Third ‘X-Men’ flick stays strong

Fans of the first two “X-Men” movies will not be disappointed in the newest entry, “X-Men: The Last Stand.” Most of your favorite mutant superheroes and villains are back, blurring the line between good and evil.

Director Brett Ratner (“Rush Hour”) has taken the reins from Bryan Singer and done a bang-up job, literally. The special effects and sonic rumbles will delight the eye and shatter the eardrum.

In this new installment, an antibody has been found that will make any mutant lose his powers and become an ordinary human. The government is trying to take a kinder, gentler approach toward mutants and has even appointed a Secretary of Mutant Affairs, Dr. Frasier Crane ? oops! ? Dr. Beast (Kelsey Grammer). But it’s very hard to take a person seriously when he utters lines like, “My stars and garters.” This is a superhero?

The discovery of the antibody stirs fierce emotions in humans and mutants alike. A “million mutant march” is staged, and that old smoothie Magneto (Ian McKellen, dorky helmet and all) seizes the opportunity to rouse up the mutant rabble, proclaiming that the government wants to exterminate them.

Those who side with Professor X (a dapper Patrick Stewart) believe that being a mutant is not a disease that can be cured. Among his staff at the School for the Gifted are the creatively coifed Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Storm (Halle Berry), who finally gets to do more than just stir up some weather.

The story gets lost amid the stunning showdown at Alcatraz, but you’re having too good a time to care. And the final scene with Magneto playing a solitary game of chess is simple, quiet and unexpectedly effective.

Be sure to stay through the credits for an epilogue tease. Are there more X-Men movies to come? I certainly hope so. After all, mutants are people too ? they just look more fabulous in leather.