X-Men: The Last Stand
Directed by: Brett Ratner
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Sir Ian McKellan, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, James Marsden
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence, some sexual content and language.
Parental Notes: This film is in the same vein as the other two; there’s a lot of thrilling comic-book violence, minor sexual content and language, and a good bit of melodrama. There’s very little gore or graphic content.
“X-Men: The Last Stand” is ostensibly the last film in the X-Men film saga, and director Brett Ratner (“Red Dragon”, “Rush Hour” 1 and 2) does a good job filling Brian Singer’s shoes at the helm. There’s plenty here to impress, from CGI effects to the central and secondary story lines This isn’t a terribly complicated film, but it’s definitely an entertaining one.
In case you’ve been hiding under a rock and somehow missed all information about the earlier X-Men films, they are set in the near future when mutations have become common among humankind. These mutations grant unusual powers, from telepathy to the ability to control the weather. The mutants are largely divided into two camps: the X-Men, led by Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and based at Xavier’s school for young mutants, and the Brotherhood of Mutants, led by Magneto (Sir Ian McKellan).
When a pharmaceutical company creates a permanent “cure” for mutation, Magneto is convinced that it’s only a matter of time before the “cure” is administered by force to all mutants, effectively wiping them out. He leads the Brotherhood in an all-out assault on the company that developed it. Xavier and his team are also concerned about what will happen but are determined not to let Magneto and his allies act so drastically. The result is an all-out war between mutants with humans caught in the middle. The battle sequences are breathtaking, above and beyond what we saw in the previous films. There’s some very clever choreography with the mutants using their powers to compliment each other, and the special effects are jaw-droppingly impressive.
Meanwhile Xavier’s team are also dealing with the discovery that Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) survived the massive destruction at the end of the previous film. Her survival instincts appear to have breached the blocks Xavier put in place in her mind to help her control her phenomenal powers, and she now poses a huge threat to the entire planet. Jean is the most powerful mutant ever born, but her powers have a personality of their own, and it’s not a very nice one. The struggle to help her control herself and keep her out of Magneto’s clutches (he sees her as an immensely useful tool) pushes the X-Men to their limits.
This storyline contains most of the film’s overly melodramatic scenes and shows the difficulty presented by having a character who is essentially all-powerful. It requires the audience to suspend their disbelief to the point of lunacy and unless they’re willing to do that, it becomes utterly silly. Ratner tries to walk the line and make it a believable and interesting story, but whether he succeeds will be a matter of personal preference.
There’s a rather touching subplot revolving around the character Rogue (Anna Paquin), a young mutant whose power is to drain the life force (and powers) of anyone she has skin-to-skin contact with – including her boyfriend Bobby (Shawn Ashmore, “X2: X-Men United”). When news of the “cure” reaches her, she sees it as an opportunity to be normal. This gives us a look at the possible positives of suppressing the mutant gene, and keeps the story from being too one-sided. Paquin delivers a strong performance as one of the few truly conflicted characters in the film. The philosophical ramifications of her decision are fascinating, but are left to the fans to hammer out.
“X-Men: The Last Stand” is a solid summer action flick, and those who are fans of the first two films will not be disappointed in this one. Although the title of the movie suggests that it’s the last we’ll be seeing of the X-Men on the big screen, that’s by no means a sure thing. Ratner and his team savvily leave their options open by adding a scene after the end credits which hints that all is not what it seems. Presumably if “X-Men: The Last Stand” draws a large enough audience to the box office, we’ll be seeing a fourth film in the franchise. They’ll have their work cut out for them topping this one, mind you, but it’s far from impossible.
I have seen the last stand 3 times and i didnt find out about the extra scene until after the 3rd time. please if anyone knows what the scene at the end of the movie is please tell me. And another thing i heard there is going to be fourth movie.????