Keith Watanabe * NET 2.0

very Hollywood-ish movie but the typical Hollywood-ish nonsense didn't bug me as much this time. Actually, a fun movie that had a nice pace and kept you locked in. There were some nice twists here that I wasn't expecting that made the film stand out namely in Prof X's death, Cyclops' death and the removal of powers from Rogue, Mystique and Magneto. Of course, supposedly after the ending credits there's a little surprise which shows Magneto moving a chess piece, but I think it's going to be interesting to see how that may turn out. Apparently, this was all a triology so we can expect more. one thing i noticed about the story was the structure in how they ordered the events to allow certain characters to be emphasized even more than others. Here, for instance, Rogue ran away to remove her powers, thus freeing up a spot to introduce Kitty Pride. also, Cyclops' death early on made room for Wolverine and Storm to take lead (not to mention Xavier's departure). we had Beast who is played by Frasier so more dialogue was needed on that part. then Collosus, Juggernaut and Archangle were displayed along with some of the other mutants on Magneto's side. Naturally, the biggest problem always presented in X-men stories is dealing with the numerous personalities. Many are rich but allowing them to show up in a story is hard because you can only pick so many and develop. Even if people died and powers were removed, this is the X-Men so we can easily expect people to make comebacks. I certainly hope they create a better Cyclops. he's a major character in the story and while he's a dick, at least he isn't so annoying by comparison. Patrick Stewart has always been the natural pick for Xavier so hopefully he'll stay on if and when they decide to release another one. of course, replacing existing characters who haven't died would be the greater challenge as these movies aren't made that frequently and that people grow older. I've always thought someone from Destiny's Child would make a great replacement for Storm. Michelle Yeow or Zhang Zi would be perfect for the role of Psylocke (Zhang Zi moreso and definitely better than that orientalizing disaster called Memoirs). Collosus ought to have been played by Schwartz, but he's too old and in office. I've come to like Ian as Magneto though. he's just so charismatic and elegant on screen that he helps to elevate the role. of course, there was the rumored White Queen. i saw the picture of the one they wanted and she would've been HOT. i've always thought a Cybil Shepard type would've made an excellent White Queen (then I guess her daughter?)