Rated PG-13 (Intense Sequences of Action
Violence, Some Sexual Content and Language)
Running Time: 1 Hour & 44 Minutes
Cast:
Patrick Stewart-Professor Charles Xavier
Ian McKellen-Eric Lehnsherr/Magneto
Hugh Jackman-Logan/Wolverine
Halle Berry-Ororo Munroe/Storm
Famke Janssen-Jean Grey/Phoenix
Kelsey Grammer-Dr. Henry 'Hank' McCoy/The
Beast
James Marsden-Scott Summers/Cyclops
Shawn Ashmore-Bobby Drake/Iceman
Ellen Page-Kitty Pryde
Anna Paquin-Anna Marie/Rogue
Ben Foster-Warren Worthington
III/Archangel
Daniel Cudmore-Piotr Rasputin/Colossus
Rebecca Romijn-Raven Darkholme/Mystique
Aaron Stanford-John Allerdyce/Pyro
Vinnie Jones-Cain Marko/The Juggernaut
Dania Ramirez-Callisto
Eric Dane-Jamie Madrox/Multiple Man
Ken Leung-Quill
Mei Melançon-Elizabeth Braddock/Psylocke
Omahyra Mota-Philippa Sontag/Arclight
Cameron Bright-Jimmy/Leech
Josef Sommer-The President
Shohreh Aghdashloo-Dr. Kavita Rao
Directed by Brett Ratner
 |
| "X-Men: The Last Stand" is when the series jumped the shark but at least the cast does it with style! |
Note: Part of the "X-Men Trilogy" Blu-Ray set.
With "X-Men Origins: Wolverine"
due out on May 1st, I decided to go back and review the "X-Men
Trilogy" on Blu-Ray. Now I'm starting with the third film because it's
already out on Blu-Ray but 20th Century Fox is releasing a boxset on April
21st. I'll go back and review the previous films when they are available. I
also want to say before diving in that I am aware of the workprint of "Wolverine"
floating around online and urge you not to download it because a film of this
type should be seen in the theater, not on your computer with unfinished
effects and lacking the ten minutes added from reshoots. With that said, let's
review "X-Men: The Last Stand!" After the release of "X2 X-Men
United" in 2003, fans waited in anticipation of what Bryan Singer would
come up with, especially with his adaptation of the famous "Dark Phoenix
Saga." Unfortunately, trouble plagued pre-production from the start as
Singer was faced with increased studio interference. Warner Brothers
immediately pounced and asked Singer to direct "Superman Returns"
which he accepted. He was also keen on returning to direct "X3" but
20th Century Fox terminated his contract due to this...betrayal and soon,
Matthew Vaughn (who directed "Layer Cake") was brought on. Vaughn was
adamant about making "X3" as good, if not better than, "X2"
but was faced with a flawed script, rushed production schedule, and studio
interference. He left after six weeks and cited 'personal family issues' as his
reason. Brett Ratner, who was originally one of the choices to direct the first
"X-Men" was hired, having experience for working on films with a
rushed schedule like "Rush Hour." Unfortunately, all this trouble
resulted in a film that is not on par with the quality set by the first two and
you can feel the plot being rushed at times. Much of the character development
had been truncated in favor of adding as many characters from the comics as
possible and more action scenes. Despite this, the film largely remains
entertaining in its own right but will always be the worst of the "X-Men
Trilogy."
The film starts 20 years from the present,
where Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Erik Lehnsherr (Ian
McKellen), the future Magneto, meets Jean Grey for the first time. 10 years
later, we discover Warren Worthington's father discover his son to be a mutant.
The opening credits role and after, we meet our favorite mutants
Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Ororo Munroe/Storm (Halle Berry), training a
new generation of X-Men. Scott Summers/Cyclops (James Marsden) is still haunted
by the death of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and abruptly leaves the X-Mansion.
Trouble brews on the horizon on two fronts: the apparent discovery of a 'cure'
that suppresses or negates an individual's powers and the sudden resurrection
of Jean. The mutant community is divided over the cure, but some, like Rogue
(Anna Paquin), are interested. Magneto begins recruiting an army, who believes
that his race will be forcibly exterminated. However, Jean begins to manifest
destructive psychic and psionic abilities, becoming the Phoenix. She joins
Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants who begins to wage war on Humanity. The X-Men
are forced to battle for the survival of both human and mutantkind, facing
their 'last stand.'
The plot sounds great on paper but in
reality, it's a rushed mess. What's surprising is that it ends up largely
coherent from start to finish. It still feels fragmented in parts because
Ratner and the writers have taken plotlines from various X-comics and mashed
them together. Besides the "Dark Phoenix Saga," you'll notice the
"Cure" storyline from Joss Whedon's run from "Astonishing
X-Men" and the love triangle between Bobby Drake/Iceman, Kitty Pryde, and
Rogue from "Ultimate X-Men." The main focus is on Phoenix, Wolverine,
and Cyclops but it doesn't work because a third of the love triangle is
missing. Cyclops only appears in the first 30 minutes and is than killed off in
the lamest way possible (off-screen). This is one of the worst sendoffs I've
ever seen but the reason behind his characters early demise was that James
Marsden decided to star in "Superman Returns," which conflicted with
the filming schedules of "X3." Another major character also bites the
dust, which I won't reveal if you STILL haven't seen the film but it seems like
it's done for pure shock value, not for emotional impact. Many of the subplots
introduced are abandoned later in the film due to the fact that there are just
TOO MANY characters. If you remember, Ben Foster as Archangel was heavily
marketed but he only appears for 10 minutes and, like his namesake, flies away!
