Went with Owen to see X-MEN:THE FINAL STAND this afternoon. One of his must-see films of the year, I was happy to tag along as I must admit to having liked the last two - although the big action fantasy picture is a genre that usually leaves me cold. The previous films were directed by Bryan Singer who brought an interesting brooding quality to them. The eclectic cast have always made their odd characters interesting, imbuing them with more watchability than usual for this kind of film and the underlying thread of the place of the misfit in normal society is mined for all it's worth.

This film is directed with the less delicate hand of Brett Ratner who slams the action scenes home with crunching impact but his handling of the dramatic scenes is a bit flat, not really doing enough to bring life to the many different characters elbowing onto the screen for the surprisingly standard running time of 104 minutes which is already groaning under the weight of several plotlines including the main one: a serum is invented which can change the Mutants to 'normal' human beings, do the Mutants accept this or should they revolt against it?

Luckily the old hands grab all opportunities going: McKellen lording it effortlessly over the film, Hugh Jackman shading the character of Wolverine (no thanks to the script which saddles him with irritating Bond-ish one-liners), Anna Paquin making the most of few scenes, Halle Berry is given more to do this time out and the always watchable Famke Janssen as the reborn Jean Grey with the unleashed psyche of the erotically-charged Phoenix. They are joined surprisingly by Kelsey Grammer - not the most obvious action-film actor - as the political face of the Mutants and by Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut who smashes things. Stunning casting stroke I know...

All in all, I enjoyed it. Just a shame Singer wasn't on board who would have been better I suspect dealing with the choice of the outsider being medically altered to the norm or the frightening untapped power of a strong woman. Mind you... we saw a trailer for his upcoming SUPERMAN movie which looks a bit uninspiring.