With a title like “The
Last Stand”, it can only mean that a series has reached its end, and I was
really worried that I’d never see another X-Men film again after this.
Thankfully, the series was far from over, the cast wasn’t going to hang up
their costumes, and there was still a lot more to come. However, “The Last Stand” is still a valid title
as it’s the finale of what is now known as the original X-Men trilogy. Expectations were high after “X2: X-Men United”, but when “X3”
finally premiered, it was placed squarely in the mixed reception crowd. Some
thought it was a good sequel that ended the series on a high note, while just
as many people hated it, and thought it ruined the series. Personally, I'm right in the middle ground on this one, as there's a lot of content I absolutely love in this film ... but I do have my issues with the picture, which keep it short of greatness. I still enjoy watching this film overall, but I wish select details could have been changed or dropped, and we could have had a fantastic sequel.
After the
events of “X2-X-Men United” a new
area of co-existence begun between humans and mutants, but the death of Jean
Grey has left a real sting on the X-Men, and things just haven’t been the same.
Their failing to work as a team, our heroes aren't getting along with one
another, and personal conflicts are arising. Outside the X-Men mansion, public
opinion has changed in view of the mutants. Once they were blindly hated by
society, but now their being viewed as tragic victims that need saving ...
whether they want it or not.
Thus, a mutant “cure” comes into creation, which
will suppress all mutations permanently. These revelations cause a rift between
mutant factions as some want the cure, and others see it as the beginning of
mass genocide. Magneto soon takes advantage of the situation and expands his
once small brother hood into a massive army of enraged mutants, who are hell bent on
striking hard at the humans before they can be cured. As if things weren’t
complicated enough, Jean Grey has returned from the dead ... but it’s not the
hero our team remembers. A dual personality called The Phoenix has taken over
her mind, and she is ready to unleash the Armageddon on everyone. After several
tragic losses, it’s up to Storm and Wolverine to become the new leaders, bring
the X-Men back together, rescue Jean from herself, and make a daring
final stand against Magneto and his massive mutant army.
It's a great set-up, and strait to the
point ... this was the first X-Men movie that felt BIG! I loved how subdued the
first film was, but I just felt that bigger stuff
needed to go down by this point. The story felt larger, the stakes were higher,
the action was far more of spectacle than ever before, and it just felt like the
X-Men movie I always wanted. There's tragic loss, lines are being drawn in the sand, people are
choosing sides, and our mutant characters are finally unleashing their full
powers.
We see Magneto throwing cars and trucks, we see the full X-Men team out
on the battlefield working together, combining their powers, battling other
supper powered villains, and even exchanging witty banter in the process. I
love that, it’s like our first real taste of what “The Avengers” would deliver in their movie years later. There’s a
scene where Professor X has a confrontation with the Phoenix, and it’s honestly
one of the most memorable action scenes in the franchise. The scene where Magneto lifts the Golden Gate Bride ... holly
cow, was that not a sheer spectacle or what? Now day’s it’s an all-too-common
cliché to have famous landmarks destroyed during big action scenes, but this
was one of the first that really felt larger than life to experience in the
theater. The musical score composed by John Powel is also fantastic, as it
features some of the best music themes of the whole series. His dark Phoenix
theme gives me chills, and might just be one of my favorite
individual tracks I’ve ever heard in a comic-book movie.
Magneto really gets to shine in this film as
the main villain, and he owns every scene he’s in. Seeing him rally an army of
mutants is just classic X-Men come to life right out of the comics or the TV
show.
I felt “X2:
X-Men United” had Magneto do some darker things, but without any humanity to balance out his actions. This time I felt they got it right. He’s still dark and ruthless, but
the film highlights his human side, and shows that there’s nothing but sadness
and regret that comes from some of the actions he takes. The addition of the
Phoenix is a mixed bag, as she's a pivotal character to the series, and Famke Janssen’s performance is terrific.
Seeing her go from such a genuinely likable hero to this terrifying force of destruction
is no small feat, and she just owns it.
Unfortunately, with the cure being our main focus, this had no chance of being a proper
re-telling of the classic “Dark Phoenix Saga” from the comics, and I can't help feeling they should have saved her for a different film. Other noteworthy
villains include the return of Mystique, as well as a new fast-moving mutant called Callisto, the return of the fire
shooting Pyro who abandoned the X-Men in the last film, and of course the
arrival of the indestructible, super strong Juggernaut. He’s been a fan
favorite character for years, and even though he was nothing like his comic
book counterpart, it was awesome to finally see him in a film. I really liked
that he had a sense of hummer too, it was great.
I also like
that Wolverine is no longer trying to rediscover his past, and instead is focused on what he should be doing in the present. How does he deal with the return of Jean Grey, and how he learns to work with the team as a secondary leader. While he may have overstayed his time as the franchises main character, I thought he did his job in this film, without overshadowing the others. He still gets his shining moments, including a fun battle in the woods, in which we see him taking out Magneto's enforcers.