Many of the new characters are from the Morlocks but here, many of their powers
are either altered or changed outright and they're given very limited screen-time with little to no lines. The themes of racism are still here but
their impact is lessened to make way for more action sequences. Yes, the plot
is coherent, unlike "Spider-Man 3" but that does not equal a good
plot and it pales in comparison to the previous films. Also, the ending was
rather abrupt with the credits just popping up suddenly; there was no smooth
transition.
The acting is pretty much in-line with its
predecessors, with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen being the best. McKellen
plays a more Hitler-like Magneto who persecutes Humanity and becomes the very
monster that he has fought against. I remember another film reviewer said that
this was out of character but it's not, as this was explored in Grant
Morrison's acclaimed run on "New X-Men," though to the extreme. One
of the best scenes is when he and Professor X start arguing ideology and vie
for Jean's allegiance. Hugh Jackman is once again perfect as Wolverine and it's
hard to think of any actor that could replace him. The exploration of his past
was dropped in favor of his unrequited love for Jean. The rest of the cast is
largely a mixed bag. Famke Janssen never really wowed me as Jean Grey but she
does a good job playing a mentally unstable character. However, the film always
lets us know that her power is limitless and that she can do anything but we
never feel that way because she spends a large amount of time just standing and
staring off into space. Why would Magneto need an army if he has Phoenix?
Couldn't Phoenix have just destroyed the source of the cure with a thought
without having Magneto tearing off the Golden Gate Bridge and sending mutants
to their death? I know that it's to have a huge battle royale at the end but
thinking about it, Magneto's plan seems inefficient (and a sign that I have too
much time on my hands!). Halle Berry is still the weakest out of the main cast.
She threatened to not return unless she was given a larger role, which Ratner
complied. Her performance is still stiff and her character really shines only
in the action scenes. The only major addition is Kelsey Grammer as Hank
McCoy/The Beast and initially, I thought he wasn't going to do the character
justice. Fortunately, my fears were unfounded and thanks to the excellent
makeup effects, he is exactly how I pictured him on-screen, especially his
speech patterns. Rounding out the cast is a bunch on unknowns with bit parts
for the Brotherhood. Since they only have one line, it's hard to judge their performance.
Where "X3" really shines is the
action scenes, not surprisingly. The film opens with a thrilling Danger Room
session inspired by the "Days of Future Past" storyline, complete
with a Sentinel! When Jean Grey and Professor X have a battle of wills while
the rest of the team face off against the Brotherhood, you feel the scene
crackle with tragedy, but sadly this is not carried over to the rest of the
film. Wolverine really goes crazy here, especially the forest sequence but the
final battle royale is just gargantuan and borderline ridiculous! The X-Men
battle with hundreds of mutants, and both Kitty Pryde and Iceman get their
respective moneyshots thanks to a thrilling chase with Juggernaut (Vinnie
Jones) and a battle of the elements involving Pyro (Aaron Stanford),
respectively. At times, the wirework is very obvious but it never detracts from
the action scenes, which are often thrilling and will tickle the geeky fanboy
within us.
The Blu-Ray release is rather impressive,
though the one on the box set will most likely have even better quality as the
one I have uses a 25 GB disc as opposed to a 50 GB disc. Picture quality is
incredibly sharp, featuring amazing detail on all of the X-Men's costumes and
the actors/actresses faces. Black levels are solid and look natural, as does
the rest of the film. The only detractor is the somewhat heavy grain, which may
irk some people. While noticeable, it was not a problem for me because all
movies have grain, removing it will make the film too 'clean.' Likewise, audio
quality is astonishing as you'll be assaulted by a barrage of explosions. The
scene where Magneto tears down the Golden Gate Bridge shook the very
foundations of my room! For information purposes, this release uses DTS-HD
Master Audio 6.1, while the box set will have DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, but your
ears will most likely not be able to tell the difference anyway.
Upon the film's release, "X-Men: The
Last Stand" was met with a mixed response from both critics and fans,
currently holding a 56% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Many people found that while
it was not awful, the film just couldn't stand up the high standard set by its
predecessors and was too overblown with characters and special effects.
However, this is one of the few times where the third film out-grossed the previous
entries with a whopping $234 million domestic, greatly helped by its $103
million take during opening weekend. I remember that there were so many people
crowding to buy tickets, I ended sitting all the way in the front. Factoring in
the foreign box office, "X3" stands at $459 million, making the
"X-Men Trilogy" one of the most successful comic book franchises
after "Spider-Man." "X-Men: The Last Stand" is missing much
of the emotional impact and the character development that made Bryan Singer's
entries so strong but the third film should still provide ample entertainment.
Final Rating: 3 out of 5
"Control? You know, sometimes when
you cage the beast, the beast gets angry."
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