A Solid And Worthy Installment Into The X-Men Franchise

Rating: 7/10 (27 May 2006)

Despite having mediocre to low expectations of the latest (and allegedly final) installment of the X-Men film franchise, I made it a point to see it opening day. Despite the fact the super-director Bryan Singer dropped out of this one for "Superman Returns" and was replaced by "Rush Hour" director Brett Ratner, I am happy to say that "X-Men: The Last Stand" is arguably the strongest film in the X-Men trilogy.
The story picks up a little while after the events of the previous film. Scott Summers (Cyclops) is still recovering from Dr. Jean Grey's death at Alkali Lake, while the other X-Men are preoccupied because of a new Mutant Cure that has been developed on Alcatraz Island by a major pharmaceutical company. The President calls upon Secretary for Mutant Relations Hank McCoy (Beast) to help assuage the inevitable mutant-human conflict. Menawhile, Magneto is busy creating and recruiting for his mutant army, the Brotherhood. However, things get complicated when Cyclops suddenly disappears after a visit to Alkali Lake, where Storm and Wolverine find Jean's body. However, Professor Xavier warns that it may not be Jean at all, but her alter-ego, the Phoenix, the most powerful and unstoppable mutant on the face of the planet. It all leads to tragic deaths, amazing action, and an emotionally-charged, heart-pounding climax.
The film has its flaws, mainly the handling of the Phoenix story (not a faithful adaptation of the comics). It also completely ignores the subplot of Wolverine's past that was building up in previous two films. Also, some of the characters that were heavily publicized in the commercials and trailers barely get even five minutes of screen time (namely ArchAngel). All that aside, however, this is a solid and worthy "conclusion" to a phenomenal superhero film franchise.
Rating: ***1/2
PS: There is a short post-credit sequence. I'm not going to give any spoilers away, but all that I will say is that it does sort of alleviate some of the emotional impact that the film had.