X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) (1 Viewer)

[Jose Martinez]

Plus that Psylocke wears a thong!!!! Missed opportunity there!!!!!!

 

[Andrew 'Ange Hamm' Hamm]

I plan to write a more detailed review on my blog, but a few quick hits here:

***/****

I really enjoyed this movie. The creative staff clearly made the choice that streamlining the story was superior to giving every single X-Man a juicy subplot. I would have liked another 10-15 minutes (actually I would have sat through another hour), but I enjoyed what I got. Terminator 3 also seemed truncated on the first viewing, but as I look back on it I can't imagine what could have been added that wouldn't have distracted from the core storytelling.

Dark Phoenix was SO much scarier than I was expecting. The way she killed people made my skin crawl; it was so much more frightening than a gorier death would have been.

Not in the same league as X2, but nearly on par with the first film. And the action sequences werefar superior to Singer's films.

Oh, and of course the best moment was: "Don't you know who I am? I'm the juggernaut, bitch!"

 

[Larry Sutliff]

The print I saw(at the UA Grant in NE Philly), had all of the problems you mention, Mat, plus scratches galore right after the reel changes, and the picture was slightly out of focus. And film exhibitors wonder why people prefer to stay home and watch the movies on DVD or HiDef!

 

[Joe D]

I wish that the Juggernaut would have been given more screen time. Especially if he could fight the X-Men that can turn himself into metal or whatever it is.

 

[Jim_K]

Caught X-Men: The Last Stand yesterday.

The story was much darker than the previous two. My wife teared up a couple times. Yeah I got a little choked up too.

Character depth and dialog-wise X3 was a definite step down from Singers films. Comic wise I was a much bigger X-Men (probably my fave mag growing up) than I was a Supes fan so went I heard Singer left the X series to do Supes I was a bit pissed given the great build up from X2.

The comic book geek in me (haven't read one in almost twenty years but have an avid memory of the Claremont/Byrne run including the Dark Phoenix story arc) was a bit angry at some of the changes.

Missed opportunities:
1. Killing off Scott right at the beginning (If they followed true to the comic the Jean/Dark Phoenix storyline would have had more emotional resonance with me had Scott not been killed off and he was the one to have to kill Jean)
2. Angel and Peter basically used as two of numerous throwaway characters. Angel especially had a great opening scene but nothing much came from his character.
3. The Cure - Moral and ethic dilemmas raised and either glossed over or dropped entirely.
4. No Nightcrawler (one of my faves from the comics and had a great appearance in X2)

Stuff they got right:
1. The Danger room with the Sentinel cameo (for a moment I thought they were covering the Days of Futures Past storyline, which would be a good followup if there's an X4).
2. Magnetos love/hate relationship with Xavier.
3. Xaviers very unexpected and shocking death (seemed to happen in the comic series from what I remember - came back as a clone as I recall)
4. The Beast.
5. Kitty Pryde.
6. Jeans backstory.
7. and of course the Dark Phoenix, baby!

All in all however flawed and taken as a separate entity from the comics and as a followup to X2, The Last Stand was a damn good time at the show. :star::star::star:1/2

 

[Rakesh.S]

didn't anyone stay after the credits?

Professor X isn't dead.

 

[Jose Martinez]

yup. however, if they didn't add that on, I thought maybe Lilandra could have beamed up Professor X and it could have set up a really cool intergalactic sequel where we meet the Starjammers or the Imperial Guard and have a really cool Dark Phoenix saga!!!!

 

[Andres Munoz]

I knew she looked familiar.

You know what? I didn't think it was going to happen but I really liked this movie. I had very low expectations after reading all the opinions posted here and a couple of reviews on the internet but I was pleasantly surprised.

The actors have been what make the X-Men movies work. It's amazing to see such caliber actors together in one film and here, once again, they deliver great performances.

The addition of Kelsey Grammer as Beast is just icing on the cake. And what a superb job he turned in.

We definately could've used a few more minutes to flesh out the story. Here's to hoping the DVD version is a bit longer.

The one gripe I have, and Singer is every bit as guilty as Rattner, is the way they have mistreated Cyclops. And the way they disposed of him, so quickly and easily in this movie...it's just not right.

Contrary to what many of you believe, I think this movie is a worthy addition to the trilogy. Could've been better, yes, but a very good and entertaining flick nonetheless.

 

[Jose Martinez]

but then again, it's possible that Xavier only has a psychic link with the body in Moira's lab (not sure if she's actually on Muir Island) and he's actually in the far corners of the universe making whoopee with Lillandra.

 

[JonZ]

""X-Men: The Last Stand" stormed to an estimated $107 million three-day opening, the largest ever for Memorial Day weekend and the fourth-biggest in box office history."


Anyone think this one will be the last?

