X-men 3 Review
Wolverine is the only one who can reach Jean. While the others fight, he walks toward her as she disintegrates soldiers and mutants alike. He reminds her of the night he left her in X2 — of the promise he made. “Jean, it’s me. I’m not leaving you again.”
The central tragedy unfolds at Alkali Lake. Wolverine and Storm escort a grieving Cyclops to the site where Jean Grey supposedly died in X2 . Cyclops, still hearing Jean’s psychic echo, follows it into a crystalline cavern. There, he finds her — naked, alive, but utterly changed. The psychic “walls” Xavier built have crumbled. The rage and power of the Phoenix, a primordial alter ego Jean suppressed her whole life, has broken free. x-men 3
In the present day, a young mutant named Warren Worthington III awakens to find his father, the industrialist Warren Worthington II, staring at the feathered wings growing from his son’s back. Desperate to “fix” him, the elder Worthington reveals a scientific breakthrough: a boy named Jimmy (dubbed “Leech”) whose mutant power nullifies the abilities of any mutant who touches him. From Leech’s unique genome, a pharmaceutical company, Worthington Labs, has developed a “cure” — a serum delivered via syringe that permanently suppresses the X-gene. Wolverine is the only one who can reach Jean
Xavier refuses to abandon his student. He steps forward, reaching into her mind. But the Phoenix awakens fully. As Magneto watches in awe and horror, Jean unleashes a wave of psychic fire. Professor Charles Xavier, the heart of the X-Men, disintegrates atom by atom into the wind. His empty wheelchair rolls away. “Jean, it’s me
Cyclops rushes to embrace her, but the Phoenix mind, fragmented and dark, lashes out. In a flash of disintegration, Cyclops is vaporized.
When Xavier, Wolverine, and Storm arrive, they find only Cyclops’s glasses. Jean, now calling herself “Phoenix,” floats above them. Xavier attempts to re-enter her mind to rebuild the walls, but the Phoenix violently shoves him back. She teleports to her childhood home. There, Xavier and Magneto (who has sensed the imbalance) find her. In a heartbreaking scene, Jean begs Xavier for help, then pleads with him to leave. “You can’t be here,” she warns. “You’ll die.”
The Phoenix, confused and terrified, fights to regain control. “Save me,” she whispers in Jean’s voice. Wolverine knows there is only one way. His adamantium claws can pierce her before she unleashes another wave. He loves her. He is the only one who can do it.