Non-Spoiler Review
Last Saturday evening a group of eight of us did our part to push the third X-Men film, X-Men: The Last Stand, to its record-breaking opening weekend. I will forgo the temptation to include an overabundance of “X-citing, X-plosive” and other “X” comments. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed the X-perience (I had to do one!) and was glad to have seen it early while it was still on one of the bigger screens.
X-Men: The Last Stand is reportedly the last in the franchise and in many ways it feels like the closing act of a movie trilogy. If a person has not seen the first two films I cannot imagine them enjoying, or understanding, this film. There is almost nothing by way of introduction for most of the characters, which is a good thing. You are meant to have seen the previous movies. The plot revealed in the trailers indicates that a “cure” for the mutant-x gene has been discovered and now all the poor people afflicted with mutant abilities can become normal and boring like the rest of us. Our stalwart heroes and villians react in a predictably horrified manner and each go about their attempts to address this new threat in their own ways. The villians decide to go to war and the X-Men have to of course step in to stop them. Added to the conflict is the return of Jean Grey who “died” at the end of X-2, whose newly released potential and unsure loyalties make her a bigger threat than the governments’ “cure”. There are other small subplots including the idea that some mutants may actually prefer to be cured that give some heft to the main story.
The biggest worry of comic book geeks everywhere was whether or not director Brett Ratner would be able to deliver the same quality of story and visual excitement that Bryan Singer had in the first 2 films. Singer dumped the X-Men in favor of the man in blue tights, leading many X-Men movie fans, myself included, worried about the future of the series. For the most part I think their fears were unrealized. Ratner put forth a fine story that had a few weak moments but was mostly satisfying as the closing act of the trilogy. There were a few cheesy, lame lines of dialogue…”the best defense is a good offense”…and the movie started out a bit slow for me but those are my only real complaints. As with all three X-Men films there are far too many characters to do any real justice to their storylines. Part of the thrill for fans of the comics is just to catch glimpses of heroes and villians that they know from the series. While those characters provide interesting visual background for those of us who don’t know them it is the true “fans” who get the most out of their inclusion. The main characters from the first films get a fair amount of screen time and I was happy with all the performances of the regulars.
In addition to the main crew I enjoyed seeing Angel (Ben Foster). The wing special effects were amazing and because of that I was disappointed that he had so little screen time. I had my intial doubts about Kelsey Grammer playing the Beast but I thought he did a fine job and the costume was actually not bad…a far cry from the awful body suit Michael Chiklis wore as Thing in The Fantastic Four. I thought Ellen Page did a great job in the Kitty Pride role, very good casting there. One of the characters that I know little about but always thought looked a bit silly in the comics was Juggernaut so I was surprised at how well I thought the character looked brought to life on the big screen. Vinnie Jones is a favorite from Snatch and I really liked him as Juggernaut. I think it was a really good decision to include that character despite his minimal screen time.
The special effects are outstanding in this film as well. Some of the best scenes were during a pivitol point in the movie after Jean Grey leaves the mansion to revisit her childhood home. Tremendous effects shots there as well as a really dramatic turning point in the film. I have been impressed that all the special, mutant abilities and powers in each film have been very well done from an effects standpoint and this one was no different. By the end there is enough effects and explosions to satisfy those looking for a true summer blockbuster.
Overall I was highly entertained by this third outing and feel that, small problems aside, it is the first true summer blockbuster of 2006 and should definitely be experienced on the big screen.
That is really all I can say without spoiling the film. I am going to encourage people to talk about the film in the comments section and that may contain spoilers so I would recommend that you not read the comments unless you want to spoil the movie experience.
And if you do see it, please remember to stay until the end of the credits as there is a really important, albiet brief, scene there.
. . .still waiting for my pretty, white wings. . .
The reality of it Jules is that they would probably itch like crazy and you’d always have to be cleaning up feathers.
Oooh, I’ve been waiting [im]patiently for your review!
I was skeptical about Kelsey Grammer (really, what a strange name now that I’ve typed it out!), too, but he was perfect as Beast. Loved when he jumped Gandalf towards the end of the movie. Do you think X will be back? Jean was quite scary in her makeup! In a way, it reminded me a bit of Galadriel when she’s tempted by the ring. Still and all, I wish Alan Cumming was in this one. That was a major disappointment for me, cause he had such a pivotal role in 2.
k, I’m done!
Yeah, enjoyable experience, great visual flair, but I did find certain moments lacking in….well….something.