 

[WilliamG]

Yeah... I saw this in a superior theater 25 min. away Friday afternoon; then again last night at the local theater in town. This time it was shown in a room with some kind of something on the screen. Literally - ON the screen. When ever there was a white or light colored background, it looked like I could see two 'burn marks' or some sort of imperfection in or on the screen. I couldn't get into the show at all, because I was distracted by that. But, I get distracted by a lot of things, evidently. Becoming an HTF'er does that to a person.

Needless to say, I won't be going into that specific screening room again!

 

[Timothy Alexander]

While X-Men and X2 are way better than The Last Stand I have to admit it was very entertaining. I almost didn't want to like this movie but I did. Ratner did a great follow up job on the directing chores. Some of the action scenes are actually better than anything in the first two films. The entire Jean Grey house fight was utterly awesome. Hell, anything that showed Jean unleashing her power gave me goosebumps. I wouldn't mind at all if Ratner came back for a fourth. I just hope they give him more time, better budget, and better screenwriters(I like the movie but the plot is still wonky and they just put too much things into a hour and 40 minute movie, should've been 2hrs and 30 minutes with this much stuff goin on.)

Still kind of mad they missed the opportunity and didn't even put in a Colossus vs Juggy fight. Those two had classic battles in the comics.

Oh and...Iceman finally Icing-Out!!! About time!

 

[Josh.C]

I share the feeling that it was not as good as the first two films. However, in my opinion, the difference is very small. I think with some additional time to develop a little more story, it could have been on par with the first 2. I will definitely buy the movie, and also be in attendance whenever X4 hits the silver screen (which from the ending appears to be a no brainer).

One of my few complaints is that I would really like to see some of the new characters get a little more play. I love Wolverine and Storm, but anyone who has read the comics knows that there are plenty of other interesting characters, and all have great subplots to play off of.

X3 was much better than I thought Ratner was capable of, and I am very glad he proved me wrong. Cheers to him!

JC

 

[Patrick Sun]

Another missed opportunity: When the soldier close in on Madrox and he folds back into himself, holds up his arms and says "Okay, I give up." the effect folks should have popped in a glint from his teeth (like in the commercials for Orbitz gum). Eric Dane was already mugging for the camera at that point (obscure fact - he played "Hero" in Project Greenlight's Feast, directed by John Gulager, and on the shelf with the Weinstein Brothers at the moment).

 

[KyleC]

Here's hoping Gambit comes in for the fourth film.

 

[Malcolm R]

I agree, Shane. I also thought the effects were stunning. But you have to consider the source, here. It would be totally out of character for PeterTHX to let pass an opportunity to bash Weta Digital. Still smarting from that lack of Oscar noms, apparently.

I was wondering why they didn't just find some way to get Leech close to Jean Gray, that would have knocked out her powers without having to kill her.

I liked the film overall, but was stunned at how short it was. With all the other "Event" films of the past few years having a running time well in excess of 2 hours, why rush this film that's so packed with plots and characters? There should have been another 30 minutes at least.

 

[Michael Allred]

Yes I saw X3 today. Get ready for some non-sensical gibberish courtesy of moi!

Where to start?

I had extremely LOW expectations for X3 when Bryan Singer left and Brett Ratner was hired. Ratner's films ranged from so-so to decent, certainly not up to the standards of Singer's work. In my opinion, Singer started off a brilliant trilogy and it's a damn shame he didn't finish it (I would've rather seen Guilermo Del Toro direct X3 than Ratner.) I certainly hope "Superman Returns" ends up being good enough to excuse his departure from the "X-Men" franchise.

Anyway, the film was far too short. With this cast of characters, you NEED more time to develop them on screen or in the case of some, give their deaths more dramatic weight.

I'm no fan of Cyclops but damn did he get the short end of the stick in this trilogy or what? He doesn't even get the dignity of dying on screen?

The CGI used to make Prof. X and Magneto look so young was remarkable. Just stunning. Perhaps we'll be seeing more of this in Hollywood, especially with older actors in action films?

Kelsey Grammar was perfectly cast as Beast but I don't think they effectively captured the character, it was 'Beast highlights.'

I never cared for Rogue, it doesn't bother me in the slightest if she's never used in another sequel. Yeah yeah, I know all about the comic book history but we're talking about the *movies* here and things HAVE to change in the adaptation.

"Killing" Prof. X really sucked the life out of the theater I was in. Nobody seemed like they wanted that to happen. Jesus, completely obliterating the guy into nothing? Seems a bit harsh.

Speaking of harsh, did you find it odd how coldly Magneto reacted to Mystique after she *saved* him from the cure gun and was turned into a human? "You're not one of us any more"? "She used to be so beautiful"? DAMN! I had to laugh when she ended up betraying Magneto later in the film, telling the government where his camp was. I would've liked to see Magneto react with a tad more sadness to Xavier's death, hell I would've prefered his whole death scene be treated as something more horrific, like if you were watching your father being murdered.

