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

[Chris Atkins]

And note that we aren't just talking about X3 either. Think of the other properties that have underperformed or otherwise not reached their potential: Daredevil, Elektra, Hulk (which I personally loved), and Fantastic Four. They've really only had three big hits: both Spideys and X2. And Spider-Man was going to be a hit in any case due to the knowledge of the character thoroughout culture (not to take anything away from Raimi's efforts, though, which were great).

 

[TheLongshot]

Uh, no. Zak Penn wrote one of the early scripts for X2, and has a story credit on that film.

As for the film, it doesn't surprise me that it feels like it is rushed. From Moriarty's script review, it looked like a lot of plot for a movie. It really didn't help when I heard what the runtime was. I wonder what the hell the deal was with that?

Jason

 

[Cory S.]

Fantastic Four went the same production route as The Last Stand. It was rushed as well.

It's interesting to note that Marvel is solely financing Iron Man on it's own. It's the first Marvel Studios Film.

Hulk underperformed, I think, because of the marketing. Hulk was never a superhero to begin with but that's how they went about selling the film which was a huge mistake considering I think Hulk and X2 as Marvel's best films.

I'm seeing The Last Stand tonight but I've been following it very closely. I know I'm going to be disappointed but I'm still glad that it's here.

Still, it pains me to see that the X-Men franchise go out like this considering it was on the verge of being a trilogy that could be mentioned in the same breathe as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Lord of the Rings. I mean, it was there for the taking had Singer stayed on.

This is the same thing that happened with Blade series. A very good origin film. A superior second film. And then a disasterous third film.

The X-Men franchise doesn't deserve that type of ending, especially after that second film.

Still, I'm going in with a somewhat open-minded.

Jason,

Fox pulled that same crap with running time with Four and Daredevil.

 

[Sean Laughter]

That review posted earlier brought up a point that I'd always thought would have been a better direction to go than the one they did. Make X3 the movie about the "Cure" with Jean coming back as "good" Phoenix, but something happening concerning the cure and Scott that just makes her break, leading into the battle to contain/defeat Dark Phoenix in X4. Seems like that would have been a much better approach to the material. I'm seeing this tonight or tomorrow, I'll post my thoughts then, but given how highly I think of X2 I'm not expecting to be blown away ASIDE from the fact that I think we might get more satisfying action sequences since I always felt Singer was a little clunky with those in the last two films.

 

[Adam_S]

Be sure to stay through the end of the credits

An interesting moral quandary arises

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "X-Men: The Last Stand" please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.

All HTF member film reviews of "X-Men: The Last Stand" should be posted to the Official Review Thread.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.


Crawdaddy

 

[SteveGon]

Just got back from a showing. While I enjoyed the movie, I have to echo the sentiments of others by saying the film was just too damned short - thank you greedy execs! (And yeah, we know you're gonna screw us with multiple DVD releases!)

Good points: Magneto and Pyro's "car bombs," Kitty Pryde, Rogue's ultimate decision, the Beast.

Bad points: Cyclops' "hello-goodbye-Alien 3" exit (ol' Cyke really got the shaft in this series), no Nightcrawler (thought he was part of the team, but we're not even given an explanation for his absence - and they could have used him in that final melee), Storm's outright condemnation of the "cure" - surely she would understand why someone like Rogue would want it? - is inexplicable, they throw in kitchen sink mutants but can't include the yumtastic White Queen?

 

[TravisR]

There was some stuff that was OK in this movie but, at best, this movie was a dissapointment and had huge lapses in logic. And I say that as someone who doesn't spend his life nitpicking movies, I have no axe to grind with Brett Ratner and the most X-Men experience I have is seeing the first two movies so I'm not some X-Men obsessed fan.

The procupine guy's power was pretty dangerous... if he's within six inches of you.

Out of the hundred or more mutants that were protesting the cure, none of them seemed to have any power (to protect themselves, to fly, run fast, anything) when Pyro and Iceman started fighting. I can accept that they're not all soldiers and there might have been a few humans also protesting but none of those protesting seemed to be mutants.

Why would Magneto have the ultimate mutant weapon in Jean Grey but instead of using her to quickly nab the bald kid, he lets his army fight and be destroyed? Good plan. Yeah, he didn't know they'd use plastic guns but he knew that they had the mutant cure so using such a powerful weapon would only make sense at that point.

And Juggernaut looked like he stole his costume from the set of Gladiator.

 

[ChrisHeflen]

I was wondering why the absence of NightCrawler too?
And the way Halli Berry stomped and complained for more screen time and then turned in a half-ass acting job...WTH!

I did enjoy the film very much, but why couldn't they take their time with it? Why not pull out all the stops and knock it out of the park? 3 hours would be harldy enough, but should have been taken at the least.
Why did Singer quit to do Superman, which everyone I talk to has no clue as to why they would make yet another "remake"?
Why is this the last one?

Does Peter Jackson have to do everything?

 

[Jimi C]

"I was wondering why the absence of NightCrawler too?"

He read the script.

This movie was a huge dissipointment. I have the first 2 on DVD but I dont think I am willing to spend the money when this comes out to finish my collection. It felt like the whole movie was just there to set up future spinoff's. Some of the scenes just left people scratching there heads. Huge lapses in logic is almost an understatment.

