The Last Stand? My Ass.

Rating: 4/10 (9 July 2006)

I loved X-Men. It had a brilliant script that combined character development, drama, humor, politics, and action seamlessly. It was the film that basically single-handedly revived the superhero genre and brought us great films like Spiderman, Hellboy, and Batman Begins. X2 was even better, stepping up the action, story, and drama. Bryan Singer, the director of the X-Men and X2 worked miracles, and hiring him for X-Men 3 seemed like a no-brainer.Yet, for some reason, it did not happen. Fox Studios waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. Until Bryan decided to move on to do Superman Returns. Fox could have (and should have) waited for Singer to finish Superman and work on X-Men 3. Since they decided to get the film out fast, they threw together a half-assed script, hired a dependable (but uninspired) director, and pulled all of the stops much to the audience's dismay. What could have been was a fantastic finale to a great trilogy. The finished product was a disappointing and forgettable film that doesn't live up to the first two X-Men movies.
To be completely fair, X-Men 3 is not a terrible movie. It has a great introduction with a young mutant boy plucking his wings out. It's really sad to watch, almost like Singer's brilliant Holocaustal intro to X-Men 1. That being said, what Brett Ratner lacks in creativity and dramatic intuition, he makes up in excitement. Yes, he does bring much excitement to the picture, so you can at least count on not being bored. In all honesty, though, X3 was not Ratner's fault. It was the screenwriters'.
When I say "pull all of the stops", I wasn't kidding. They cram the movie full of mutants that never really do anything and really have no point. Plus, the new villains really do nothing and are really lame. But here is what really ruins the films for me: The writers kill off SO MANY CHARACTERS in a HALF ASSED WAY. They do this only to basically write themselves a loophole so they can find a way out.
For God's sake, it's almost like they knew what they were doing was WRONG. Scott dies, but you never see it on screen. Charles, dies, but he is alive in another body at the end. Jean dies, but will most likely come back to life anyway. Rouge, Mystique, and Magneto ALL are injected with a cure for the Mutant X gene, but at the end you are given a clue that maybe it doesn't work. Not only did they insult the intelligence of the general public, but they also contradicted the title: "THE LAST STAND". They had in mind that this was in no way the last film. The only way this could have been handled worse is if Logan woke up from a dream at the end of the movie to find out that everything was okay.
I wanted to love this film. I really did. And there is some to like. On occasion, Jean's super-disintegration powers look visually amazing. And, like I said, the film is exciting enough to keep one entertained. Plus, Kelsey Grammar makes a pretty good Beast. If only they would have had more time to put this together, then they could have fleshed out Beast and every other character in the film.
I think I have said enough about this film. A fantastic series was brought to a painfully unspectacular ending because of the studio's desire to get the film out. The result: a mediocre script and an instantly forgettable movie. If you can see this film with low expectations and can forget how brilliant X-Men and X-Men II were, then you may enjoy this film for what it's worth. Just maybe.