Halle Berry really gets to shine in her signature role as Strom and is given more focus as the new team leader. Probably a hot take on my part, but of always preferred the idea of Strom as the official team leader, but that's just my own preference, and I liked seeing that. All the other classic X-Men are back and still very good in their
respected roles. It’s great to see more of Iceman, and while the strong metal
skinned Colossus doesn’t do much, his presence is felt.
Shadow Cat is the young female mutant who can walk through walls, and was briefly scene if the
first two films, but now she finally has a starring role. She’s played in this
film by the talented young Ellen Page, who’s great in the role and would later
go on to become quite the popular young actress after this film, starring in
movies like “Juno” and “Inception”. I really love the addition
of the character Beast, who’s played brilliantly by Kelsey Grammer. He's one of my favorite X-Men portrayals in the movies, and adds a much-needed presence to the film. Despite his appearance, he’s this
soft spoken, intelligent and sophisticated character, but when the action goes
down, he’ll still lash out and act like a wild animal, and it’s great. Then there’s
the mutant called Angle, who has great individual moments, and even ties into the cure plot, but there just wasn't enough room to really flesh-out his character.
That brings me to my biggest issues with the movie ... the characters who just couldn't fit in this crowded cast, and how they were handled. It's a daring move to kill off main characters, but only one of them felt justified in this film, and that was the death
of Professor X. It was an effective shock I didn't see coming, and it gave our
hero’s a really dramatic loss to recover from. I love how effective the
aftermath of his death was handled. The image of the professor’s empty wheelchair in
his office, mixed with a beautiful remembrance speech provided by Storm is a moment
that always stood out in the back of my mind. Unfortunately, while Professor X's death was handled well ... Cyclops's death was inexcusable. Not only killed off early, but also off-screen, and the characters hardly give him any mention. I understand the actor James Marsden was busy at the time acting in "Superman Returns", but they should have just let the character leave, and then come back at the very end, as opposed to just killing him off pointlessly.
My other issue is that the pacing is a little too rushed in spots and doesn't give us enough time to reflect on some of the questions and issues being raised. There’s a pivotal scene in which Wolverine gets into a heated
argument with Professor X regarding the moral or ethical course of action that
needs to be taken with the return of Jean Grey as the Phoenix, which is a great set-up, but ends too quickly. There's also a number of deleted and altered scenes that I feel should have been in the film. One deleted scene focused on Rouge turning down the cure and accepting her burdened powers as who she is, which is much better than in the theatrical cut, which has the character do nothing throughout the film, and get cured at the end. There's also some deleted action that would have benefited the film, including Storm using more of her elemental powers, as opposed to just fist-fighting at the end. Honestly, I don’t think any other X-Men movie is in more need of an extended or alternate cut then this one ... it wouldn't fix all the problems, but it would certainly help elevate some of the films faults.
At the end,
Magneto’s army attacks Alcatraz in an effort to destroy the cure, but the
X-Men arrive to be the last line of defense. This climax is outstanding, and
arguably one of my favorite final battles of the whole franchise. First of all, I love the buildup to this fight, as there’s a great little
scene where all the X-Men are onboard the X-Jet, on route to what could be their last battle, and with no dialogue, you can see how nervous and how concerned every team
member is to be heading off to a war that they may not return from.
Then of course the best moment of all is when the
team finally arrives, they all land on the battlefield one at a time, and they
stand together in one strait line against Magneto’s army. It’s one of my top 3
favorite moments in the whole series, and it give me chills every time I see
it. The battle itself is awesome, we have Juggernaut chasing Shadow
cat throughout the complex, Beast is leaping around beating up bad guys,
Iceman’s cold powers colliding with the fiery powers of Pyro, Wolverine slices up some baddies, Storm fights Calisto, Magneto’s
launching flaming cars, Dark Phoenix unleashes all her powers, and it’s just
one big feast for the eyes.
Unfortunately, while the battle is great ... is ending is not ... in fact, it's probably the most frustrating ending to any big Superhero movie I've ever seen. After building up one hell of an epic
confrontation between Wolverine and Phoenix ... he just pulls out the claws and
kills her, which makes the events of the movie, like bringing Jean back and so forth, all feel pointless and empty as a result. I'm aware it's taking inspiration from a comic-book in which Wolverine is forced to kill someone he loves, but this wasn't the right time for that. The overall message of the movie was about not letting power control you, and I think this could
have led to a more powerful ending if Wolverine reached out to Jean and helped
her take control of her dominate side. The
epilog is even worse, as it's too short, no-one reflects on the experience, and again, it just feels empty. The only positive thing I can say is that future movies like "The Wolverine" and "Days of Future Past" build-off "The Last Stands" ending and make good on its faults.
When all is
said and done, "X-Men 3: The Last Stand" is undeniably flawed picture, should have been stronger,
and the criticisms against the film are perfectly valid ... but warts and all, I still like this
movie, and there's a number of individual moments that are some of my favorites of the whole series. I love how big the action gets, I love how ambitious the story gets,
and I think there are just enough strong character moments to balance out all
the spectacles. I'll be honest, even though there's more faults against this film then most other X-Men movies, I actually find it more entertaining to watch. It's definitely a mixed quality picture, one that sits at the low end of good, and could have been great, if only it had changed some select details, and delivered a better ending.
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