Brett Ratner's X-Men: The Last Stand is full of coke writing. By that I mean that the film's characters are twisted in antithetical, arrogant ways solely to serve the next plot progression. It's easy to imagine Steven E de Souza, or similar, cooking up a draft in-between lines; Genesis blaring in the background. Long-running characters shed any previously established nuance, mutating into ciphers who act only to facilitate the next action scene. This kind of approach can work - witness Schwarzenegger - but only if the script also engages with something resembling a sense of humour. X3 does not. Professor X is especially mangled by this shorthand. A previously regal figure is reduced to a creepy stepfather who has spent decades psychically abusing his young charge, Famke Janssen's Jean Grey, in an effort to squash that which she, confidently, expresses as her sexuality. In X3, Xavier has specifically infantilised Grey, building layer upon layer of false personalities into her brain in an attempt to stop her assuming her ashen super-state. When Grey does finally ascend she's violent and capricious, a malformed identity apparently stunted by Xavier's interference and suppression. Grey wasn't allowed to naturally grow into her great responsibility; her self-appointed Daddy was too busy making sure she stayed pretty. This strange paternalism, bleeding in from Patrick Stewart's usually dignified source, leaves a sour taste, as does the sudden predilection for the casual use of the word 'bitch'. These missteps make you appreciate the inclusivity Bryan Singer brought to the series. The director may well prove to be a predatory rapist, but at least he didn't make it obvious that he loathes women.
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