What A Revelation of an "X-Men" Movie!

Rating: 10/10 (25 June 2011)

Initially, "Rush Hour" director Brett Ratner's "X-Men: The Last Stand" did not appeal to me as much as the two Bryan Singer "X-Men" movies. After I saw "X-Men: The Last Stand" again, I changed my mind and consider it a great way to conclude the "X-Men" trilogy. This costume-clad, comic-book, crime-fighters flick is every bit as good as its two predecessors, but it is far darker and less exhilarating than those first two movies. Indeed, if you haven't seen "X-Men" and "X2: X-Men United," then you will be lost watching "X-Men: The Last Stand." This briskly-paced but serious saga clocks in at a trim 104 minutes and doesn't pull any punches. Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto/Eric Lehnsherr clash over Jean Grey (Famke Janssen of "GoldenEye") and the plot centers around the lady. Comparably, the more upbeat "X2" ended on a tragic note with Jean sacrificing her life so that the rest of the "X-Men" could escape in a chopper before wood flooded it and killed them. Essentially, "X2" functions as the equivalent of "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" where Mr. Spock sacrificed himself for the good of the many. Jean Gray vanishes in "X2," but she returns in "X-Men: The Last Strand" and assumes dominance over Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Rogue (Anna Panquin) whose lives were the focus of the first "X-Men." This qualifies as a gripping movie because important changes occur in the Simon Kindberg and Zack Penn screenplay. "X-Men: The Last Stand" bristles with surprises and revelations and the character of Jean Gray and her alter ego Phoenix. Phoenix shakes up everything. Professor X dies within the first hour and Mystique fares no better. Part of the plot continues the public debate over the dangers that mutants pose and the appearance of a new drug that has been designed as a cure. Mystique (Rebecca Romijn of "The Punisher") is the first casualty and becomes a normal person in the process of shielding Magneto from the medicine. The demise of not only Professor X but also Scott Summers / Cyclops (James Marsden) lends the movie a heavyweight sense of soberness. Nevertheless, this is an actioneer and several new characters, like the muscular Cain Marko / Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones) appears as well as the girl who can walk through walls, Kitty Pryde / Shadowcat (Ellen Page of "Juno"), and Dr. Henry 'Hank' McCoy / Beast (Kelsey Grammar in a remarkable performance). The battle between Phoenix and Wolverine is cool. Stick around for the end of the end credits if you want to see another surprise.