2006 / 104 Minutes / PG-13
Reviewed by Dale Nauertz

Comic geeks are going to hate this movie. I can say that with absolute certainty. One of my friends is an avid X-Men reader (well, he has read way more issues than I have) and gleefully pointed out the inaccuracies of the film the moment it had finished (or, how it varied from thirty years of comics, at any rate). But he still said he enjoyed the film, and I heard him laughing gleefully at many points during the Midnight screening we attended. The average comic geek, on the other hand, will probably not be so kind. I understand why a person would be pissed off that a film based on a certain property just up and changed the rules and plot of that property, which has been established over thirty-odd (maybe even forty-odd) years. On the other hand, as a man who has barely glanced at an X-Men comic ever, I can say without hesitation that this film is a blast. So if you’re like me (and I’m thinking that thousands, perhaps millions of you are) then you’re bound to have a good time.

I appreciated the first two X-Men films because they not only provided excellent comic book action, they also dealt with issues that most comic book movies disregard. The X-Men films are about racism and non-comformity and the use/misuse of power, heady subjects for a movie whose characters dress in skin-tight leather and fight crime. And though director Bryan Singer, the sure and steady hand behind the first two films, went off to direct some silly “Superman” movie, that sense of moral relevance remains intact. This third film deals with a pharmaceutical company that has discovered a “cure” for the mutant gene. Any mutant who takes this cure will immediately become a regular person. There are some in the mutant community who are thrilled by this prospect (who wants to be ridiculed, ostracized and terrorized for their entire life?) but most of them are horrified. “They’re nothing wrong with us,” Storm says, “ANY of us.” Magneto (played once more to absolute perfection by Ian McKellan) uses this as the platform to rally hundreds of mutants to his cause. He decides to destroy the pharmaceutical labs (based on Alcatraz Island of all places) and end the “cure” debate his own way, once and for all. Because Magneto doesn’t care about killing a bunch of people in order to do this, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and the other “good mutants” or “X-Men” decide to protect humanity and themselves by stopping this “cure” nonsense in their own way.

As a director, Brett Ratner is generally something of a hack. But he’s done a pretty effective job of it here. Sure, I miss Bryan Singer’s moody, dark atmosphere, but Ratner keeps the pace lively and stages some impressive action sequences. Magneto’s attack on Alcatraz, for example, is awesome. Ratner lacks Singer’s visual poetry and finesse, but he gets the action beats right and works in a lot of subtle social commentary, as Singer did. The lines outside the mutant “cure” facility, for example, and the mob protesting it across the street are eerily reminiscent of the lines and protesters that flock outside abortion clinics.

The best thing about the film (which is probably best attributed to the screenplay by Zak Penn and Simon Kinsberg) is its willingness to up the stakes. The film has a lot of darkness to it, mainly having to do with the resurrection of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) who doesn’t come back exactly as she was. Though I had never gotten this sense from the first two films, apparently Jean is the most powerful mutant on record. And in this film, boy, is she ever. She can destroy things and people at the molecular level, which is freaky and yet great fun to watch. Plus, she exhibits a heretofore unexplored bad attitude. Famke does a great job with her newly complex character and the effects that bring her rain of destruction to life are the best of the film. Not only that, but I was shocked (and, yes, sometimes a little pissed) at the number of major characters that either die or are significantly changed by the events of this film. Not only do they die but, unlike Jean, I get the distinct sense that a lot of them ain’t coming back. Though there are the usual hints at a sequel, I get the feeling that the filmmakers aren’t screwing around. This movie certainly feels like a last stand.

Unfortunately, the film has some major problems as well. Character development, for one. There really isn’t any. Jean Grey and Magneto are nicely explored in this film, but the good guys are pretty much glossed over. Wolverine and Storm are cool, and they kick a lot of ass, but the movie doesn’t really explore the emotional side of what they’re going through. We don’t get a sense of what makes them tick. That’s not too bad, since we’ve had two movies in which to get to know them, but the film gives us very little back story on the new mutants either. Kelsey Grammar’s blue Beast character is neat and all, but what’s his deal? He talks a lot, but we never get to the heart of why he does what he does, as we did with guys like Nightcrawler. And Beast gets the best time of it. A couple of the new mutants aren’t even given names! The first two films had a lot more major characters and didn’t have the luxury of devoting a lot of screen time to them, yet they made every moment of that time count. They developed the characters quite well in a limited span of time, something this movie barely bothers with.

Also, the film feels rushed. I understand why that is, however. After all, the movie has a lot of ground to cover fairly quickly, but I wish it would have been even ten minutes longer. Slow things down a little and you’d still have a fast paced film. Take your time to explore this world, Ratner. Getting more of a flavor of this world would immensely add to the proceedings.

Still, “X-Men: The Last Stand” is solid, action-packed entertainment with a bit of social commentary thrown into the mix. It’s not quite as effective as the other two (“X2” remains my favorite thus far) but it’s generally well-acted, fast-paced and potent stuff. I get the feeling it’s one of the better films we’ll be seeing this summer. But, then again, the slate of upcoming films doesn’t exactly fill me with a lot of faith.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 26th, 2006 at 2:56 pm and is filed under Dale's Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.