But that may also be because….(drumroll please)….I finally got Mirrormask! Local stockists finally caught a wake-up, and I was left in a beautiful haze for most of Friday night. Sigh, what a film!
Still, I did find X3 a satisfying conclusion, could one have asked for more than that?
I would be surprised given its financial success that they would let it die, but who knows. Rumor is that they are doing a Wolverine prequel next which I think would be really cool.
Nice call on the Galadriel/Jean comparison…now that you mention that there is a big similarity in that effect and since WETA did some of the visual effects I am wondering now if they did that one. I would’ve liked to see Alan return as well and the whole Mystique/Nightcrawler thing explored, but you can only do so much in one film.
It wasn’t perfect, FM, I agree…but it was fun and satisfying. So glad you got and loved Mirrormask. It is truly cool and the more I’ve watched it the more I’ve liked it. I still wish it had a better commentary track on it…oh well, maybe sometime in the future.
It’s hard to not read the comments, but I had to say that I’m glad that people who watch the credits are rewarded. It always makes me feel special… 😉
SPOILERS!!!
Okay, so Janet asked me in an email what I liked and what I didn’t like so I thought I’d reply here:
Didn’t like some of the cheesy dialogue as I mentioned. Every comic book/action film has some bad dialogue but there seemed to be a few really lazy-ass lines in this one that made me think that the writer was just bored and looking to fill space. The example I gave in the review was in there more than once and it is such a boring, cliched, stupid piece of dialogue.
It took a little longer to build up steam than I thought it should though I will be interested to see if I feel this way after a second viewing (most likely on DVD).
I hated that character (didn’t catch the name) that looked like a guy cross-dressing as a goth chick with the black bra outfit. That was one ugly person…so much so that it almost took me out of the movie. Glad ‘it’ didn’t have a larger role.
I was both glad and annoyed by the death of Cyclops. I don’t like the actor or the character that much but I would’ve like to have seen him “die”. That being comic book death, of course, which nevr lasts long.
I loved the whole Jean Grey storyline. I knew about the Phoenix/Dark Phoenix character but I didn’t know anything about the storyline of her youth and I really liked that whole flashback scene with Magneto and Xavier. I also loved the confrontation scene in the house where she “kills” Xavier. Very nicely done with the special effects.
I was talking with friends about the Storm character and how in each film I am a little frustrated because in my mind she should be able to kick much more butt than she does with her powers. It appears that they don’t really know how to write or film her. She spends as much time standing around in this one as she does fighting and I really don’t get that. I would think she could kick up much more powerful storms that she does that would lay waste to those around her. I know alot of people don’t like Halle Berry in the role, but she’s fine (and FINE!) by me, I just don’t think Storm is written well.
Loved Wolverine and really hope they make a prequel. Jackman is just great.
Loved seeing the danger room and the nod to the Sentinels.
Liked Kelsey as the Beast but wish they could’ve done more background on him.
Enjoyed that Mystique got killed eventhough I like her character and liked how cold Magneto was about it, what eventually happens to him, and how she gets her revenge.
I liked the weapons that slung out the “cure” syringes like a frisbee, spinning them in all directions. I thought that was a cool touch.
The Golden Gate bridge thing was a little cheesy but I understood why they did it. Its a chance for Magneto to show off his powers and for a very big, ‘blockbuster-ish’ visual effects shot.
I liked the cutaway shot of Wolverine outside the academy at the end. And I liked how the scene at the end of the credits tied back into that small lecture scene at the start of the movie.
I really liked the whole ‘ethics’ issue of the movie regarding what Xavier did to Jean and its “ends justify the means” philosophy. Made for an interesting storyline/moral dilemma.
I really liked the scene in which Wolverine killed Jean, it was also very well done from an effects standpoint.
What about you guys, likes, dislikes?
Thanks for expounding on this, Carl!
I liked, at the first “end”, how Magneto was able to move the metal chess piece (and loved the shot of that as well, beautiful); now if he can get his powers back…why not the rest of them?
I got the impression throughout the film that the ‘cure’ was going to have to be an ongoing thing anyway, witnessed by the fact that the mutants powers only were effected when they got close to the kid and then only briefly. Since Mags got such a large dose it would make sense that his powers would eventually return. And since the comics go on from here and will continue none of the characters really die or lose their powers for long anyway.
I enjoyed the movie a lot.
I would pretty much echo everything Carl liked or disliked about this one.
Two negative things caught my attention the most.
Number one, that stupid cross dressing boobed man thing. I’m not trying to turn this into anything it isn’t but I agree with Carl that it was so out of place that everyone in our group kept looking back and forth at each other as if to say, “What was that?” and in the middle of it losing track of what was going on in the film.
