X-Men: The Last Stand

This was the first X-Men movie I saw in theaters and I also did a marathon preceding my first viewing. The first time I saw this sequel, I liked it. After another X-Men movie marathon years later, I can see that "X-Men: The Last Stand" is not perfect. This is because of the departure of Bryan Singer as director. I can't tell whether I am glad or sad that Singer left the X-Men franchise to make "Superman Returns" because I enjoy that movie. Despite the strong themes of "The Last Stand", it lacks the verisimilitude of the previous movies. There were also story and visual effects problems.

I am sure that all fans agree that this third movie has too many deaths or characters that lose their powers. It wasn't just minor characters that this happened to and that is important to note. Now that more X-Men movies have been made, "The Last Stand" doesn't even matter. I felt it had too many one-liners. That can work in some comic book movies but because the first two X-Men films were not reliant on that, these one-lines felt out of place. I did enjoy the first scene of this third movie because you get to see Xavier and Erik as friends instead of reluctant foes. Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart were digitally altered to look younger in this scene and I couldn't tell that just by looking at the film. I like how Colossus has a bigger role in the movie but my favorite new mutant is Beast. Some fans may not like this live action depiction of Beast but I do. He may not provide the amount of action that fans wanted but isn't that a message of the movie itself. Hank McCoy will only fight if all other peaceful avenues have been tried. It sounds a lot like Professor X mentality as opposed to Magneto's. Other themes in the movie have to do with Jean/Phoenix such as self-control verses being controlled. Professor X teaches his students that they will have greater power by not giving into impulses and that is something I have experience with. Jean's impulses were such that the Professor had no choice but to use his own power to keep the Phoenix at bay. As rough as Wolverine is, there are lines that even he won't cross. Because Logan is in love with Jean from before, he rejects the lust of the Phoenix. Once Scott is mentioned, Jean's consciousness returns and she realizes that she can no longer control herself. This is why she pleads for death and addiction in real life can lead to this kind of thinking over time. The fictional debate over the "cure" to the X-gene is something that will resonate with many people who watch this show, whether they are long time fans or just new to the lexicon. I like the advice that Wolverine gives to Rogue concerning the treatment because it is exactly what she needed to hear. We all have choices to make in our lives and we are free to make them for ourselves but one lesson that the movie doesn't teach clearly enough unfortunately is that every choice we make comes with consequences. We can't make a wrong choice and escape the consequences associated with that choice. The character of Angel is another relatable figure in this incarnation of the X-Men and he has a similar problem that Bobby had in "X2" but Angel isn't given very much screen time. "The Last Stand" shows just how warped Magneto's ideals are. When Mystique loses her powers in defense of Magneto, he shows only verbal gratitude for this sacrifice but forsakes her. That is far from gratitude if you ask me. While we are talking about this scene, I did not feel comfortable with the nudity. Also, Magneto seems to have a lack of remorse for Xavier's death. It appears that he cares more about his cause and how the power of the Phoenix can serve that cause. At the end of the movie, he appears to realize just how heartless he was towards humans. I like how Wolverine points this out to him. The climax had a few problems. First of all, the whole trilogy was leading up to this public war but the battle we ended up with fell a little short of expectations. The fight we have been waiting for between Iceman and Pyro could have been extended for example. When I first saw Magneto use the Golden Gate Bridge to gain access to Alcatraz on the big screen, I thought it was cool but now it makes little sense. His army was not big enough to require such action. He could have created a large metal floor and achieved the same thing. Also, couldn't the X-Men use Leech to defeat Phoenix? I guess it's true that her range is stronger than Jimmy's but the characters could have at least made a verbal note of that. In "X2" on the other hand, the Phoenix was preventing Nightcrawler from using his powers and we can assume the same was the case Leech. Thus, that part of the climax made sense. The biggest problem I had with the climax of "The Last Stand" was Phoenix's role because up until the end of the battle, she does absolutely nothing. This couldn't be helped because if the writers had used her at the start of the battle, the X-Men would have had no chance. When you have an all-powerful enemy in a story, you run into problems. The very end of the movie had some nice stuff, such as the line "Way to go, Furball" and the shot of Wolverine in front of the school. It feels quite resolving.

The CGI has not aged well unlike the special effects of the previous installments. Most of the special effects in "The Last Stand" come across today as cartoony. Director Brett Ratner did the "Rush Hour" movies before this but action comedy is different from the comic book genre. Bryan Singer, before he left the project, had in mind to cast Sigourney Weaver as Emma Frost and that would have been really cool. Even though I can't figure out if "Superman Returns" was worth Singer leaving this project, the real tragedy is that Matthew Vaughn (who would later make "First Class") left the project as director. I am curious as to what his version of "The Last Stand" would have been like but the time that 20th Century Fox gave Vaughn to make the movie was not long enough for him. That makes sense because I wouldn't want to be rushed with a highly anticipated film like this myself. Joss Whedon was also considered to replace Singer and we all can guess what rewards that could have brought. The best scene for both Hugh Jackman and Halle Barry is after the Professor is killed. Because Ian McKellen was working on "The Da Vinci Code" and the London stage at the same time, he filmed some scene in England and was digitally added to the footage filmed in Vancouver. I really enjoyed Kelsey Grammer's work in this film and "The Last Stand" introduced me to Ellen Page. Something I didn't know was that Singer wanted Shawn Ashmore to play Jimmy Olson in "Superman Returns" but that wasn't possible due to his commitment as Iceman. I feel he would have been neat as Jimmy. Josef Sommer reminds me a lot of Jonathon Price as the President in the "G.I. Joe" franchise by the way. Finally, "The Last Stand" has a good Stan Lee cameo.

Where would I stand on the "cure" debate hypothetically? I believe I would feel the same way as Hank. I would be fully against using it as a weapon or forcing it upon mutants. At the same time, it would be nice to have the treatment available to people like Rogue who want it or need it. They should have a choice too. "X-Men: The Last Stand" was for a brief time the most expensive movie ever made. It was a box office success thankfully but most fans agree that this sequel had story problems. There is also a lack of realism but at least "The Last Stand" was not as bad as the two subsequent Wolverine spinoffs. Fox also would fail the next time they tried to portray the Phoenix predominantly on film.

3.5 Stars out of 5