Could the X-MEN make a better last stand?

Rating: 8/10 (19 July 2006)

Well, this is the final movie in the trilogy. Following the great success of X-Men and X2, X-Men 3: The Last Stand tries to live up to the other prequels with some of the recurring actors and characters such as, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Magneto (Ian McKellen), Professor X (Patrick Stawart), and Storm (Halle Berry). However, it is not short of new characters like Juggernaut, played by Vinnic Jones, or better known as Big Boy from Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and Callisto played by Dania Ramirez also starred in 25th Hour as Daphne. Last but not least, my favorite new character, Beast, played by Kelsey Grammar, (The leading star in Frasier) really pulled off playing a furry blue monster. Those are just a few of a long list of new mutants, but I will leave the surprise for you. With the introduction of so many new mutants, the hype for this movie started a long time ago, and message boards all over the Internet grew with people guessing what this movie was going to be about. Everyone knew this was coming because, in the end of X2, it left room wide open for a sequel. I have been an X-men fan my whole life, but don't let that make you think I was going to favor the movie no matter what; because I'm a fan, I am going to reviewing it a little harder than the non-fans. I ended up seeing the movie twice, one time with friends, and the other with my 16-year-old sister who is not too familiar with the whole X-men craze, so I was able to see how both sides reacted. The first thing right off the bat that made me a little upset is that Bryan Singer, the director of the first two X-men movies, dropped out on this one to go make Superman Returns. So this made a different type of director take his place, Brett Ratner, best known for the Rush Hour movies. After seeing it and looking at the other two, this one doesn't have that many new and creative shots. Don't get me wrong, there is some great cinematography, but when held under the light with the other two, it has a different feel. X-men3: The Last Stand is shot just like other big budget Hollywood movies, in my option because it is based off the comics and is dealing with super heroes, it needs to have a little creativity in the cinematography. Putting that to the side, I thought the story carried itself, knowing that Fox wanted to end the X-men trilogy. I think by introducing so many new characters it was like a double-edged sword. The fan wants to see more mutants, but because the movie could only be so long, the story could only go so far in character development. But, overall, I think it was balanced pretty well. The one thing people go see the X-men movies for is the fight scenes, and this movie is not short of them. The way the screen play is written is that the first half of the movie is story builder, and the other half is concentrated around the final battle. For the people out there who are like me and love the battle scenes, then you will get a kick out of this final battle. With every mutant holding their own, it makes you feel like a kid again, playing with your action figures. But by sacrificing half the movie to this battle scene, I feel like the story was a little rushed. It almost seemed like they didn't want to leave any loose ends, so they tried to wrap it up as quickly as possible. I was some what disappointed about this. The one thing that got on my nerves was the one-liners that some of the actors had that this movie could have done without. Just when something amazing happened, it seems like they throw these cheesy lines in, which I believe came close to wrecking some of the scenes. This isn't so much the directors fault but the new screen writer. Overall, that was pretty much the only problems I had with the film. After seeing it with my friends, who keep in mind, are fans of the X-Men as well, they really enjoyed the movie with just some dislikes. On the other hand, my sister who doesn't follow the X-Men movies, ended up being a little confused, but over all it kept her entertained. For those families out there with kids under thirteen, I do not recommend it for them. The movie is rated PG-13 for bad language, brief nudity, and violence. My final opinion of the movie is that I think it was a great installment to the trilogy, but there are some things the movie could have done without. I believe X-men fans will enjoy it and non X-men fans will be entertained, but I strongly believe in watching the first two films before this one. One last thing, MAKE SURE you stay after the credits for a nice surprise.