Secondly, I would echo Carl’s thoughts about the dialog. I have always compared the X-Men movies with the Spiderman movies because they have all been released at pretty much the same time and also because the writing and directing have been the best ever for comics gone big screen (IMO of course). This movie gets a D for dialog in my opinion. I can sit here at my desk and remember key lines from both of the Spiderman movies as well as the first two X-Men movies. This third X-Men movie just plain falls short when it comes to filling in space with clever dialog. I listen to sports on the radio on a regular basis. A good radio guy will fill the quiet moments of the game with usefull or at least entertaining information. Both of the Spiderman movies and the first two X-men movies do this so very well. I kept waiting for Wolverine to say something clever or funny or whatever in 3 but it just never happened. At least not anything memorable. The story was written well enough in my opinion but it’s the little moments in between the really important scenes that you look for some added spice. At least, that spice was there in the first two.
The word I’m hearing now is that the Wolvrine movie will not be a prequel but will pick up where X 3 left off. And considering the amount of money this one made, I’d be very surprised to not see another X-Men movie at some point.
Oh, and the movie kicked MAJOR A$$.
I don’t care either way as far as the Wolverine movie goes because, with the right script and director of course, it could be really cool.
Good thoughts James, I agree with you.
great review.. i’ve been lax in doing them lately..
loved this flick.. tho not as much as 2.
am not really looking forward to a Wolvie movie, as he’s one of my least favorite X-Men.. and his story is run to the ground in the comics. but he seems to be every fanboy’s favorite, so it’ll probably do well.
things i loved about the movie (tho probably too many to mention):
– wovie’s fightign style.. i read that he looked at the comics more for this one & it shows.
– the overall battle scenes were much more intense. gave everyone a time to shine.
– Bobby finally referred to as “Iceman”.. and all iced-up!
– glimpses (even if too brief) of favorite mutants from the comics.
– the story was powerful.. easily the best theme of the 3 movies.
– F/X.. were incredible. i had my doubts on how Colossus would look.. but wow.. it was all very impressive!
and complaints:
– the “choppy” feel to different scene transitions.. tho after awhile it didn’t really bother me.. in fact, it meant that i didn’t get bored.. kept my attention.
– a little too much of the President talking.. everything he said was repetitive & not really necessary. tho it meant more Beast screen time!
– time for Wolvie & Magneto to give up some of their screen time to the younger X-Men. poor Rouge had like 2 lines of dialog. in that respect, i wasn’t heartbroken that Prof. X kicked it.. tho they obviously left that open.
– i had read a supposed-spoiler that Gambit would be in this one.. so i was disappointed that he wasn’t.
– and of course… SO LITTLE SCREENTIME for ANGEL & COLOSSUS! 🙁
Nice thoughts Angela. I think one of the reasons that I am not burnt out on Wolverine is that I don’t regularly read X-Men. I knew only the bare bones facts about him going into movie 1 and my only real exposure besides a few graphic novels I have read since the first film came out is in the films. And Hugh Jackman just does a fantastic job at playing the character. I really got excited about him in the second film when he just started slicing people up mercilessly.
I heard others say that they were disappointed about Gambit not being included.
And is anyone going to tell me who the goth transvestite looking thing was supposed to be?
Ok. The goth transvetite was refered to in the credits as A… something I can’t remember right now I’m sorry. Keri and I discussed this character to since he/she was so distracting. There is a mutant by this name in the comics but she doesn’t have these powers so esstentially she’s some made up movie mutant character. They should have had Psylocke in this role since they only used her in two scenes which was very disapponiting because I’ve always liked her in the comics.
Overall I loved the film. Not as much as two, but atleast as much as one. I really have liked all 3 films. not a dud in the bunch IMO compared to say the Superman and Batman movie franchises.
Things I liked: Wolverine. Hugh Jackman did a great job again and I can’t wait for a stand alone movie with him. He was great in the fight scenes all through out the film and it was truely touching at the end when he kills Jean.
Kitty Pride: I really liked the actress they cast for this part. I felt like they did a nice job of bringing this character to the screen. Her fight with Juggernaught at the end was great. Speaking of him he was also terrific. He is one of my least favorite villian type characters in the comics but they nailed translating him to the silver screen.
I also enjoyed Iceman’s growing role and I felt the special effects for when he iced up at the end were amazing as well as Colussas’s special effects. I would love to see him in the Wolverine movie too.
