Starting with the positive: X is pretty to look at and has a great premise - the two opposing sides that make up the narrative have valid reasons for doing what they do, rather than the "we're good and they're evil" style of anime plot writing that is very common. Try as I might, those are the only redeeming features of this movie.<br /><br />X may be an incomplete manga series at the time of filming, but that doesn't mean you can release an incomplete film. Trying to squeeze too much into X has meant that a lot of it doesn't have any point - while the characters are easily distinguishable in terms of their powers, they don't do enough to actually mean anything to the audience. The narrative just runs along at breakneck speed, hoping to distract the audience through constant fight scenes. While I appreciated the mortality rate of the characters in X (as opposed to the cliches of being beaten down to a pulp but then coming back and winning) it was just like watching meat through a grinder - I didn't care when they went in and didn't care when they came out.<br /><br />The metaphysical imagery of X is also very peculiar, mixing a lot of Christian iconography with rivers of blood and gore. It was something different, but different doesn't mean good in this case.<br /><br />My final gripe was that the closest thing this movie had to a twist was simply unbelievable. It flew in the face of what little characterization had been created, then the film ends not with a bang but with a half-hearted sigh. It left me wondering if I had missed something vital, but not caring to endure a repeat performance. <br /><br />Pretty but very pointless, X wasn't worth the rental.