disappointing, but exciting

Rating: 6/10 (13 June 2006)

Billed as the third and final chapter of the X-Men trilogy, The Last Stand is a different kind of movie than the first two. Fans of the comics and fans of the previous films will be united in their disappointment in what really isn't a bad movie. The biggest problem with X3 isn't the plot but the execution and pace. There are two ways to look at the film: (1) this movie should be a good movie on it's own, independent of the previous two (which it is not on any accounts), or (2) this is the third act of one big epic movie (ala Lord of the Rings), and in this way it is very successful.
The plot is relatively simple: there is a cure for mutancy, and a debate rages over whether or not such a cure is ethical. Magneto and his brotherhood of mutants find that the source of the cure is a mutant child who is housed in Alcatraz (hence the ripping of the Golden Gate Bridge off it's hinges in the preview). The X-Men aren't really for or against the cure, but they don't believe that destroying the cure and waging a war against the humans is the right answer. During all this Jean Grey comes back as Dark Phoenix and wreaks havoc on those who oppose her.
New director Brett Ratner seems scared to touch on any of the serious issues that his predecessor, Bryan Singer, introduced and explored. There's often a beginning and an end, but no middle, no substance. Rogue's role is diminished to answering one question: should she take the cure so she can finally touch and kiss her boyfriend (and anyone else for that matter)? Now that's a deep, serious question to answer. The problems is that the depth of exploration is limited to one speech from Wolverine, and her final decision. In a movie that runs a trim 103 minutes (a whole 30 minutes shorter than the previous film), you would think that a little more time could have been devoted to the characters and the issues that face them. Instead there is a great deal of time spent on things that go boom.
That being said, the things that go boom are breathtaking. Not only are the action sequences visually astounding, but so is the rest of the movie. Almsot every second of every scene is infused with an air of mysticism and visual beauty that is rare in movies today. In the gigantic action sequences, Ratner does a great job successfully tugging on our heart strings as many of our beloved mutants either lose their powers or lose their lives. I was on the edge of my seat during the entire last action scene where Magneto rips the Golden Gate Bridge off its very hinges and crashes it down on Alcatraz.
In all, X3 is a highly entertaining movie that uses its visuals very effectively, but it falls short on becoming a great movie like X2 because it shies away from aiming from greatness. An X-Fan like myself can't help but be at least a little disappointed.
By the way, you should stay for the short (really, really short) clip at the end of the credits. It's well worth the wait.