Things I didn’t like: I missed Nightcrawler. I didn’t like the kid they cast for Angel or his wings special effects. The special effects with Magneto and the bridge at the end were cheesy too. Most of all I didn’t like how quickly the killed off Scott. The whole Scott/Jean/Logan love triangle is a classic storyline in the comics and they just wacked him so quickly in the film. That ticked me off. The character of Rogue also was very whiney in this film.
Overall, most people coming into the shop have liked them film a lot. Only two real dissenters so far. Hopes are running high for a good Superman movie to right now although the film everyone brings up that they really want to see is Pirates 2.
I don’t have any strong feelings one way or the other for Ben Foster (guy who played Angel). I liked him alot in Get Over It. He didn’t have enough screen time in this one to see if he could act in this role.
Can’t believe you didn’t like the Angel wings though Jeff, I thought they were great! When Jules gets hers I hope you can lie well and tell her that you like them! 😉
Was that character Archlight or something like that? Anyway, if that was a girl she really desperately needed a better hairstyle. I understand the androgynous look, but you have to be somewhat attractive to truly pull it off and that character just didn’t work.
I loved the wings! Angel didnt’ get enough screen time. I keep checking for wing buds.
I am glad Rogue finally got to touch. I don’t blame her for getting the cure. I’d whine a lot too if I couldn’t touch or be touched. I hope she gets in a lot of hugs, etc. before it wears off!!
I haven’t read the comics, so I’m not tired of Wolverine. He’s my favorite. He’s so attractive and I don’t mean Hugh Jackson; I’m talking about Wolverine. I think James needs to grow some side burns!! Hehe!
Hugh Jackman! I didn’t think that sounded right.
The he/she looking S&M character was Acolyte.. supposedly a woman, as she had boobs & Magneto referred to her as a “lady.”
all I can say Angela is ‘yikes’. I honestly think it was the hair. I think goth chicks (he types affectionately) by and large are very cute, but ‘yikes’!!!
I’m sure Rogue will get plenty of “etc” in before the cure wears off Jules. 🙂
Just went to see it with Karen. Great flick!!! Call me stupid but I do not recall the S&M character. Was it the one who could not stop kicking Storm’s butt or the porcupine ( or neither)? Karen just said it was the shock wave chick. Whatever, I didn’t catch any hermaphrodite ambiguity there. Agree with some of the comments. I’m glad I didn’t see many spoilers, didn’t see Xavier dying. I thought the bridge was cool! Name another movie that looked as realistic, not The Day After. It wasn’t the best one ( 2 was a little better, maybe) but the story was great. When the babysitting clock is ticking there’s no time to watch the credits so I’ll have to ask someone what it was. This could have been 2-plus hours easily and should have been. I’m glad to see it on the big screen and will buy it no doubt.
You really needed to stay and see the credits Tom…I think you could’ve spared the 7 or 8 minutes!
It wasn’t either of those that you were mentioned, it was the one Karen was talking about.
I agree that this could’ve been longer and it would’ve been fine. When it comes out on DVD you’ll have to skip ahead and watch the real end of the movie.
You big breasted tease, tell me!
Spoiler!!!!
At the end of the credits you find out that Xavier has transferred himself into the guy in the coma that he was making the ethical speech about to the kids in class at the beginning of the movie…so of course he’s not dead!
Oh, well in that case, maybe I should see it again. Everytime I see a movie like this I am just overwhelmed I am there seeing it and I don’t really absorb all the story. Plus I’m concentrating on not having to pee.
Very important. I think I need to have a bladder training camp for you guys to get you up to epic movie length pee holding!
Good review, I also liked the movie. In fact I think it might be my favourite of the three.
I agree that some of the major characters from 1&2 had weak roles. Rogue had a good message about the “cure” but they didn’t develop that story for her well.
Cyclops hardly had a line of dialogue…
The house scene the Jean Grey/Dark Pheonix. Wow… I hardly breathed the whole time.
The spinoffs sound good. I’ll wait patiently…
I finally got to see it this weekend, and I’d have to say it that although I wasn’t expecting greatness it was still a disappointment. Just far too much of a mess, and the fact that some aspects were great meant I was left thinking about how good it could have been but wasn’t.
They just stuck in too much story and didn’t have the time to develop it all enough.
I’m completely sure what the reason was to make such a short film. It should’ve at least been 2 hours if not more. I’m sure budget was the main reason although it seems to me that they were a bit wasteful with this film as there is no reason it should’ve cost that much to make when other films cost so much less and the special effects are as good or better.