The Iceman vs Pyro fight was rather anti-climactic and I think that we really could've done without the one-liners. "I'm the Juggernaut bitch"? Rather juvenile don't you think? Sticking with Juggs, his muscle suit looked ridiculous. In this day and age of special FX, we can't make a realistic looking rubber suit? I was disappointed they made him a mutant and threw away his relationship with Xavier. I had also been hoping to see a full throttle fight between him and Colossus (which would've give the "tin man" something to do other than carry large TVs with ease.)

I'm not going to get into Storm too much. I have always HATED Halle Berry in the role. She's a girl scout, nothing more. Angela Basset would've been the perfect fit. I'm glad she won't be playing superheroes any more.

Enjoyed the "look" Jean Grey had as Phoenix, when she went nuts she had a real demonic look to her. Very cool. I dug how the whole environment around her went batshit at the end.

It's clear to me Angel was merely being introduced and will get a more prominent role in X4 (which we ALL KNOW will happen.)

Magneto has been my favorite so far and while I wouldn't necessarily approve of all his methods, he was clearly in the right in X3. Just why in the hell did the X-Men stand off against him at the end? Traitors indeed. The "cure" clearly wasn't being treated as solely a choice any more, *I* would've tried to kill Leech as well. It was seriously pissing me off how they showed Mags being much weaker in this film, Phoenix threatening him with the cure (couldn't he have simply brought some metal projectiles somewhere and knock them away?) and of course actually getting it at the hands of Beast. I did *not* want to see him as some helpless old man in an old folks home. Thankfully it appeared his powers were coming back as he could move the chess piece at the end which begs the question...

Is this cure permanent? Does it react differently to each individual? Will some get their powers back and others won't?

It's clear Ratner was not a good choice for the film. I can appreciate he didn't try to make it "his" movie and try to fit it into Singer's vision but the problem is that he just isn't as talented as Singer is and X3 looks like a poor copycat.

I suppose I could have dealt with the changes/deaths in the film had they been written better and of course had the balls to stick with it at the end but virtually everything was a cop out. Prof. X's mind was transferred to that comatose guy (when Patrick Stewart's voice is heard, is it actually his speaking voice or was he telepathically communicating with Moira?) Assuming Xavier comes back in X4, will Stewart just be doing voice over? Granted we never got a look at the comatose body but he can't look like Xavier THAT much.

Too bad Nightcrawler wasn't in it but I got the impression from the X3 game that all the fighting and violence wasn't for him and left the group (the game's pretty good BTW, Cumming provides the voice. Sabretooth's in the game as well and the actor who played him in X1 voices him too.)

The FX was pretty damn good throughout (contrary to what I've been reading this past week.)

The love triangle (if you can call it that) between Iceman, Rogue and Kitty was hardly fleshed out and barely made an impression at all. Plus, could Iceman *be* any more of a wuss?

I would say the Danger Room sequence was not what fans had been hoping for all these years. One cheap Sentinel head? You never see it cut off by Wolverine either. Kinda lame if you ask me. I'll also echo other responses I've read about the music, where was it? The X2 score blew it out of the water.

Overall, X3 was not the big fiasco I was fearing but it's a huge let down from the high of X2. It's looking like it will break the $100 million mark this weekend so when FOX greenlights X4, here's to hoping there isn't a "Superman" sequel in the works.

Bryan, please come back.

I know my comments have been mostly negative but I don't wanna give the impression I hated it. I didn't, it was (like all of Ratner's work) ok but the franchise needed something better than "ok."

If they're doing that Wolverine solo story, I think it would've been cool if Magneto did rip the adamantium from his bones at the end of X3. It would've made an interesting story to continue with (Wolvy's far too strong in the films now.)

X3 gets a C from me.

Those are my scattershot thoughts on X3. I hope it wasn't too damn confusing to read.

 

[Dan Rudolph]

I thought the movie was okay, but not great. I've barely read the X-Men comics, though I did used to watch the cartoon. My main gripe was the lack of character development. Colossus seemed to be in the movie solely so he could throw Wolverine. he doesn't really do much. Angel is introduced, but is essentially a deus ex machina (and why no scenes with his father after he saves him). In fact, that bugged me because it's also a plot hole. How did Angel get to San Francisco so fast? There's no way he kept up with the plane. We got a lot of Kitty, but I think we should have gotten to know her better, too. Being considerably shorter than X2 didn't really work out for them.

 

[JonZ]

"Is this cure permanent? Does it react differently to each individual? Will some get their powers back and others won't?"

This is only a guess but perhaps its not permanent for higher class mutants. Magneto would be a 4 while someone like Rogue would prob be a 2.

And speaking of Magneto and your comments above, did anyone else just love the way Ian performed the power movements during the convoy scene?

 

[James_Kiang]

I have heard that the game that came out just before the movie expains Nightcrawler's absence from the film. Has anyone played it so they can fill in the details?