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

[Kevin Grey]

But it never did anything with the idea. It's put out there, there is maybe one scene of lip service and then it's forgotten. The idea is hardly original so I would give X3 credit only if it explored the issue to a decent length which it did not.

 

[Will_B]

I hear the "cure" idea was presented in Joss Whedon's comic book Astonishing X-Men vol 1 & 2 (available as trade paperbacks), so though I don't usually read comic books I'm going to check out what could have been done with this idea in the hands of a more talented director.

 

[PeterTHX]

What exactly do you think Brett Ratner should have done differently?

It's not his script. He had a few ideas, but the storyline was largely out of his hands.

 

[Chris Atkins]

Peter:

It's not Ratner's fault at all. He was competent with what he was given, and did a pretty good job matching up the movie, visually, to the first two films directed by Singer.

The major problem is in the script...but I still don't think Ratner elevated any of the material, though admittedly most of the material was hard to elevate.

 

[Will_B]

Have the script redone. But I guess there wasn't time? Or maybe there are still situations in which a director is just a hired hand, with no say about the story?

 

[Kevin Grey]

Ratner was, for all intents and purposes, a higher hand this time out. Matthew Vaughan, who directed Layer Cake, was supposed to be the director but he bailed right before X3 was supposed to go into production. X3 already had a locked in release date that was less than a year away so Ratner (who had just had plans for Rush Hour 3 fall through) was brought on to get the production up and running very quickly.

 

[Luis Cruz]

Under the circumstances, I think Ratner did a fantastic job with what he was given. He came in 2 months before shooting was to begin and made an entertaining film that while not up to par with X2 was definitely as good or better than X1. With only 2 months before shooting he wasn't able to really do much to the script. The only major change he made to the script was moving the bridge sequence from the end of the first act to the third act. Other than that, there was just no time for him to do more script wise. Alot of people bash Ratner for being a hack but I think he proved himself as a good director with X3 being as good as it was under the horrible circumstances it was left in. As far as the script goes, it was definitely not perfect but the blame is on Kinberg and Penn. They also should not have raised the hopes of fans by answering all the questions they answered online. I think they raised too many hopes with their misleading answers.

 

[JonZ]

I dont think its Ratners fault at all. I think he did a fine job.

The problem was with guidelines given by the studio of what the story would contain. And yes I think some of the writting was very unimaginative. The film is a half assed effort that was rushed.

Its now come out that Cyclops death had nothing do to with Marsdens studio time and it was planned before he signed for SR. It was simply a trigger to send Phoenix over the edge. Degrading Cyclops down to Yoeman Johnson. Goes to show they know NOTHING about what makes the comic book work and have no care for the property. Its just a cash cow.

FOX handling of this film and Fantastic Four are pathetic. It will take a VERY creative team to get me to watch in another FOX superhero property.

At least theres hope with The Dark Knight,Iron Man and Spiderman 3

 

[Luis Cruz]

For some reason I think the whole Marsden situation, about having Cyke being killed off before he signed on to SR is bogus. I think Fox put that out there to show that there was no bad blood, but in reality there probably was, considering if Singer was going to do X3 he was going to expand Cyke's role. I remember an article where Singer had said Cyke would get to shine in X3, too bad that didn't all pan out.

 

[James@R]

I think if Magneto and Co. had simply taken a ferry to Alcatraz, fanboys would've screamed that it was cheap and uninspired.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

Which was, of course, an astonishingly bad move. If I understand it correctly, the film originally had them using Alcatraz as a prison for mutants - which actually makes sense, since Alcatraz was a prison. So Magneto used the bridge to escape and let the mutants out. That makes sense.

But to move it to the third act, they then had to contrive a reason for the scene. So they decide to turn Alcatraz into a laboratory, quite clearly for no other reason than to find some vague justification for the scene. And so it just does not work.

Bad move, Ratner.

