Wesley Morris of "The Boston Globe" praised the first three "X-Men" films as "more than a cash-guzzling wham-bang Hollywood franchise ... these three movies sport philosophy, ideas, a telethon-load of causes, and a highly elastic us-versus-them allegory." Morris praised "X-Men: The Last Stand" for "put the heroes of a mighty summer blockbuster in a rare mortal position. Realism at this time of year? How unorthodox!" Roger Ebert gave the films mostly positive reviews, but criticized them for the amount of mutants, stating "their powers are so various and ill-matched that it's hard to keep them all on the same canvas."