Great action scenes

Rating: 6/10 (30 May 2006)

The Last Stand is decisively the weakest film in the X-Men 'Trilogy'. Director Bryan Singer was replaced by Brett Ratner, who, like Singer, never made a sci-fi film before; but while Singer took a restrained and dramatic approach to the genre, Ratner behaves more like a child with a new toy and plays the high-budget special effects to excess. Dramatically, The Last Stand is not as convincing as the first two parts; it does continue the action/soap opera combination that characterized the first two films  as well as the X-Men comics  but the romantic side, namely the love interest between Wolverine and Jean Grey, fails to deliver. Hugh Jackman gives a performance that is hardly as strong as in the first two films, and other than Ian McKellen  clearly the best actor in the whole trilogy  who does as breathtaking a job as he always does  there are no characters here that are very interesting by their own right.
That's another major problem the film suffers from  there are way too many new characters, and very few of them are interesting enough, even if most of them are well-cast. That same problem was apparent in the first film, which introduces all the main characters in a very short span of time; what made the second installment the best one was that it focused mainly on a tight group of main characters, leaving more room for drama. Iceman, Juggernaut (a wasted performance by the fantastic Vinnie Jones), Callisto, Kitty Pryde, Colossus, Pyro and the rest are half-baked characters, mainly in it for the action scenes; Angel  who was marketed as one of the lead characters  has a remarkably small side bit. The only new character that really made a mark was Hank McCoy AKA Beast  played, in a bit of casting genius, by Kelsey Grammar.
But all complaints and grievances taken into account, although the film is not very strong dramatically, and has serious pacing problems with scenes that drag out with not enough action to balance them  when the action does come it's spectacular. The final battle of the film is the most impressive action scene in the trilogy, thirty minutes of beautifully shot and choreographed mayhem and destruction. It's a credit to Ratner that he took very bold decisions of letting a large number of main characters die, making a sequel  although possible  very unlikely; and he really let go and went all the way with the carnage, making this final scene a feast to the eyes. This is where the large number of new characters finally makes itself worthwhile, and for any fan of sci-fi and high-effect action this scene is a pleasure.
The Last Stand is not as good a film as the first two X-Men's, but it's a very well made action film. If that's what you're looking for, then you'll love it. If it's drama you're after, you'll be less impressed, but there's still McKellen, always a pleasure to observe, who plays a stronger part here than in X2. A worthy conclusion to the X-Men trilogy.