"X-Men: The Last Stand" -- The Review

So sue me -- I'm just catching up with "X-Men," since I was away when it opened. (Did I mention I was in Cannes?) I like the comic books a lot, but I haven't been a fan of the first two. The first was weak and the second was pretty good, but no more. With Brett Ratner at the helm, I thought this would be a train wreck. But to my surprise, I liked it just as much if not more than "X2." The gay subtext was as strong as ever (thanks to the all-too-brief subplot with Angel), it moved along nicely (only 90 minutes) and there were actual deaths (though no one stays dead for long as anyone who stayed to the end found out in a kicker). On the negative side, why does Hollywood always think bad guy rebels need to dress like lame punk rockers (or more accurately, look like kids dressing up as punk rockers for Halloween); it was awfully hard to buy Kelsey Grammar as an action hero; and with all the gay subtext it would be nice if at least one of the X-men could actually be gay. (I thought for sure at least Magneto could come up with a juicy comment when Angel flew by.) But all in all, pretty fun. And to heck with Wolverine -- let's give Ben Foster's Angel a spinoff pronto.