The Best X Yet!

Rating: 8/10 (30 May 2006)

No one will accuse the makers of the X-Men films of challenging the intellectual capacity of their target audience -- or any audience for that matter.
The notion that the subtle process of natural selection could spawn the kinds of mutations in human beings that would yield a sub-sector of the populace with powers that enable them to, for example, walk through walls and shoot lasers from their eyes is, of course, preposterous.
But this is comic-book reality and the stories are certainly not about mutations or evolution per se.
The stories are about being different. About possessing special talents and sensibilities. And most importantly, what to do with them. Whether one succumbs to the temptation to squander one's special talents or instead takes the time to discover how these talents might best serve society. Sure, the Cold War is over and the cultural pressures to conform are less homogeneous and institutionalized. But what people do about fitting in and what they do with unique power are both fundamental to the human experience and inasmuch as the X-Men stories draw on these, they will always succeed.
And let's face it, they're just plain fun. A more colorful and satisfying group of superheroes has yet to be articulated. What people love about Marvel superheroes in comparison to their DC brethren is their humanity. The down-side of being a super-dude is more fully explored. Sure Wonder Woman's got guy issues and Superman's gotta worry about glowing gravel from back home, but these are certainly more symbolic and less tangible heels for Achilles to have.
In the present picture, 'X-Men: The Last Stand,' the preternaturally gifted seem to have increased in number and political standing. We discover that mutations can range from the kind that can make you a superhero to the kind that just make you pesky. One new bad-guy can sprout quills like a porcupine and proves dangerous only to those standing a foot away or less.
But 'Magneto,' the head of the dissatisfied and violent wing of the mutant populace is on a recruiting drive and seems hell-bent on turning non-mutants into second class citizens before the same is done to himself and his constituency by those he disdainfully refers to as "home sapiens." The conflict builds as the government, still heading a vastly non-mutant majority discovers a way to turn mutants into normal people.
And then the real wild-card presents itself in the form of a resurrected Dr. Jean Grey, the powerful telepath who perished in the second film. She's back, but her sinister id is in control now and she can't be reasoned with and won't be contained. She has become 'The Phoenix,' a tricked-out, red-headed version of Grey, still played lusciously by the ever-beautiful Famke Janssen, and man, you do not want to mess with her. She'll drop a house on you.
With which side will her whirlwind of emotion find allegiance? Magneto and the forces of darkness? OR with Professor Charles Xavier and the other, more enlightened mutants? Adding to this delicious conflict of titans are a few new mutants to replace those who perish or become defanged: 'The Angel,' played by Ben Foster, 'The Beast,' played by Kelsey Grammar, and most entertainingly, 'The Juggernaut,' played by Vinnie Jones. In one of the most engaging scenes in the film, the Juggernaut must chase an X-Man -- in this case, X-girl -- who can walk through walls like a ghost, by crashing through the walls like a human wrecking ball.
Still occupying the center of the films, Hugh Jackman's 'Wolverine' serves again as ambassador to the audience and does so flawlessly.
In the end, 'X-Men: The Last Stand' does what sequels do best. It builds on the universe already established by its predecessors and does not try to duplicate them with formulaic story-lines. In true serial fashion, characters die, others move on, and new ones are introduced. It is a gorgeous film full of action and adventure and is never dull. It's the kind of movie for which movies were invented. I loved it from start to finish.
This movie review by Erik Gloor