After months of fan-boy spazzing, X-Men: The Last Stand was finally unleashed on an unsuspecting public this weekend. I had the opportunity to see the movie at a local theater near my new home in Southern California, and I must say. Children in Los Angeles are pretty weird. In fact, many of the teenagers in the theater with me were more strangely decorated than the mutants on screen. I would recommend Ritalin, but I think shock collars would be more appropriate. I am all for people being individuals, but this was being individual in a bad way. One kid had grease paint around his eyes like a football player, but he was clearly just in that awkward stage of adolescents. You remember that don’t you? It’s that strange age between 13 and 15 where nearly every boy is completely dorky with skin like sandpaper. Another kid wore a suit and everyone called him Mr. Anderson. Having just come from Manhattan I was totally perplexed. I thought I had seen everything.
The other thing that really surprised me about this particular moving going experience was the audience reaction to a trailer for Superman Returns. The trailer actually drew applause. Lots and lots of applause. And this wasn’t even the Samantha-loved bullet-to-the-eye trailer.
On to the X-Men.
The Last Stand opens with a young Charles Xavier and Magneto visiting the Grey home to convince young Jean to come to the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. The scene is interesting not because of the set up, but because Jean Grey is so obviously a mental case from the very first scene in the film. It’s just the first of many over the top moments of a movie that prides itself on being big and savage and loud. No, this is not a Bryan Singer franchise anymore, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Brett Ratner manages to really up the ante with this film. The first in the series was a dry and somewhat laborious introduction to the idea of mutants. It was heavy handed and Magneto’s plot was more than a little stupid. The second movie in the series was loads of fun, but still didn’t live up to the over the top action comic book fans would hope for. Ratner makes up for this in spades. From the moment we are introduced to the current team, there is lots of action and some pretty amazing super hero antics along the way.
The team this time round consists of Wolverine, Storm, Iceman, Kitty Pryde, Colossus and Beast, and just about all of them get some pretty impressive moments in the film. Beast in particular ends up being a blast to watch in action. More than any other X-Man, they really portrayed his style of fighting incredible well. Seeing his gymnastic attacks reminded me of the thrill I felt during the second movie when Nightcrawler took out a cadre of Secret Servicemen on his way to an attempted Presidential assassination. My only beef with Beast? I would have like to have seen more of him in action.
There’s not much point in discussing the plot at this point. Many reviews, including our very own MILF, have already elaborated on it ad nauseum. But I will add that several twists and turns along the way literally took my breath away, and there is one incredibly effective use of Wolverine’s increased regeneration power. While the other X-Men movies harbored 2 or 3 large show stopping moments, X-Men: The Last Stand is filled with them. From major character deaths to major character de-powerings to some stellar moments of super-hero vs. super-hero action, the movie just delivers the goods. Be sure to watch for great moments for Iceman and Kitty Pryde, who has a line of dialog when facing off against Juggernaught that left the audience in stitches.
No, not everything about the movie is great. Angel’s character is kind of pointless, and the special effects used during one scene with him reminded me of the Pegasus from Clash of the Titans. Also, while Famke Janssen’s performance is a highlight of the film, I question the decision to have Dark Phoenix wander through the movie in a melancholic trance the whole time.
What is truly amazing about X-Men: The Last Stand though is not it’s use of special effects and heart wrenching twists and turns. What is truly miraculous, at least to me, are some of the ideas put forth in the film. From the opening frames of the film, there is just no way this summer blockbuster was headed toward an happy ending, and I think that is the biggest twist of all really. The moral dilemmas the characters face are exactly in line with the first two films, and it’s interesting to see them played out on screen. How can a world deal with someone who can wipe out a city with a single thought? What would you do if you could make everything people fear about you go away by taking a single pill? What would you do if you found yourself temporarily powerless with the unstoppable Juggernaught crashing through walls merely moments behind you? I would have never expected Ratner to deliver the the thrills and thoughtfulness he has here. The producers and studio should be proud of his effort, because X-Men: The Last Stand stands as one of the most thrilling entries into summer movie fun in a long time.
