X-treme is not thy name...

Rating: 6/10 (27 July 2006)

What is believed to be the final X-Men appearance, X-Men: The Last Stand, brings the best of the first two incarnations, adds some politics, loses some characters, and becomes the best in the trilogy. However, it is by no means, an awesome movie.
The Last Stand kicks off soon after the events of X-Men 2. The most important thing to know is that Jean Grey is dead. At this stage, a 'cure' for mutants has been discovered. It suppresses the mutant DNA, and effectively allows all mutants to become normal. However, Magneto will have none of that, and he, along with the Brotherhood, will do anything to stop this cure. The X-Men need to stop Magneto, however, the sudden appearance of a new mutant, adds to the boiling point tension.
The story is straight forward, and it is played out simply. Following in the footsteps of the recent hit, V for Vendetta, The Last Stand uses politics as a story-median, and while it sounds strange for this to happen, it is perhaps the best story decision. Being a more mutant-acceptable country, the USA president has nothing against mutants, but he still fears the power they possess. It all becomes very interesting, yet the mutants themselves are a let down.
Firstly, Wolverine isn't as focused on, like the previous, but he's still the main protagonist. He is an effective character; likewise Storm, Magneto and Xavier, yet the rest are all rather limitless. Angel, Cyclops and Rogue are all used to further the story, but do absolutely nothing of relevance with their powers. The much hyped Juggernaut is a great addition, and his battle with Wolverine is great, but beyond that, he doesn't do anything that you would expect of a villain. This is easily the problem of X-Men: The Last Stand. There are too many mutants, that not enough time is given to individuals, except Wolverine, to allow them to grow, or even seem cool.
However, that is just nitpicking on my part, because as a whole, X-Men: The Last Stand, is a very good movie. It's fast, fun, entertaining, though lacking the focus of the first two. It's not at all brilliant, but still entertaining.