Directed by:
Brett RatnerCinematography:
Dante SpinottiComposer:
John PowellCast:
Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Kelsey Grammer, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Shawn Ashmore (more)VOD (4)
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A "cure" for mutancy threatens to alter the course of history. For the first time, mutants have a choice: retain their uniqueness, though it isolates and alienates them, or give up their powers and become human. The opposing viewpoints of mutant leaders Charles Xavier, who preaches tolerance, and Magneto, who believes in the survival of the fittest, are put to the ultimate test--triggering the war to end all wars. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (11)
The Last Stand is definitely the most bombastic part of the whole mutant trilogy. Despite the change in director (Ratner instead of Singer), they managed to film an epic piece of entertainment with great special effects that makes skillful use of the psychology already developed in the first two X-Men. The story revolves around the discovery of a cure against being a mutant (the ever more frequently casted fresh-faced Cameron Bright). Magneto takes advantage of an opportunity and widens the ranks of his followers (Juggernaut, Callisto, Phoenix...) and makes preparations for the long discussed war. Which makes room for lots of playing about. Ratner even came up with several wonderful novelties (the 1 to 5 mutant evolution scale, Wolverine’s improved fighting style) and amazing scenes (Wolverine approaching Jean is absolutely perfect, as well as Xavier testing his strength with Phoenix). But Ratner is no Singer and so his work with character psychology was a little shoddy. He tied up some loose ends from part two and tried to open some new storylines (Angel, Mystique), only to close them again. It’s hard to say how it would have all ended up if Brian Singer hadn’t eloped with the guy in the red cloak, but even so X-Men: The Last Stand is the biggest blockbuster event of this year. P.S. I really like Famke Janssen, but she gave me goose bumps in this movie and I was almost afraid of her.
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Not as emotional and near-perfect as the first installment, and not as comic book-like and cohesive as the second installment, yet despite the change of director, it is still adequately X-Men and unmistakable. Wolverine with Hugh Jackman's traditionally sharp face is a safe bet and it's no wonder he remained the main character. Others lag behind him surprisingly this time, which is especially disappointing with the highly favored Storm, from whom we don't get any new surprises. It's even more unfortunate that the very interesting background characters (Angel and especially Kitty) are not developed. Before Bryan Singer's departure, a grand finale of the entire mutant saga had been promised, which surprisingly doesn't come together in the end. I didn't feel like I was watching the last installment, more like maybe one of the later ones. After the first few showings, due to my love for the school for gifted youth, I gave a rating somewhere around 90%, because after three years of eagerly awaiting and then fearing the outcome, I felt highly satisfied with the path Brett Ratner took. Still, with a bit of distance, it's not that glorious, mainly due to the unnecessarily clunky screenplay. For an installment where the two major storylines of Phoenix's rampage and the mutation cure come together, it's a shame to waste such an ace up the sleeve as Juggernaut. One of the most iconic villains in the comic books could have been a draw for a subsequent installment, but here he is just an ordinary unremarkable pawn. With distance and comparison to the remaining installments (including Logan's solo movies, X-Men: First Class, and X-Men: Days of Future Past), it must be admitted that this is indeed the weakest adventure of the Children of the Atom. Fortunately, it still translates into a clear victory.
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A film that somewhat turned me off from the entire trilogy. This is a film made purely for spectacle, without any sense or the ability to utilize the potential of what has been previously established, the potential of its characters, or its story. The emotional scenes here simply don't work, and the new characters introduced are completely unnecessary. A big disappointment.
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As Hollywood eye-candy entertainment for a young audience, The Last Stand is flawless. As a sequel to Singer’s X-Men 2, however, it’s just sad. Brett Ratner is an enthusiastic filmmaker, an aficionado of nice images, effects and movie heroes, but he’s too superficial and childish for the meaningfulness of the material that Bryan Singer outlined before him. The character of Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones) and the occasional lapses in logic seem to have fallen out of a game adaptation by Paul W.S. Anderson and the film has more in common with Fantastic Four than with its predecessors. At the age of seventeen, when I loved Commando because there was “always something happening” in it, I would have liked The Last Stand best out of all of the X-Men movies. P.S. If Singer had added “his own thing” to the high-octane screenplay and shot it himself with a straighter face and a more modest 120-minute runtime, this really could have been the best instalment of the franchise.
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Well, I don't know. At least given the material, this installment could have been the best one, but the way Ratner narrated the story was just pathetic. There was a lot of action in The Last Stand, but it was so devoid of emotions or spirit, that I just couldn't care less about how it all went and especially how it would turn out in the end, which is a huge red flag for any movie. Plus, most of the new characters and even some regular ones did not appear at all, so after the second installment, the rating dropped back down to average.
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