Home > Blogs > Sir Critic on Cinema > Archives > 2006 > May > 26 > Entry
X-Men: The Last Stand measures up
Many questions burn in the minds of moviegoers regarding X-Men: The Last Stand, so I feel the best way to review the movie is to answer them one by one.
Is it any good?
Yes, very much so.
Is it as good as the earlier films?
Almost, but not quite.
So Brett Ratner, the new director, didn’t ruin the series?
Heck no. I don’t get all the fanboy hostility toward Ratner. He’s certainly not as polished as Bryan Singer, who made the first two movies and left the series to make Superman Returns. But Ratner’s a proficient action director, as the Rush Hour movies proved, and he works well with actors. I’d trust him more with an action movie than I would, say, Michael Bay or McG. At least you can tell who’s slugging whom in Ratner’s action scenes.
So what’s this one about?
Scientists develop a mutant cure that divides our heroes and villains. Some are insulted by the idea of it, seeing it as a form of persecution. Others like Rogue (Anna Paquin) see hope of lifting the burden of their powers, such as Rogue’s ability to drain the life from whomever she touches. Magneto (Ian McKellen) sets out to kill the young child who is the source of the cure, which the government uses as a weapon against the mutants.
How is it possible that Jean Grey is alive? She died at the end of the last one.
Well, it turns out that Jean (Famke Janssen) is actually more powerful than Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto put together. Coming back from the dead has seriously screwed up her psyche, so she sides with Magneto and finds herself unable to control her deadly abilities.
Who’s new here?
I really liked Kelsey Grammer’s turn as Beast, who looks like a cross between the Disney character and one of the Blue Meanies from Yellow Submarine. It’s fun to see Grammar play an urbane guy who can kick some serious kiester when he needs to. The promising young actress Ellen Page is very appealing as Kitty Pryde, who can walk through walls, and Vinnie Jones is fun to watch as the Juggernaut, even if that character is basically just an angrier version of Mongo from Blazing Saddles.
So what did Ratner do right?
Let’s be honest here. All Ratner had to do was make some solid action scenes, direct the actors well (not hard with this cast) and otherwise let the chips fall where they may. It’s fair to say that the movie succeeds more because Ratner maintained what Singer built, rather than adding anything new himself, but Ratner was a hired gun, and he did his job solidly, if not spectacularly.
What’s the best thing about the film?
The emotional impact that comes mainly from the great cast. The conflict between Jean, Professor X, Magneto and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is probably the single best storyline of the series because these actors sell it and make it genuinely moving. There are a couple of major shocks. And the final battle, with everyone going at each other, is a rouser, even if there’s nothing on the level of the White House attack in X2.
So why isn’t this movie quite as good as the other two?
It was rushed into production and it shows. Aside from the Jean story, characterization is fairly weak. For example, the story tries to develop a love triangle between Rogue, Kitty Pryde and Iceman (Shawn Ashmore), but it doesn’t resonate because it has so little screen time. Rogue is barely in the film, which is a disappointment, considering she had real potential to play into the cure plot more than she did. Minus the credits, the movie only runs about an hour and a half. It could have stood to be a little longer.
Speaking of the credits, though, make sure you stay all the way through the end for an important revelation. Nuff said.
Gotcha. So final grade?
B+. Any more questions?
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Reviews
Comments
By Allie D.
May 26, 2006 1:58 PM | Link to this
Good review! I’m really looking forward to it, and it’s good to know that the series continues to remain solid.