Missing the X Factor

I'm only posting this now just in case you haven't watched it yet. And if you still haven't caught X-Men: The Last Stand, then you wouldn't mind the spoilers anyway.

I had very high expectations for this show - way higher than The Da Vinci Code and M:I-3 combined. I'm not a fanatic, but I'm definitely a fan. The past two movies have certainly done justice to the complex story of the X gang, and I can certainly identify with all the discrimination and their struggles. But this third movie... er... well, let's just say Hollywood screwed the franchise big time.

By killing off so many of the main and important characters, the story writers have essentially ended the franchise with no thought given to future generations. In fact, the movie should have been called "Wolverine vs. Phoenix & Magneto". Cyclops, supposedly the leader of the X-Men, appeared on the screen for less than 10 minutes.

More importantly, I couldn't really see the theme of the movie here. Their battle for equality, and the complex relationships between the X-Men were all glossed over by the writers. That is not to say I didn't enjoy the movie. I did! I only glanced at my watch only ONCE throughout the whole movie. Not many films can keep me that interested!

But I certainly wished that it ended more "appropriately". Maybe 20 years from now, they will do a new X-Men movie and continue the story from X2. This is similar to the upcoming Superman Returns, where the story continues from Superman 2 and totally ignores the existence of Superman 3 and 4.

In fact, I have a theory that superhero films have a lifespan of two movies per generation. Superman is a classic example. Batman fits the theory nicely too. The first two movies were very successful, but not the next two. But the recent Batman Begins managed to revitalize the comic. I hope the upcoming Superman Returns also manages to do this.

X-Men seems to be proving this theory. I guess we would have to wait another 10-20 years before another good X-Men movie is released. And if my theory holds water, the next Spiderman movie will stink.

Let's wait and see.