X-Men: The Last Stand

As the third movie in a trilogy, X-Men: The Last Stand worked surprisngly well. As a stand alone movie, not so much.

Let me address the bad first, because I can do it more quickly. The problem lay exactly where I feared it would. Based upon spite, this movie had a release date before the script was done or there was a director attached. To spite Bryan Singer who had left this project to helm the new Superman film, the studio all but decreed that X3 be released before Superman. They made this decision before they were even ready to start shooting, which is a bit bass ackwards.

As a result, while there was s good story at the core, the script needed a good amount of tightening to highlight this better.

THERE WILL BE MAJOR SPOILERS FROM HERE ON IN. DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW.

But the good is that it built well upon the first two films to bring what felt like an unofficial trilogy to an end. The story revolves around a "cure" for mutations, and all that brings about. (In a nice little bit of continuity, the source of the cure was a mutant named Leech, who's power was to surpess people's mutations when they got too close to him; he was a minor character in the Generation X books.) It's permanantly supresses the mutant gene, removing mutation. Although the government maintains this will be voluntary, it comes to light that there is a weaponized version. This pisses off Magneto, and puts him on offensive, driving the action of the film.

Brett Ratner, the universally (and somewhat unfairly) hated director of this film said in some of the pre-release press that this would be the last X-Men film. I scoffed at the time, since X-Men was basically a franchise that if done right was a license to print money every few years. But after watching the film, I can see what he means.

SERIOUSLY, HUGE SPOILERS COMING HERE. I MEAN "DARTH VADER IS LUKE'S FATHER" BIG. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

Charles Xavier - Killed by Jean Grey as the Dark Phoenix. And not just killed. Utterly obliviated.

Scott Summers/Cyclops - Killed by Dark Phoenix.

Jean Grey - Completed her Dark Phoenix transition foreshadowed in X2. (Although it's not the Phoenix storyline from the comics, not a cosmic entity, merely her own untapped potential.) Killed by Wolverine in the final battle.

Magneto - Cured (unwillingly) in the final battle. Which is fine, because if the franchise does go on, it's really time for a new main villain.

Mystique - Cured (unwillingly) in a prison break attempt.

Rogue - Cured (willingly). Again, I'm fine with this because it's a logical place for her story arc to end. Rogue of the movies wasn't Rogue of the books. She didn't have her invulnerabilty, super strength, and flight powers she got from killing Ms. Marvel in the comics in the movies. She merely had her abilities to absorb peoples powers and life force, which has to suck for her since she can't make out with her boyfriend.

Of the good guys left that leaves essentially two adults: Wolverine and Storm and a bunch of "kids": Kitty Pride, Iceman, and Colossus. Not exactly a formidable X team. So I can see where it almost feels like this franchise is ending.

A few extra notes on casting:

Kelsey Grammer as Beast was pretty awesome. He had the look nailed. (I didn't count him as one of the adults however, because, much like Nightcrawler in X2, I can't particularly see him hanging around for subsequent movies, if there are any.) Hank McCoy's mannerisms, however they didn't do as well.

Ellen Page as Kitty Pride, also right on. She was actually pretty badass.

Daniel Cudmore as Colossus was OK. Not a lot for him to do, but there were two fastball specials in the film.

Ben Foster as Angel, well I have mixed thoughts on this one. First of all Warren Worthington III was pretty much criminally underused in the film except as a plot device, so I don't know why they didn't just cast him as an extra to begin with. But also, Ben Foster just doesn't seem to have the Warren Worthington III bearing. I realize that, like Rogue from the films, they're choosing to go with a younger version of the charcter, but it also doesn't help that Ben is always going to be Russell from Six Feet Under to me, an effete, "tortured", art school student that was primarly Clare's boyfriend, but who also had gay sex with their teacher. It's a shame that he was so good in that role because now I can never picture him as anything else.

Vinny Jones as Juggernaut was pretty good. He got the attitude down, but they glossed over how he got his powers (which I guess is fine since the fact that he's bonded to a mystical crystal is probably irrelevant to anyone that hasn't read the books.) But they also apparently just wrote out the fact that he's Professor X's brother, a bit larger of an oversight....ahem, creative decision.

Anyway, to cut this off: A flawed film with potential. Definitely the least of the series so far, but does a good job of tying up an unofficial trilogy.