More doom and gloom from the X3 front. Matthew Vaughn is gone, but that script he wrote in six days still has a stranglehold on the franchise. The movie sounds terrible.

But first let’s talk about who will be directing it. After Vaughn abandoned the project because he didn’t like the commute, Marvel head Avi Arad hinted that they’ll be announcing his replacement soon. Maybe even this week. Yesterday on our message board I threw out the name Brett Ratner, just because he’s sort of a studio default for this sort of thing and because he was already at one point involved in Superman. So obviously the guy wants to make a superhero flick. Plus, Ratner’s current project Rush Hour 3 has just been flushed, so his schedule is pretty open. Here’s a shocker… I may be right.

This morning, Aint-it-Cool-News has an update on who will be in the director’s chair. They’ve narrowed the list down to two names. One of them is Brett Ratner, the other is John Moore.

Moore’s work is generally as common and uninspiring as his rather ubiquitous name. The two highest profile films on his resume are Behind Enemy Lines and the remake of Flight of the Phoenix. I didn’t see Behind Enemy Lines, but Pheonix was as total mess. In my review of Flight of the Phoenix I had this to say about him, “As a director, John Moore seems under-talented, with much of the film consisting of stock close-ups and groups scenes shot to look like the actors performing them weren’t even on the same set together when they were filmed.” Not the kind of guy I want touching X-Men. Terrible choice.

Ratner on the other hand is a decent director. His work is usually glossy and polished, fun and energetic. Both the Rush Hour films are a lot of fun, I’ve yet to see a really terrible film by Brett Ratner. On the other hand, he’s not someone I’d categorize as a real artistic force. Throughout the whole Superman fiasco, he really came off as a pretty willing studio tool. Not the kind of guy who will fight for his own vision… if indeed he even has one. He’s a solid director, but not an inspiring one.

Still, Ratner could do a good job, given the right right circumstances and the right script. That doesn’t describe X3. Matthew Vaughn may be gone, but the production is still soldiering ahead with his albatross of a script. You remember, the one he wrote in six days? Well, I guess it’s easy to write a script in six days, when it’s as half-assed as this. AICN has this to say about the plot of the film: “Three major characters that absolutely should not die, die. Really dead, too. Not Spock Dead. And one mutant who should not lose her powers, loses her powers permanently. Really loses them, too. Not SUPERMAN II loses them. And the sex scene... when you see who does what to who... oh, boy. The entire X-MEN universe may face some incredible overhauls.”

Killing THREE major characters? Sounds like Vaughn went a little out of his head. Sounds like the perfect way to destroy the franchise and eliminate fan good will. I wonder if they’ll eulogize them with a three minute discussion and then on with the show. Sorry, that sounds absolutely terrible. It’s not enough to flush Vaughn, Fox needs to flush his script as well. Somehow, I don’t think that’ll happen. Since the departure of Singer, this movie has been more executive driven than artist driven. Somewhere in a boardroom there’s a group of higher ups at Fox, looking for a profit, pushing this movie down the pipe as fast as it’ll go without any regard to quality. Is the movie controversial? If hating crap makes it controversial, then I guess it is. You’re blowing it Fox. Pull the plug on this thing, take a step back, and start all over again.