X-Men: The Last Stand
(aka; X-3)
(2006)
review by Big McLargehuge

I was a devoted Marvel reader back in the mid 1980's and always had a soft spot for the alums from Xaviers School for Gifted Youngsters. I liked their occasional appearances on old cartoons too like Spiderman and his Amazing Friends, and always figured the title would make for a great movie or series of movies.

Bryan Singer was the man who made the X-Men franchise possible. His attention to detail, careful and faithful characterization, and selection of plot elements made both X-Men and X-2: X-Men United the best of the current crop of Marvel superhero flicks, and on par with other excellent yet more esoteric offerings like Sin City and Hellboy.

Singer managed to impart the necessary pathos into Cyclops, Jean Grey, Professor X, Storm, Rogue, Wolverine, and Nightcrawler that brought the detailed back-stories and intertwined relationships to almost full realization.

When X-3 was handed to director Brett Ratner, famous for the Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker vehicles Rush Hour and Rush Hour 2, the comic fandom world, and fans of the Singer films lamented. He wasn't know for the sort of detailed character studies so critical to the success of the first two X-Men films and there was much worry that in his hands the series would devolve into a hodgepodge of bad ideas and action set pieces. Well, in some respects these fears were realized in X-Men 3. However, the film is still a hell of a lot of fun.

I am not slavishly devoted to the storylines adapted to the screen — The Dark Phoenix saga and the recent Whedon-authored stories about the kid whose mutant power is to cure mutants of their mutant power. I loved the Dark Phoenix storyline back when I was too young to drive, but the heart of that story, an intergalactic war, wouldn't have meshed well with the storylines set up in the two preceding films. So it's no surprise that the writers streamlined the story pretty much to the point of sacrificing everything epic about that tale for the sake of continuity.

Ratner had a thankless job too, brought in after Singer headed off to direct Superman Returns and with Fox insisting on a short shooting schedule, only a year or so from preproduction to release, he had to make cuts to the production too.

Sadly, much of what is cut are the things that made Singer's treatment of the franchise work so well. The characters are suddenly comic book characters and not the real people we've come to expect. There is no development from beginning to end, and only minor progression of the arcs left over from X-Men United.

Still, I completely enjoyed this film. And I know that seems like a bizarre statement considering what you just read. But here's the deal, I was already familiar with the characters and their development in the first two films so that the lack of development didn't hurt the regulars. It did diminish the impact of some of the new characters such as Hank McCoy (Beast), Kitty Pryde, Colossus, and Angel, who are dropped into the film as if they have been with the franchise since the beginning. Ratner does manage to bring Iceman to maturity though, which I've waited for since the first film. The audience broke into applause when he went blue and clear at the climax of the film. Ratner instead spends the bulk of his characterization time on Jean Grey and Wolverine.

The death of Jean at the end of X-Men United shattered the tenuous love triangle between she, Wolverine, and Cyclops. When Jean re-emerges from death and the long suppressed super-powerful part of her personality emerges, it throws the Professor into more direct conflict with longtime nemesis Magneto. Worse, the humans have harnessed the anti-mutant power of Leech, and created a chemical cure that is made available, free of charge. Magneto, the longtime advocate for mutants rights, recruits an army, including new characters Juggernaut, Callisto, Multiple Man, and Siryn with which to storm the facility where the cure is produced (on Alcatraz island) and end the threat of normalcy once and for all.

So we have two effective stories to ponder as the film rolls out, the Phoenix story and the Cure story. There are a few smaller bits interweaved that help bring some of X-Men United's characters full circle. Iceman and Rogue aren't getting along, as his attention is drawn to Kitty Pryde, and she is regretful of her power that prevents her from touching anyone, let alone her boyfriend.

Finally, Professor X is forced to confront his past recruitment of Jean Grey and the damage done to her mind to protect her from the full measure of her abilities.

Some of the script doesn't work well, frankly some of it doesn't work at all, but there is quite a bit that does work. Magneto works, Ian McKellen IS Magneto. Whenever he is on screen, whether speechifying to a gang of tattooed mutants, or crumpling SUVs his presence lifts the film out of the mire and elevates it to high drama. Professor X works, Patrick Stewart, especially during his scenes with Magneto, gives the film tremendous emotional impact. Hugh Jackman carries Wolverine well, though his character is softened somewhat as he is integrated more into the school.

The characters who don't fare so well are Storm (Hallie Berry) who seems to be playing this role strictly for the checks now, and Rogue (Anna Paquin) who's role is reduced to almost non-existence.

Speaking of non-existence, where the hell is Nightcrawler?

Ratner's work on the Rush Hour series, and its reliance on stunts, is clearly visible here. The best bits of the film occur when lots of wham-bang action is taking place. He manages to avoid the trap (that for me sank Batman Begins) of overzealous camera movement and lets the action unfold in relative clarity. He also has a good eye for special effects, notably when Phoenix finally realizes her full potential, and when Magneto moves the entire Golden Gate bridge to Alcatraz.

Look for the glaring continuity error in the bridge sequence. It's funny.

The film succeeds because of three fantastic action set pieces, Magneto rescuing Mystique from a mobile prison, Wolverine infiltrating Magneto's camp, and the final battle on Alcatraz Island. These three scenes justify the cost of the ticket price.

If you are a purist, prepare to hate this film. If, like me, you're separated from the comic stories by a decade or two, and love the first two films, X-3 is a worthy entry in the series.

We can hope that Singer will return for the next film, but should he end up tied to Superman like a Kryptonite necklace, then Ratner, given a better script, and more time, is a worthy successor.

Oh, and stay through the credits. I didn't, but I hear there is something good after the text is done.