X-MEN - THE LAST STAND : All The Action I've Been Waiting For Packaged Really Well!...

Rating: 10/10 (2 June 2006)

X-MEN : THE LAST STAND
I have waited and waited since childhood for them to make X-MEN into a film franchise. As a kid, I collected the comic books, the collecting cards (with complete collections still perfectly organized in binders might I add), and the action figures... pretty much anything X-MEN I could get my hands on. I literally used to fall asleep trying to figure out what celebrity should play which character in a movie and hoping that one day I would get to see the story told on the big screen. Just a few years ago my dream came true (starring the man I always wanted for Professor X)... but only now has an X-MEN film fully captured what I was looking for on the big screen.
On many levels, X2:X-MEN UNITED is the best film of the series. It creates a more socially important theme and utilizes it in telling the story with an emotional weight far deeper then those found in the original X-MEN and in the recent THE LAST STAND. However, X-MEN:THE LAST STAND offers up the one element that I always wanted to see more of on the big screen... mutants in an actual battle.
While the first two films delved more deeply into the social element of X-MEN, they never fully captured the cinematic possibilities of having the mutants battle it out against one another in an all out war of their powers. Finally, I got what I was looking for in the thrilling final third of X-MEN:THE LAST STAND.
X-MEN:THE LAST STAND acts as one big build-up to a climactic battle of mutants... however, it's filled with so many nods to the comic book, so much spectacle, tons of action, and quality performances that it still holds it's audience captivated. I will admit that the narrative of X2 far exceeds anything we see here, but call me a sucker for action scenes b/c nonetheless I was won over by THE LAST STAND. In the years since X2 ended, a cure has been developed that will supposedly rid mutants of their power. At first, the cure is offered up voluntarily to mutants looking to live a "normal" life. However, the simple existence of this cure shakes the balance of mutant-hood everywhere. Some secretly desire the cure, some are offended by the mere idea of it, and others believe it is nothing more than the first step in mutant extermination. Magneto (played by Ian McKellen) is the leader of those who believe it is the beginning of an extermination, and with the help of his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants he plans to attack and destroy all humans who look to stand in the way of mutant development.
Meanwhile, he is aided by the help of a reborn Jean Grey (played by Famke Jansen)... now known as the Dark Pheonix. The Dark Pheonix is awoken from her slumber beneath the lake as the most powerful mutant on earth. Her powers are so strong they can't even be controlled by Professor X (played by Patrick Stewart) or the Pheonix herself. Along with her powers comes an evil nature completely unlike the Jean Grey the X-Men once knew, and now the Pheonix has sided with Magneto's Brotherhood against the X-Men.
To tell the truth, the movie has so much plot going for it that it could have justified a running time far longer then the 1 hour and 40 minute running time it currently has. In addition to the above mentioned points, there is the introduction of Beast (played by Kelsey Grammar in an unconventional role), the introduction of Angel (played by Ben Foster, in a truly underused role), and many other mutants. With a longer running time, this film could have explored the cultural ramifications of mutants and the effects that has on their lives much more deeply... and perhaps that would have given the film even more of a resonance. As is the film works wonderfully as popcorn entertainment with just enough intelligence.
What makes it better than the other films for me is the excitement of it all. Though I admired and enjoyed the other films and their focus on character over action... the X-MEN franchise needed a big jolt of action to show the potential these characters have. One of the best aspects of the film is the fact that the character of Storm (played very-well by Halle Berry) has finally been given ample screen time. Not only do we get to see her fly and actually fight hard, but we also get to see the character finally become the leader she always should have been. To add strength to the action scenes, Brett Ratner (who I will admit does not bring as much to the table as Bryan Singer did) manages to keep some focus on the relationships and dynamics between the X-Men and he keeps the film grounded somewhat even as it goes further and further into realms of implausibility.
My overall opinion on the film is hard to put into a brief review. It was an experience where I got to watch something similar to what I've always pictured in my mind since childhood... and so clearly it kept my fully absorbed and invested the whole time. Sure, some of the plot developments (some of which are truly shocking) weren't my ideal choices in terms of the future of the series... and there were certainly plot holes and moments where I would be thinking "why don't they just do this". But bottom line, I loved the film.
... A-...