A fantastic conclusion to a great trilogy

Rating: 9/10 (13 April 2016)

1. I am yet to hear a criticism of X-Men: The Last Stand that I deem legitimate. Criticisms of Brett Ratner's personality are as irrelevant as they are circumstantial. Criticisms of how he adapted the Phoenix saga are also irrelevant – films should be judged on their merits, rather than complaining about things lost from the source material. There has been no fundamental misunderstanding of the character like in Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, because Ratner and his actors are continuing acclaimed work from X2, with no one undergoing a schizophrenic personality change. As for complaints about Ratner's film depowering and killing off major characters, good! Not every comic book film should be Captain America and the Deux Ex Machina Soldier.
2. The stakes are high in The Last Stand, as they should be for a film with such a title. The death of Scott and the depowering of Mystique ramp the stakes up for Jean's powers and the mutant cure respectively. Having the Phoenix kill the man Jean loves alienates her from the audience instantly, whilst losing Mystique ensures that the cure does not become some MacGuffin threat. The death of Professor Xavier creates a void in the middle of the film, a sense of helplessness in the face of Jean's power and leaving the X-Men leaderless.
3. For a film that rushed production, Ratner's film does a great job paying attention to two great stories (mutant cure and Phoenix) that have surprisingly little to do with each other. Each feels fully realised and has a resolution. Subplots for Hank McCoy as the Secretary for Mutant Affairs, Rogue seeking out the cure for herself and Warren Worthington saving his father take up little screen time but contribute significantly to the film and the resolution of those characters.
4. There is a lot more conflict within the team this time, whether it is through love triangles, the cure or what to do with Jean. Patrick Stewart gets his least serene and most impressive moment in a scene where he refuses to justify himself to Wolverine regarding the Phoenix.
5. Ian McKellen stands tall and proud as Magneto, retaining his dignity but essentially becoming a firebrand leader. Whilst in the past, Magneto has been inflammatory as to restrictions, when he sees the cure weaponised he sees this as a declaration of war. Hugh Jackman is great as Wolverine – his using flame wreckage to light his cigar is almost Jack Sparrow levels of irreverence, but throughout the film he finds responsibility thrust upon him and begins to take it on. Aaron Stanford is great as Pyro, and the great Anthony Heald is wasted in a single scene part. R. Lee Ermey has a cameo and that should make everyone happy.
6. Whilst the movie could certainly have gone without Psylocke, Arclight and Kid Omega, I don't agree that the movie is overstuffed with characters. There's no character who vanishes without explanation, and everyone who comes away has achieved something or grown as a person.
7. The dialogue is still intelligent and sticks to the themes – Magneto's conference sounds like a terrorist leader, Hank McCoy's resignation scene doesn't pander to people not up to date on politics, and there's some great lines of dialogue like Scott telling Wolverine that not everyone heals as quickly as he does.
8. There are still some problems with the film, I won't pretend that there aren't. The timeline is all over the place – why did Mystique take so long to come forward? The battle takes place in the afternoon but all of a sudden it is night-time. I also didn't care for was Magneto's final groan "what have I done?" – it makes no sense for his character because he's already seen Jean kill his best friend.
9. The action sequences are extremely entertaining, especially the final battle and a skirmish between Wolverine and Spike on the outskirts of Magneto's camp. The film's final set piece of Wolverine and Jean is an emotional one, and the visual effects do a great job at making Wolverine's pain apparent.
10. It is my hope that X-Men: The Last Stand will redeem itself over time in the eyes of fans. Ten or twenty years of Marvel churning out garbage will make people appreciate what they had – a tense, intelligent resolution to a great superhero trilogy.