Enjoyable, Satisfying Conclusion

Rating: 7/10 (30 May 2006)

I must be one of the few, it seems, who enjoyed X-Men: The Last Stand. I have been an X-fan for many years and my expectations were still met by this film. Do I think that it could have been a bit better? Certainly. The script seemed to pack too many elements into a short running time. With those issues solved I believe that it would have been fantastic. Still, I felt that X-3 was almost on the level with X-2's greatness. It has taken another viewing and some time to reach this point. At first, I felt betrayed at the many liberties taken with story elements. But after I left the theatre, I could not shake the feeling that I needed to view it again. After the second time, I came to grips with the film and now like it quite a bit.
Contrary to some critics' reviews, I do not believe that X-3 became overshadowed by action. There really is quite little of it until the finale, which feels quite epic. There are excellent character moments sprinkled throughout. The acting is generally superb across the board. More Ian McKellen is always nice, and Hugh Jackman impresses again with Wolverine. Kelsey Grammar actually does a respectable job with Beast. The other characters all do well with what they are given. There are a few poorly written one-liners that reminded me of the ones in X-Men 1, but the script is mostly intelligent with powerful themes such as the Cure. Another difficulty is that the film cannot pay the proper amount of attention to the many characters, including the new ones. But they still all seem to contribute something to the larger plot movement in the film. Ratner's only obvious difference from Singer is his frenetic pacing and energy. X-3 really moves quickly, and this does not have to be a negative. I also enjoyed the emotion that was hinted at in X-2, and came into full force during X-3. I do not think that it reached sentimentality or was melodramatic; it really felt powerful. The stakes really do seem to be high for the final chapter of this trilogy. The viewer finds this out quickly concerning Cyclops and Mystique, later with Jean and Xavier (in a particularly awe-inspiring scene), and during the finale in a nice moment with Jean and Wolverine. I think that many of the problems people are seeing in the film resulted from the pressure the entire production team was placed under in order to develop and finish the entire film in less than a year.
But all in all, I have really come to enjoy it as a satisfying film that met my high expectations. Look at it this way if you must. Try to see X-3 as not a stand-alone film but more as the third portion of one large story. The first X-Men had the difficult job of introducing a large ensemble cast of mutants and establishing a story and tone (other superhero films with one primary character have it much easier). X-2 had the most enviable position as most of the characters had already been partly developed and it did not have to conclude the entire story. It could work mostly on its own, just having to leave threads open for the next one. X-3 had the extremely difficult task of closing out the entire trilogy for good. I see it more as the third portion of one expansive tale, thus in the larger scheme it must move quickly toward a complete conclusion. In my opinion, the many actors under the abrupt switch in direction did an x-cellent job.