Tweet

Comments (0)

 1 of 4

X-Men: The Last Stand Our rating: Your rating: 1 2 3 4 Your Comments: see all MPAA rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of action violence, some sexual content, and language) Genre: Action, Science Fiction Theater release: May 26, 2006 by 20th Century Fox Directed by: Brett Ratner Runtime: 1 hour 44 minutes Cast: Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Halle Berry (Storm), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Famke Janssen (Jean Grey), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Kelsey Grammer (Beast), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), James Marsden (Cyclops), Shawn Ashmore (Iceman), Aaron Stanford (Pyro), Vinnie Jones (Juggernaut), Patrick Stewart (Professor Charles Xavier), Ellen Page (Kitty Pryde) Related: Talk About It/Family Corner

Suppose an antidote was invented that "cured" something significant in your life. Not a disease like cancer or diabetes, but a trait that is part of who you are, for better or worse—like your body type or a personality defect. If you had the opportunity to change the way you were made, would you take it?

That's the intriguing premise that propels X-Men: The Last Stand, the third installment in the highly successful superhero series that began with 2000's X-Men and continued with X2: X-Men United in 2003. A cure has been developed that can genetically suppress the mutant gene, making them as "normal" as any other human being. The U.S. government gets on board through the facilitation of Dr. Hank McCoy, aka Beast (Kelsey Grammer), the Secretary of Mutant Affairs under the President and a former member of the X-Men, led by Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart).

The cure is met with great skepticism and debate, because after all, not all mutants are created equally. Having the power to heal rapidly (like Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman) or to control the weather (Halle Berry as Storm) can be handy. Shedding blue fur (Beast) or being unable to touch people without harming them (Rogue, played by Anna Paquin), that's another matter. Hence, the reason the government insists that the cure is voluntary to any mutant willing to take it.

Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) has a thing for Jean Grey (Famke Janssen)

Long-time X-Men rival Magneto (Ian McKellen) sees it differently, insisting that the government is planning a form of ethnic cleansing and that mutants are superior to humans—that they should be proud of who they are, not ashamed. He immediately rallies other like-minded mutants to his cause, forming a Brotherhood intent on eradicating the cure … and, perhaps, mankind with it. Thus, the "last stand" of the title refers to the X-Men as the only force preventing an all-out war between humans and mutants.

Woven within this central story is the continuation of plot points from the last two movies, most notably that of Cyclops (James Marsden), who is distraught over the loss of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), his fiancée who seemed to sacrifice her life for the team in the previous movie. Turns out she survived, protected by the incredible strength of her telekinetic powers, which have evolved her into someone or something else entirely. Fans of the comic book will recognize this as a variation on the classic Phoenix storyline, as Jean ends up an unwitting and volatile pawn between good and evil.

If any of this seems a tad confusing, know that The Last Stand is simply another chapter in the X-Men saga, requiring the first two movies to fully appreciate it. And though it's being marketed as the climax of the trilogy, be assured that it can't possibly be the last. A spin-off feature for Wolverine is already in development, but more precisely, by the end of this film, there are even more dangling threads than the last movie left, involving the fate of several key characters. Fans of the film and series are strongly advised to stay through the end credits.

Angel (Ben Foster) resists attempts to destroy that which sets him apart, namely his mutant powers

These dramatic developments are both a strength and a weakness. It's daring storytelling to play with the characters' fates as much as the filmmakers do, but it doesn't seem true to the source material or the film series so far. Half of the major characters developed in the last two movies are little more than cameos in this one, and it may well frustrate some who have invested time in following them this far. It's also a long-running joke among fans of the comic series that seemingly anyone can be killed off and brought back in the X-Men, Jean Grey being only the most famous example. But perhaps some of the characters in this movie are "retired" in order to fulfill contracts and bring on fresher (i.e. cheaper) talent? After all, one thing the X-Men universe is not short on is mutants.

This brings up another problem inherent to the X-Men films. The recent Spider-Man movies and Batman Begins easily focus on developing a single character. The Last Stand has to juggle an ensemble of ten while introducing new ones on top of that—and that's just talking about the heroes. For sure, fans will thrill to nods and cameos that acknowledge the rich history of the comic series. Mentioning most of them here would spoil the fun, though Kitty Pryde and Colossus are both welcome (if not small) additions to the cast.

next page... |  1 of 4 | last page