X-Men: The Last Stand
[aka X3: The Last Stand]
[aka X3]
[aka X-Men III]
2006
* * *
Some time after the events of X2, the mutants must face a new issue: someone has invented a "cure" for mutants. Some, like Rogue (Anna Paquin), view this as a relief from the restrictions and pain her powers have caused her; others, like Storm (Halle Berry), are deeply offended by the idea that they can be cured; still others, like Magneto (Ian McKellen), see this as yet another attempt to crush the mutants and yet another reason to rise up and wage war on the ordinary humans.
And then there's Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), who's basically just waiting around until some action starts so he can kick some series butt, be it human or mutant.
However, the situation is further complicated by an extraordinary event: somehow, Jean Grey (Famke Jansen) has returned, albeit in a crazy, uncontrolled, and terrifyingly dangerous revision known as The Phoenix.
And so these, and the remaining mutants (Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) Cyclops, Beast (Frasier - I mean, Kelsey Grammer) Pyro, Kitty Pryde, etc.) must decide where their loyalties lie, what action to take, and what the heck to do about Phoenix, who's pretty much all powerful but is emotionally unstabld and has little to no control over her powers.
The third and "final" X-Men film, (sorry, but I can't think of a series that ever actually ended with the subtitle "last" or "final" --- i.e., Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Friday, Highlander III: The Final Dimension, Highlander III: The Final Conflict --- and yes, I realize the last two were the same film, but my point stands) if it is indeed the finale in the series, would be a pretty darn good ending. Director Brett Ratner replaces Bryan Singer, but you'd never know from the style; this still feels like X-Men. However, Ratner seems to be a bit more willing to kill off or at least permanately neutralize the characters, which makes the film more dramatic and far more suspenseful than either of the previous entries. Also, he has about twice the budget of the last flick, meaning this one is absolutely packed with some absolutely awesome special effects. This is an exhilerating, compelling, edge-of-your seat blast.
On top of that, this film moves. Ratner keeps the pace going so fast there's no way anyone could get bored. Additionally, he handles the drama very effectively, making this a mostly excellent flick.
And, since the wonderful cast returns, you can sit back and just watch them do their stuff and have a good time. Jackman is brilliant, as always, Jansen has a blast doing a much darker version of her character, Romijn is as cool as ever and actually gets to do some acting a couple of times, Frasier is actually awesome as an action hero (really), and Stewart and McKellen are as good as always, anchoring the film with their presence and superb acting abilities. The rest is very good.
Unfortunately, there is a single major flaw in the film: the length. No, it isn't too long; most summer films go on too long, but not this one. It has exactly the opposite problem. The story, ideas, and character strands are sweeping, epic, powerful things - that aren't really given enough time to be as sweeping, epic, or powerful as they should be. Everything is rushed and almost chaotic. Some of the characters are given almost no screen time, which is okay in some cases, but really disappointing for characters who have really compelling stories that just don't get told: Cyclops is ripped off pretty badly, and Rogue's scenes and moments are so short that the part at the end that is supposed to be touching and thought-provoking falls totally flat and is incredibly frustrating. What's hurt most of all is the finale; the final scene with Magneto, while very good, would have been so much more moving --- and shocking --- had it been drawn out. The drama just doesn't work as well as it should because the few moments it needs stretched out are here and gone. What is there is very well done, but it needed more. The film lasts an hour fifty minutes; it needed to be about twenty or thirty minutes longer. With the extra time given to the characters and story, this could have been one of the greatest comic book films, heck, one of the greatest summer action flicks period ever. As it is, it's still a seriously sweet thrill ride, but it never reaches the peaks it could have soared to. Oh well.
A note to the comic book geeks who complain that the film ruined the storyline from the Dark Phoenix series: get a life. What happens here is, quite frankly, much cooler than that story.
bravenet.com