On the other hand, Kelsey Grammer's delivery of Hank McCoy's signature line, "Oh my stars and garters", was pitch pefect.

Absolutely. It's not a disaster, but I do find it drops the ball several times. For me it's one of those films where the parts are stronger than the whole.But it could've been so much more.
The theatrical cut is WAY better. I was blown away by this movie seeing the theatrical cut. The Rogue Cut is bloated and ungainly by comparison. It's not just the actual Rogue stuff, either, but the way they extended some of the other scenes combined with all that just makes the film drag and not hit the beats that propel the theatrical version. It's a case of good editing—lean, clean, and focused—versus just cramming as much in there as possible for the hardcore fans.
I don't think Origins: Wolverine deserves the hatred that it gets, either, but that's neither here nor there.
I think if Phoenix had been handled well, X3 would have a lot better reputation.
I'm more bothered by the crappy handling of many of the characters, both old and new. While the inclusion of Beast and Shadowcat (as well as Grammer and Page) are excellent, and Wolverine and Magneto come off pretty well, most are treated rather pathetically, particularly Rogue and Angel. A bad case of too many balls in the air without the ability to properly present all of them (especially when compared to Civil War).
If only singer had stayed on to do x3 and x4...
For me, the major (but, by no means only) flaw of X3's version of the Dark Phoenix was that they bypassed the straight up, non-dark Phoenix that seemed to be teased at the end of X2. If you're going to show a character's downfall, you really need to earn it first.
Also, going the M'Kraan Crystal/Shi'ar route helps distinguish this from the previous attempt while at the same time helps open up the wackier, cosmic side of the X-Men franchise. I assume the X-Men rights comes with the likes of Mojo, Spiral and the Starjammers as part of the deal.
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