X-Men 3

Certainly there were reasons to avoid X-Men 3, or X-Men: The Last Stand, or whatever it's called. The director, Brett Ratner, is not exactly renowned as an auteur, having made the execrable Rush Hour movies. And who can keep track of all the mutants? There must be over a dozen of them running around. I'm helped by having read the X-Men comics in my youth, but pity the person coming to it cold. Which guy throws fire, and which guy throws ice?

So I was pleasantly surprised by this film. It was the equivalent of cotton candy, almost completely forgotten by the time I got to my car, but enjoyable none-the-less. The dialogue was cheesy--Limburger cheesy--but perhaps this is befitting the nature of the comic book beast. And speaking of beast--the casting of Kelsey Grammer as the Beast, which was derided by some, was a stroke of inspiration. When you hear his voice you keep looking for Niles, but it was fun. Of course, there is a lot of dopeyness afoot. How can anyone take Magneto seriously with that silly helmet? And the body count is high. But I thought the not-so-hidden metaphor of mutantism equaling homosexuality was thought-provoking. And there's a nearly nude shot of Rebecca Romijn.