The franchise ends (?) not exactly with a bang

Rating: 6/10 (24 May 2006)

Like a lot of others, I loved the X-Men as a kid (although my first orientation with 'em mutants weren't the comic books but the weekly animated show by Fox). And like a lot of others, I was disappointed when I learned Gambit wouldn't be in the third installment. But for "X-Men: The Last Stand", the movie turned out quite well, although a bit disappointing. You do see the difference with the replacement of "X-Men" and "X-2" director Bryan Singer with director Brett Ratner and there are some VERY surprising (arguably questionable) twists. But it makes for a great popcorn entertainment and it got me and my friend talking about them mutants once again.
PLOT DETAILS FOLLOW. In what could possibly the last installment in the franchise, a young mutant named Leech possesses the ability to nullify the powers of those mutants within a certain proximity around him. With this, Warren Worthington II developed a "cure" that could permanently suppress mutant powers. His first subject would be his son, Warren Worthington III a.k.a. Angel (Ben Foster), but the latter backs out of the procedure at the last minute and eventually joins the X-Men.
Meanwhile, a grief-stricken Scott Summers a.k.a. Cyclops (James Marsden) returns to Alkali Lake where Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) supposedly died while trying to save the X-Men in a previous mission. He finds Jean alive, although he is killed by the Phoenix - Jean's alter-ego kept in check by Professor Xavier's (Patrick Stewart) telepathic blocks.
Phoenix joins the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants along with other renegade mutants as Magneto (Ian McKellen) wages a final war against humans and destroy the mutant "cure." The X-Men (what's left of them anyway), makes a final stand to fulfill what Professor X has dreamed all along - for humans and mutants to be united. PLOT DETAILS END HERE.
As with previous X-Men installments, the film suffers from a slow start as each mutant must be introduced (e.g. their powers, a little of their back-story, some of their traits). It's a Garden of Eden for special effects, similar to what mostly comprises summer films nowadays, yet probably a hell for the screenwriters. The buildup to war fills up the second act almost entirely, and for what it's supposed to accomplish, it does well. Aside from regulars like Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Storm (Halle Berry), there are a couple new mutants getting their chance to whop some butt, and that are fascinating to see on the big screen; including Angel, Kitty Pryde a.k.a. Shadowcat (Ellen Page), and Peter Rasputin a.k.a. Colossus (Daniel Cudmore). On the "evil" side, there's Callisto (Dania Ramirez), Multiple Man (Eric Dane), and Juggernaut (Vinnie Marko) who's not actually a mutant in the comic books... but I'll stop there. This results in long expositions, which at 104 minutes may be a tad too long for some, but may be fine for those who know the source material fairly well.
The main problem is that a lot of this is sub-par compared with the previous two "X-Men," especially with the second one. The main characters blur among the backdrops of the film's plot. I don't want to reveal lots of details about the film, but two characters who have significant roles in both the comic books and the first two films are now reduced mainly to "pawns." Jean Grey herself has little else to do either besides look like a woman in serious need of an exorcist. Jackman and Berry, along with McKellen, are on the forefront of this "ensemble" film and they carry on with their characters nicely, especially for Berry who has her character Storm upped a notch.
But what really matters is that I enjoyed the film - albeit not entirely. The acting and the special effects were pretty much on par as far as summer movies go, but it's how the material is handled that dampen the overall effect. Ratner has the task of filling in Singer's shoes after the latter left the project for "Superman Returns" and the change is evident. It still did have some pretty scenes, and many of the special effects used to show each mutant's powers were spectacular. But where the first two had a smart script that mostly made sense, this one feels bloated, and has far too many mutants and subplots.
In the end, "The Last Stand" is not a disaster of a film as it's still fun to watch. It's not as emotionally effective or as intelligent as its predecessors, and it just kind of went overboard with how it dealt with some of the characters. It's not a terrible movie, not at all. It just falls a little short of the standard of what "X-2" set up three years ago. And it just still has no Gambit. Bah.