 

[Kristian]

Aside from the obvious "borrowing" of Joss Whedon's cure storyline from Astonishing X-Men, there were two nods to House of M: The line "he had to die so that the dream could live" and Magneto losing his powers.

The good: Magneto, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, "fastball" special, the final confrontation between Jean and Logan, Moira, the post-credits scene.

The bad: Too short, grainy cinematography, Cyclops' meaningless death, script much weaker than the previous two, Vinnie Jones (other than the "I'm Juggernaut, bitch!" line).

 

[LaMarcus]

Where to begin...first let me say that 80% of the movie was really enjoyable, the other 20% I didn't like just because I used to read the comics. For those who have never read them the movie should have been fine, except for those of us here whom really study movie intricacies, pacing, etc....

Parts that were not true to the comics that bugged me:

First, Juggernaut is not a mutant, his power comes from black magic, second he's like 8' tall, also they didn't touch on the fact that he does not have to breath or eat to live or the reason he wears a helmet is for the same reason Magneto does, nor did they show that the armor he wears is summoned from his powers.

The Phoenix is the most powerful mutant on the planet, this they addressed, but at the same time they had Wolverine stab her? This is funny on some many different levels I would laugh if it didn't upset me so much. At any time while he was walking towards her she could have thrown him to Kansas.

Lastly Storm they finally started to show more of her power, but give me a break, she can create fifteen,10 feet tornadoes that could have swept through all of the fight sequences and the only person that would not have been moved would a have been the Juggernaut bitch!!

Now I'm finished with the comic book ‘let downs’ I’ll move on to how they did stay true the books, seeing Bobbie turn into the Ice Man was awesome. Seeing Wolverine be thrown by Colossus to behead the Sentential was excellent. Them showing just how powerful Magneto really is was superb!!

Sadly (I guess) the one thing that makes me want to watch the movie again is just for the Juggernaut line. If no one here has actually seen the internet clip where that comes from please do so that you can get the joke. I could not believe that they actually put that in the movie, I LOVED IT!!! "Bitch you can't harm me do you not know I AM? You must not know who I am… I'm the Juggernaut bitch!!!!"

 

[JonZ]

I saw this last night and this morning and both times that got a big response from the crowd,cheering and clapping. They seem to be loving that line.

 

[David Ren]

She didn't want to kill Wolverine because a part of her has feelings for him. That's why she didn't kill him when he visited her in the woods. You can tell she was conflicted and might've even left with him had Magneto not shown up.

When Wolverine stabs her, she asks him to. It was suicide, hence her last words to him, "Save me." I agree, in a real fight between Phoenix and Wolverine, Phoenix would've won, but it wasn't a fight, it was a sacrifice.

Also, if Storm had blown everyone away with a hurricane, the movie would've ended in a minute, and it would've been very anti-climatic. Magneto also couldn't have sent Phoenix to get the bald kid because the kid is resistant against mutant powers.

David

 

[David Ren]

The worst comic book adaptations are the ones true to the comics. Movies and comic books are completely different mediums of storytelling and what works for one doesn't work for the other.

The movie would've been a cartoon with cardboard characters had it been truly faithful, with all the X-men dressed in skin-tight neon colored costumes. The world of the X-Men movies is not a complete fantasy world like Lord of the Rings. It's modeled after the real world. Mutants are not superheroes, but real human beings with genetic mutations. To make Juggernaut 8 feet tall would be taking it too far in the realms of fantasy, as well as making his power coming from black magic. There is no magic in X-Men movies, nothing supernatural. Mutations are just genetic defects.

David

 

[Patrick Sun]

I don't think Leech is resistent to a car being thrown at him at high speed telekinetically outside Leech's sphere of influence.

 

[JoSAN]

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[BrettGallman]

I think one's enjoyment of this film will depend on how familiar you are with the comics. That's my situation, anyway. I will acknowledge that it's a fun movie, but it's impossible for me to get past the baggage and expectations of being a fan of the comics. I think I'll get a better idea of how I feel about it when I see it again. That way I won't get hung up on all the differences, and just focus on the film. I still wish that the Phoenix would have been a cosmic entity, but I can understand how that might feel a little too fantastic for this series. I guess the best way to do it is to treat it as an alternate telling of the story, kind of like the Ultimate comics.

That being said, I will say that the movie has its own faults that are in no way related to its diversions from the comics. As others have said, each storyline would have been better served in separate movies. Many characters were way underdeveloped, and I saw no reason for Angel to exist except to set up his father as the developer of the cure. Although I will admit that the shot of him near the end was pretty fantastic. Same situation for Rogue and the love triangle; it served no point, really (and it looks like she'll probably be getting her powers back anyway).

High points: Xavier's "death" scene/funeral, fastball special, Kitty Pryde, Pete carrying the TV, Pyro vs. Iceman, Magneto

Low points: Too many underdeveloped characters, rather short action scenes, Cyclops once again getting the shaft, Rogue accepting the cure and being shoved on the backburner

 

[James_Kiang]

Within the framework of the current trilogy, this would be impossible (mainly because of Angel). If they did a re-boot I suppose this could work, though eliminating perhaps the most popular character from the movies (Wolverine) would be seen as a box-office risk. While that is not the fans' concern, I think we can all admit that the dollar is really the only thing the studios care about.

 

[JoSAN]

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