Xavier's rebel rabble rumble

Follow-up sequels are always the franchise killers. Just look at Batman. It took the tragic antihero ten years to find a cinematic road to recovery after the 1995 release of "Batman Forever." When Brett Ratner took over as director for "X-Men: The Last Stand," the final installment of the X-Men trilogy, the fan community held its collective breath. Best known for "Rush Hour," Ratner was an unlikely candidate to fill the shoes of Brian Singer, who'd directed the previous two movies but left with most of the X-Men production staff to wrap up "Superman Returns." However, though "X3" fails to top its predecessors, Ratner still manages to deliver a competent summer blockbuster.\nA cure for the mutant gene has been discovered. Though some mutants are willing to embrace the idea, the mutant supremacist Magneto forms a brotherhood to combat what he sees as impending genocide. At the same time, Jean Grey -- who was buried under a mountain of water in the preceding movie -- has returned to life as the Dark Phoenix, a mutant of incalculable power. This was an epic event in the comic book series, a plotline that very well could have been the dominant theme of the movie. Instead, Phoenix stands by idly as events unfold around her, coming to life only when the action pertains directly to her. Though these two grand intrigues unfold in the presence of each other, they fail to merge into a unified plot.\nThe underlying strength of the X-Men trilogy has always been in its casting. For fans of the series' mutant mythology, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen were daydream embodiments of their comic book personas. Kelsey Grammer adds another dead-on portrayal to the roster as Beast. Still, as exciting as it is to see more comic book favorites, there is little opportunity for them to develop as characters. Colossus, Juggernaut, Kitty Pryde, Callisto, Multiple Man . . . the list of fan-sating mutant mayhem seems endless (and there's even a Sentinel to thrill the hardcore enthusiasts), but this parade of personality distracts from the inner struggles of the protagonists -- a mainstay of the X-men franchise. Characters like Angel flit around at the periphery of the story, while others are present only as fuel for the meat grinder.\n"X3's" body count gave the movie an apocalyptic flavor. Seeing Wolverine go to town on a bunch of baddies in "X2" made for a significant wow, but "X3's" explosion-laden, flesh-melting, knockout battle scenes rob the film of some of the subtle angst prominent in the previous installments. Cherished mainstays of the Marvel universe die unexpectedly -- two within the first half hour of the film -- and the miraculous resurrections of the comic world can only be stretched so far on film should a fourth movie ever surface.\nRegardless, you don't have to be a comic book aficionado to get a thrill out of "X-Men: The Last Stand." In fact, the movie stands on its own merits even for an audience who has never seen the first two installments. It's epic good versus evil, a superhuman action finale to a powerhouse trilogy.