X-Out Originality

Rating: 6/10 (11 October 2006)

Ever get the feeling while watching a movie, the producers are growing complement and you can predict what's coming next? Such films like Rocky XII, the second or third Dirty Dozen, The last of the Dirty Harry stories, the Final Star Wars saga. they're all Representatives of Film Fatigue. Well that's what you'll get with X Men, The Last Stand. It isn't that the film isn't interesting, it is! But when you start seeing the Good Guys lose, the film starts to imitate the comics. I'm not saying that's bad either, it's good, but I suspect a set up. Stan Lee is an exceptional storyteller, but it's sneaky when a particular character or two is bumped off, right away. That implies a comeback is in the wings. Consider how Lucus did it in the original Star Wars when Darth Vader is flung into the spacial abyss. Neat trick, but necessary for a sequel. Here, two X-Men, join one already dead, or we viewers thought was dead. That smacks of a set up. How often do heroes have to destroy Freddy on Elm Street, Jason, or Michal Myers? The dam monsters just don't want to die. Good for money milking producers, but bad for viewers who seek originality. Now here we have, X-Men returning from the dead and this time joining the Bad guys in, yes, you guessed it, world conquest. Not original, but expected. Despite the fact we got mutants coming out of the woodwork and amassing into an army, the director sees fit to kill them off by the hundreds and in a variety of ways including one which eliminates their powers altogether just by contact. If you're interested in seeing leftover mutants from Star Trek, Star Wars, Twilight Zone, Outer Limits or other fantasy sites, this film is for you. If you're not that shallow, read a book. About the only redeeming character from the entire show, I give you Ian McKellen as Magneto. At least, we know he's originally sincere in his madness. ***