Spectacle Trumps Content

Rating: 6/10 (6 February 2007)

Fans of Bryan Singer's X-Men franchise may be somewhat disappointed by Brett Ratner's "The Last Stand." The reason is not that Ratner is incompetent as a director, but rather that his film simply suffers from a case of plot overload. Had the film been a little longer, then this problem may have been a non-issue, but for "The Last Stand," at only 104 minutes, to achieve successful storytelling, convincing character development (of more than a dozen central characters no less), and extraordinary action sequences it would need a miracle. That being said, "X3" is still immensely entertaining and features some of the most eye-popping special effects of the year.
When Ratner and his geek squad went about making and writing "The Last Stand" I can only imagine that they rifled through the comic books and every time they saw something they liked they said, "We've gotta have that." In the end, they decided to expound most upon 'The Cure' storyline and use their filmmaker's license to alter the course of events in the Marvel timeline.
The Cure is an antibody produced by a young mutant (Cameron Bright) that suppresses the mutant gene and "cures" its "victims" of their powers. Magneto (Ian McKellen), fresh off unearthing the truth about Christ in "The Da Vinci Code," staunchly opposes it and will go to great lengths to see it destroyed. Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), the Martin Luther King Jr. of mutant activists, and his X-Men, led by Storm (Halle Berry) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), do not support the Cure, but support Magneto's means of fighting it even less. This sets the stage for an all out war between mutants, their brothers, and the limits of computer graphics that hinges on the resurrection of Jean Grey as Phoenix (Famke Janssen), a being of limitless power that breathes fire and fury.
What sets the "X-Men" movies apart from so many other big budget, special effects laden extravaganzas are the universal themes that almost anyone watching them can relate to. They are of particular interest to gay teens struggling with who they are, and who society tells them they should be. Sadly, "The Last Stand" trades in much of its substance for spectacle.
"The Last Stand" feels like a turkey bursting at the seams with stuffing. Trouble is, there's too much stuffing and not enough turkey. It seems content to simply throw mutant after mutant at us just to show off some neat powers. Consider a scene where Wolverine fights a mutant who can grow back any appendage he loses. How do you beat that? Kick him below the belt of course ("Try growing those back" is one of the films many throwaway lines). I can, however, recommend the film on the basis of its incredible visual effects. One scene in particular, involving Magneto and the Golden Gate Bridge, is worth the price of admission alone.