Comic strip heroes come and go on the big screen.  The X Men came, returned and here for the third time.  A touch sexist in the title since several of the leading mutants are X Women.

The appeal in the X Men films is that there is a great variety of characters and they get a chance to perform in their ‘ordinary’ appearance as well as in their mutant stages.  This edition opens with a little back history as Professor Xavier and Eric go to visit families to do a little vocational recruiting.  It explains Jean’s background and prepares us for her resurrection.  However, she comes back to a split personality life and, after destroying  , she is the catalyst for a mutant revolution.

Actually, there is an occasion for the revolution.  While the US government now has a Secretary for the mutants (Kelsey Grammar), plans are developing for a cure to make all mutants ‘normal’.  There is a sub-text here about giftedness and talents as well as those who are considered to be marginal and their rights.

When the battle begins, it is quite spectacular, especially a dislocation of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.

The film offers a mixture of sedate training for mutants at the Academy under Professor Xavier and then Storm (Halle Berry) while Logan/Wolverine smoulders around the edges until he goes into final action.  There are a range of students who have to come to terms with their talent and a group of rebels who are won over by Eric/Magneto (Ian McKellen).

This might be the Last Stand, but the ending is definitely open for X Men IV.

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