 

[Jerome Grate]

Watched it Saturday and thought it was pretty good. Magneto using the bridge clearly was a demonstration of his mutant powers, I believe he was a class 4 or lower class 5 like Xavier. The Jean Grey issue probably could have been played a lot better, she had great power and this clearly could have been a spin off or at least another X-men movie. I'd give it :star::star::star: out of :star::star::star::star::star:

 

[David Deeb]

There are pros & cons of X3, but the Cyclops thing certainly left a poor taste w/ most fans. Here's my hope:

Singer is talked in to directing X4. It starts w/ a flashback. Nightcrawler (who was missing in X3) secretly follows Cyclops when he goes looking for Jean.

Since we didn't see Cyclops "die" in X3, we see Nightcrawler pop in & save Cyclops at last minute. However, Jean's mayhem disrupts Nightcrawler's rescue so both he & Cyclops end up on Mars or Siberia or some far away place, missing X3's finale.

Singer directs an astonishing 4th act w/ Nightcrawler, Cyclops, Beast, Wolverine, Iceman, Kitty Pryde, & others from the series. No new characters except for one: a new villain. Let's see the existing characters fleshed out.

 

[Chris Roberts]

I really enjoyed the first two X-Men movies. The third isn't as good, but its still a fun enough movie. Mostly it seemed to be lacking in the style and approach of the first two films. They were more subtle and this was more heavy-handed.

I hated Juggernaut and wish they'd left the character out of the movie. His helmet made him look like a walking dildo and his dialogue was lame. Plus I still can't figure out how he built momentum to burst out of the floor at the end. I wonder if Singer would have used him since he seemed concerned with not including mutants who weren't adding something to the story. Same with the guy who could duplicate himself. His only purpose in the movie being the one scene where he tricks the satellite imagery in the woods. Another totally unnecessary scene (they could have just had a base underground somewhere).

What bothered me about Jean Grey as Phoenix was I kept expecting more effects surrounding her. Not just the area around her, but her physical body. They changed her eyes a little bit and her hair looked redder, but otherwise she still looked like Jean Grey but with a blank expression on her face most of the time. I wanted to see her levitating constantly or flames sparking around her or something to show she was an uber-mutant who didn't hold back her powers at all.

I liked Beast for the most part. I think Kelsey Grammar did a good job and respected the character (unlike Halle Berry). I hope if they do a fourth movie he'll be back for it.

I think Magneto moved the bridge for the same reason he's the only one who wears a cape; showmanship. He also wants to call attention to himself as a mutant that doesn't hide his powers and try to fit in with normals. Be an inspiration to others (like Pyro, for example) who will follow him. But really it was just an excuse to use the effect.

Best one-liner:
"Don't do that again" after Kitty and Bobby jump into the ground and come back up. The timing and delivery really worked for me.

While I would see a fourth movie, I suspect this franchise is going downhill from here. X-Men & Robin anyone?

 

[ThomasC]

Oh please, oh please let something like this happen.

 

[dany]

First one was ok at best.
Second was the best.
Third was a bit better then the first.
I dont want a forth.
Where's the third Mummy?

 

[JonZ]

I hope they dont do anymore. I dont think they will.

 

[Brad M]

I do not disagree with your statement but it made me think. Does Marvel have no say? If they do, they are as much to blame as the studio for throwing away a character like Cyclops.

 

[Ray H]

Coming from the comics, this series had so much more potential than what came to fruition. I like the first film and love the second. I can't say that I think X-Men 3 is terrible, just disappointing with a lot of missed opportunities. Maybe a decade or two down the line, I wouldn't mind seeing a reboot or a reimagining of the franchise. Hey, maybe they can actually give Cyclops a role next time around.

I noticed this with the first film and it's been true with the last two as well. Has anyone noticed that Xavier's such a powerful mutant that for any real drama or suspense to build, they need to incapacitate him halfway through each movie?

 

[Mark Schmitt]

Yeah, he's basically there to give some exposition and then get out of the way.