Review of X Men The Last Stand
Score: 73
Sub-Section: Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Company: 20th Century Fox
Date: Jul 3, 2006
"X-Men 3: The Last Stand" is the latest installment in the X-Men series of movies started in 2000 with "X-Men: The Movie." The first two movies were directed by Bryan Singer. Singer then left the franchise to helm "Superman Returns," and left directing duties to Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, Red Dragon).
For anyone who doesn’t know the back story, the X-Men are a team of mutants who protect the world from bad guys, mainly other mutants. They first appeared in the Marvel comic, The Uncanny X-Men. If you haven’t read the comic or seen the first two movies, this movie might be a bit confusing. There isn’t much back-story involved as they assume everyone already knows the characters.
"X-Men 3" is purported to be the last of the series, so really no one is safe from being killed off. This makes it a little more exciting, wondering who would last through the movie. I was pretty sure Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) would make it, though, since there has been a Wolverine movie announced.
The story here is pretty simple. A drug company owned by Warren Worthington (Michael Murphy) has found a mutant child named Jimmy who has the mutant power of taking away mutant abilities of anyone near him. The company uses him to create a drug that will get rid of the mutant gene and make mutants "normal."
The mutants begin to split into two groups: those opposed to this, led by Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen); and those for the freedom of choice, led by Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart). This leads up to a major fight between both sides and the U.S. Army.
The action in this movie is fine, at times great, but the character development and dialogue is really sub-par. It might have seemed better if this was the first X-Men movie, but it really doesn’t stand up compared to the excellent "X2." A lot of the characters have throw away roles this time, such as Cyclops (James Marsden) and Mystique (Rebecca Romaine). The majority of face time goes to only a few of the X-Men, mainly Wolverine, Beast (Kelsey Grammer), Storm (Halle Berry), and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen). I didn’t even notice some of the characters who were credited, such as Siryn and Psylocke.
There are several X-Men making their debuts in this movie. The most notable are Beast, Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) and Angel (Ben Foster). Kitty is used pretty well, but seems like she is just in the movie as a replacement for Rogue, who is barely in it. Angel is involved in a side story with his dad that doesn’t fit or develop properly…and his CG wings look really stupid.
The new villains include Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones), Multiple Man (Eric Dane), and Callisto (Dania Ramirez). They are okay, but nothing special. Of the three, Multiple Man is used the best. The writers added a new power to Callisto, giving her the ability to tell the strength of a mutant’s powers. She also gets to tango with the weather girl, Storm. I anticipated more out of Juggernaut, but he basically just spits out cheezy one-liners.
The most interesting story line is the side plot involving Jean Grey. She died in "X2," but comes back to life in this one with the Phoenix force inside her taking over. This shortened rewrite of the Dark Phoenix Saga is done really well, though the resolution has much to be desired. (Actually, the resolution of the whole movie is pretty stupid).
All in all, this is an average action movie with some great parts and some silly parts. When held up to the first two X-Men movies, you can see that Brett Ratner has a long way to go to become a Brian Singer.
See it if you like semi-mindless action and want to see some of your favorite X-Men bite it. Stay until the end of the credits, there’s a surprise scene.
They say this is the last one, but with the money it makes and the way it ended, I doubt it. If there is an X4...Gambit better be in it!
Other related links:
X-Men: The Last Stand Trailer at Apple.com
X-Men: The Last Stand at IMDB.com
To visit the official website at X-MenTheLastStand.com.