X-Men: The Last Stand

movie_man2006 wrote on IMDB:

A cure for the mutant gene has been found, and the X-Men, led by Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) now have the dilemma of whether they are willing to lose their powers and live as normal people. However, the Brotherhood, led by the mad mutant Magneto (a notable Ian McKellen), believe this is an outrage against their race and this leads to a war between the two sides. Meanwhile, Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) is revealed to be alive, but with different powers. In time, it is clear that Jean Grey- now possessed by the powers of the Dark Phoenix- has become a threat and the ultimate mutant war is about to begin.

"X-Men: The Last Stand" is the most emotionally elaborate and complex of all the series. If this proves to be the last chapter of the series, it is a giant one and will leave many fans shocked and heartbroken. Brett Ratner has definitely hit the right notes, and "Stand" seems like a different type of super-hero movie.   [ show more ]

However, Rattner makes one huge mistake as he is conducting the movie. The movie is about one hour and forty minutes long, the fastest movie in the franchise. However, it seems like a terrible mistake to do a movie with this length when the same movie has enough characters and subplots to fill in a 3 hour motion picture. In some points, Rattner's (effective) direction seems rushed. And this is a true shame, since some characters are rarely used- which are the cases of Mystique and Juggernaut (more on him later).

However, this movie has more action than any of the two previous entries in the series. Once this movie catches your attention, there's no way out. The action is so intense and the effects are so great that you feel as many thrills as the characters in the movie. The movie also plays intensely well as a drama. There is a lot of room for the situation to get tense and there are some parts where you can actually feel sad. Here in Cannes, this lady sitting beside me cried in a heartbreaking dialogue between Jean Grey and Wolverine (the magnificent Hugh Jackman). Right there, I knew this movie was going to be a success.

Many new characters are introduced to the franchise. Three of them are worth notice: the Beast (Kelsey Grammar), Angel (Ben Foster), and Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones). While Ben Foster handles his role well, but nothing much, Kelsey Grammar and Vinnie Jones show up as the exact right options for the respective roles of Beast and Juggernaut. Kelsey Grammar does a superb job in making Beast a charismatic mutant, with many memorable moments. Vinnie Jones is a whirlpool of rage as Juggernaut and, while the role is not exactly a Shakesperianish one, it surely provides great moments- like the amazing scene where he rushes after Kitty Pride (Ellen Page), the mutant who is able to pass through any solid objects.

While all the cast is great (especially Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, and Famke Janssen), I'd say the movie belongs to Ian McKellen and Hugh Jackman. Once again, Sir McKellen proves to be the best thing in a blockbuster as the mutant/tyrant Magneto. He is calm and wise (yet again), but knows the right time to be mean. I can think of no actor who can pull the role of Magneto better than Ian McKellen. However, one cannot leave in blank the marvelous performance of Hugh Jackman. As one of the most important characters in the movie, he proves to be a versatile and talented actor by giving the charismatic Wolverine an even more human side- a side that can be torn apart by love. These two actors prove to be a mark of a cinematic generation and show that in this movie.

In conclusion, I'd say the X-Men trilogy ended up really well. However, one has to note this is the worst movie in the trilogy; not for being genuinely bad, but because it feels sometimes rushed. However, I have to note that the final act of the movie will leave your jaws open. There are tons of surprises, and discovering who dies and who loses their powers is enough to bring the toughest X-Men fan to tears. Here in Cannes, the audience seemed to have really enjoyed this movie, and I am part of that audience. "X-Men: The Last Stand" is a marvelous, action-filled comic book brought to life, with loads of drama and lots of surprises.-------7/10 [ show less ]

yesfan-1 wrote on IMDB:

- MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD -

Last night I went to watch the German premiere of what I hoped would be the triumphant finale in the X-Men trilogy. I had purposefully ignored all early reviews and news about the film, I didn't even know that Bryan Singer had left the project - believe me, after ten minutes of the movie, I knew he had.

I won't bother to go into the story here, as in fact, there are almost five or six story lines from the comics collapsed into this movie, none of them working at all. It almost seems as if three different movies had been made and then just cut together. Jean Grey as Phoenix is so badly developed that it amounts to an insult to any fan of the comic book. During the final battle she just stands around in the background for -literally- twenty minutes until she decides to annihilate San Francisco, obviously for the sole purpose of creating a "cool" FX sequence. To see just how much the production team obviously disrespects the intelligence of the audience, watch how day turns to night from one shot to another after Magneto moves the Golden Gate Bridge to Alcatraz. My jaw dropped at witnessing such a massive continuity error.   [ show more ]

Brett Ratner obviously has no love or respect whatsoever for the comics or even the previous films, as is displayed by the following creative disasters that riddle this movie:

- Nightcrawler, who was a visually entrancing and emotionally interesting character in the last installment has mysteriously disappeared from the X-Men...

- Rattner introduces new Mutants left right and center without developing their character or even their motivation one bit - something Singer paid great attention to. The best example is the prison breakout, where Magneto frees Multiple Man and the Juggernaut, both of whom agree to join his cause without even knowing who he is or what his cause is.

- The costume design of the Juggernaut is indescribably ridiculous and makes every scene featuring him unintentionally funny. Think Hercules meets the Flintstones.

- Gone is the subtle, inventive dialog from parts 1 and 2. It is replaced by clichéd phrases that are delivered by a visibly unmotivated cast, Hugh Jackman being the best example, a mere shadow of himself. For every funny one-liner in this movie, there are at least ten that will make you wince.

- Cyclops is killed off like a character from a bad soap opera in the first ten minutes of the movie. It is inexcusable to remove such a vital character in such a disrespectful manner and I feel sorry for James Marsden for having to go out on a whimper like he did.

The list goes on and on.

This movie is the sudden demise of what Brian Singer turned into one of the great franchises and I can only imagine how he must feel at seeing what the producers are willing to do for a quick buck.

Anybody who liked the first two movies, likes the comic book, or has any respect for decent film-making - I ask you to save your ten bucks and not hand it to the makers of what is a failure of character and creativity in every respect.

Thanks for reading. [ show less ]

tony-floyd-1 wrote on IMDB:

I was able to catch a preview of this film on May 18. I am a huge X-Men fan and was reading earlier buzz about this film's shortcomings from other critics. I was very surprised at this film's quality. This film was very good especially for a third installment. I would venture to say this film was my favorite of the three, narrowly beating out X-Men United. I felt there would be a lot of confusion in tying in Magneto and Dark Phoenix but the story was very coherent. I also felt like Halle did a little better in this installment, considering better powers and better writing. The action scenes were great, especially in Jean's house. I was pleased to see them stay faithful to certain scenes in the Dark Phoenix Saga comic. The other "bit-part" mutants were not as annoying as I'd anticipated, as some of them actually were very impressive. I was very impressed with this film's "shockers" and unpredictability. Some things I definitely did not see coming. While not the perfect experience everyone hopes for, it was still well-made and should satisfy the X-Men fan base. Good story, great fights, great special effects, true to some of the comic stuff, great unpredictability, annoying Pyro. 'Nuff said.