rebecca_in_blue | Rebecca blames Ratner!

I saw X-Men 3 in theaters today with Adam and Sarah, who love the first two X-Men movies as much as (if not more than) I do. I had worried that the balance of action, drama, and comedy that marked X-Men and X2 was too perfect and delicate to continue into a third film, and all my fears were confirmed. I suppose I should have seen it coming. This is a letter I e-mailed to Adam last summer:

June 20, 2005.
Hey, Adam, Sarah's latest issue of Entertainment Weekly has an article on X3. Read this!

"Fox's Marvel-ous band of mutant freedom fighters have done their fair share of evolving lately. After original helmer Byran Singer opted to direct Superman, Matthew Vaughan stepped in ... and then stepped out. An X-insider says Vaughan wanted to stay in Britain. X3 starts shooting in Vancouver in August. With Fox determined to meet a Memorial Day 2006 release, Rush Hour's Brett Ratner was quickly hired to shoot a script on which he had no input. "Other directors might have been wary," says producer Avi Arad. Adds Ratner: "It wasn't like there were any mistakes to clean up. It was all fantastic." The entire X-cast is returning, including Hugh Jackman (now also co-producer of the film) and Halle Berry in an expanded role. Joining them: Kelsey Grammar as a furry blue genius named Beast."

OK, my hopes for this movie has been pretty much dashed. Hiring a director on the spot who wasn't even involved with writing the script or developing the characters? Rushing production to make a summer 2006 release? Bringing back Halle Berry? Put them all together, and they spell death. I thought Berry wasn't doing X3 because she didn't like Storm's small role, but I Miss Oscar isn't sitting so pretty now that she's realized she has a crappy eye for material -- Gothika? Catwoman? -- and so now she's sticking with a good thing, and the producers are bringing her back because she's a big name. What does this prove? That Fox doesn't care about satisfying fans, just making money. Prepare to be disappointed.