on the Dark Phoenix, but the producers probably felt this would take away from the other characters, plus they wanted the clichéd big battle sequence. Nevertheless, there’s enough good here to appreciate.

GRADE: B+