Movie Review: X-Men: The Last Stand

by Christopher Sandlin

We all know what they say about the third time. X-Men: The Last Stand might not be the ultimate charmer, but it finally shows the X-Men where they shine – in action. The first and second X-Men movies were more like sci-fi flicks with a few action scenes thrown in for good measure. In X-Men and X2: X-Men United, director Bryan Singer pushed for solid character development and philosophical discourse rather than an action fest. Brett Ratner took the helm this time around after Singer backed out to direct Superman Returns. He chose a more commercial path and, for better or worse, gives us a slick, action-filled Hollywood movie that shows us the X-Men can really kick ass. It’s certainly bigger, but not necessarily better.

When we last saw the X-Men, they had just thwarted the plans of a military scientist bent on eliminating all mutants. Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) sacrificed herself to save the rest of her team. Last Stand begins soon after X2, as Jean Grey’s boyfriend Scott Summers (James Mardsen), a.k.a. Cyclops, has reason to believe she might not be dead. Meanwhile, the students and faculty at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters are enjoying a new school year. But their world is turned upside down when they learn of a “cure” for mutants. They now have the choice to abandon their powers and become human – but at what cost? Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his comrade-turned-enemy Magneto (Ian McKellen) are once again on opposing sides of the human-mutant divide. Xavier urges for tolerance, while Magneto thinks it’s yet another human ploy to destroy mutant-kind. As Magneto prepares his malevolent Brotherhood, the X-Men and their human allies prepare for the ultimate war.

Now, I’ve got to say that I’m not quite a full-fledged comic book geek, but I was pretty familiar with all the X-Men characters and storylines well before the film versions were made. Anyone who knows the comics will inevitably, it seems, take issue with the film adaptations of the comics – it just happens that in script writing and film development, characters and plotlines can evolve, be changed, combined or cut entirely. Sometimes it’s to cut down screen time, and sometimes it’s done to make the film marketable to a wider audience. And that’s completely understandable. It’s not possible to condense decades of comic books into a few hours – Last Stand, though, could have been longer. It came in at a mere 107 minutes. Last Stand is an action-packed rollercoaster ride compared to the last two, but the shortened running time does little to allow for much character development or emotion. New characters are introduced as beloved characters are killed off (or are they?) with little time in between. Many of the new characters introduced in Last Stand have interesting back stories of their own, but in the scope of this movie they do little to add to the plot – some could have been cut from the script without making a difference. I’d rather learn more about existing characters than just catch a glimpse of new ones.

Last Stand is supposedly the end of the X-Men trilogy, and now is the perfect time to end it. By now, the primary cast members know their parts so well they could act the part in their sleep. It’s the script that holds the characters back. It’s no surprise that the standout stars of the movie are both alums of England’s Royal Shakespeare Company: McKellen brings a sense of urgency and malice to an otherwise static character, while Stewart shows a deeper, vulnerable side of Xavier. Nearly every X-Men character would, based on comic book history, warrant a movie of his or her own (expect separate movies about Magneto and Wolverine begin filming in the next year or two). Last Stand follows the same formula used in the last two movies when it pits good and bad mutants against each other, but goes overboard this time when there are simply too many new characters who don’t contribute to the overall story.

Pull back the layers of attractive actors, nail biting action sequences, impressive makeup and terrific special effects and what you have isn’t much more than a fun summer movie. And that’s not such a bad thing. Oh and one last thing – if the ending confuses you, be patient and stay until the end of the credits and you’ll get a surprise that will clear things up or confuse you even more. And you’ll wonder, was this really the X-Men’s last stand?

Also check out Dan Gattuso's take on this film.

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