The New X-Men: All of the Powers, None of the Personality

Rating: 2/10 (26 May 2006)

When Brett Ratner took on X-Men: The Last Stand after Bryan Singer backed out, many fans were in an uproar. Would Ratner have the knowledge to stay loyal to the beloved characters that Stan Lee created? Would he have the depth that it would take to bring these characters to life the way that Singer did by making them so identifiable that non-comic book lovers could understand them as well? The answer to both questions is no.
Deep characters have never been a strong point for Ratner (look at the disaster that was The Family Man) and, unfortunate for him, the X-Men comic books are full of interesting characters and deep interpersonal relationships. Ratner sacrifices such qualities in favor of over-the-top special effects that seem forced and fight sequences that are become too boring unless your characters have red electronic bars over their heads that decrease when they're hit.
The storyline centers around a genetics facility that has discovered a way to permanently suppress the mutant genes, making all mutants lose their powers. The pacifistic mutants (displayed in Professor Xavier's school) are wary about this new cure, some are excited while some are offended. Then there are the hostile mutants (led by Magneto) that see the cure as a means of genocide. Naturally, Magneto's mutants attack the humans and all special effects hell breaks loose.
Then we have a subplot revolving around the return of Jean Grey, who we thought perished in the previous movie and how her powers have now reached a dangerous state, due to a repressed personality only known as the Phoenix. Phoenix doesn't like to be restrained, so what does the Phoenix do? Yes, naturally, she lashes out as we are told in the movie that when you cage a beast, "the beast gets angry." So, how does one calm such a beast? The answer is never really brought out because we have no connection to the inner mind of Jean Grey since she has even less lines in this film than Arnold Schwarzenegger had in the first Terminator. Jean is not the only wasted character in this film, look at the new character introduced in the film in Warren Worthington III (known to the loyal fans as Angel or Archangel). His father develops the cure, but before he can give it to him, Warren escapes. And that is the entire story we get around Warren Worthington, even when he goes to Xavier's school, we never see him interacting with the other X-men or even the inner turmoil that goes through a child's mind when he is rejected by a parent.
Now, I have been a loyal fan of the comic books for over a decade. I have collected the bio-cards, numerous issues and spin-offs of the series, background history of each character. Watching this movie aggravated me as a fan to see how it treated the characters who have become so beloved to me over the years. Under Brett Ratner's direction, the movie is hollow, lifeless and boring, three things that comic book movie adaptations should never be, especially one with such a rich history that X-men has.