Review: X-Men – The Last Stand

X-Men: The Last Stand Promotional Poster

With the third movie in the original X-Men trilogy, there came some changes in the production team. Bryan Singer, the original mastermind and visionary director behind the first two films, opted to leave the project in favor of working on his Superman reboot. Initially, the production team brought in popular director, Matthew Vaughn to oversee the process, but he ultimately had to leave the project due to other commitments. Thus, well-known film maker, Brett Ratner, was brought into the mix, offering a slightly different perspective on the direction of the series. In addition, only writer Zak Penn was retained from previous movies, and a new writer, Simon Kinberg, joined the team. Together, they wrote the final script that made it into the movie. As with any changes in production and development teams, results would turn out different than one might expect, and The Last Stand would become one of the most controversial X-Men movies ever made.

This new film, set up as the conclusion to the trilogy, begins with Xavier and Magneto going to meet Jean Grey for the first time. It explains how they go about bringing her into the team, and she ultimately joins Xavier. Next we jump back into the future, where a team of scientists have developed a new antidote that suppressed the mutant gene (basically nullifying mutant powers). The government publicizes this antidote as a “cure” and offers it free to any mutants that want it. However, Magneto, who has been working in secret, sees this as a threat and plots an attack to save all mutant kind.

From there things begin to get complicated. This movie introduces Dr. Hank McCoy (played by Kelsey Grammer), and he is working for the government as the liaison between mutants and normal humans. However, he soon finds he is being kept out of the loop and discord develops between him and his leaders.

Meanwhile, Scott Summers (aka Cyclops), searches for Jean Grey at Alkali Lake – only to discover that she is still alive and has changed. Ultimately, Summers is unceremoniously killed off near the beginning of the movie. Once Xavier figures out what has happened, he sends his X-Men to locate Jean Grey. She is found unconscious, but Summers is missing and assumed to be dead. When they return with her, Xavier explains that Jean Grey has an alter ego, known as the Phoenix, which is motivated by rage, desire and capable of unimaginable destruction. Using his own powers, Xavier tries to repair the damage to her mind, but he fears that she may turn against them. When she finally awakens, Jean Grey leaves the X-mansion and strikes out on her own.

Seeking to use her powers to his advantage, Magneto comes with Xavier to find Jean at her own home. Xavier tries to take control of her powers, but she in turn destroys Xavier. Using this to his advantage, Magneto tries to convince her that the new “mutant cure” is her greatest threat, and she joins his brotherhood. Though the X-Men find their future in doubt, Storm decides to take over for Xavier and prepares them to make their last stand for the cause. In the end, Magneto mounts an assault on Alcatraz Island, where the cure is being developed, in a battle that would change the course of the X-Men film franchise for years to come.

John Bruno was in charge of special effects for The Last Stand, and he did extensive prep work and pre-visualization during the early stages of making this movie. On the whole, this movie probably had more effects and more ambitious goals than either of the previous movies. The most notable is where Magneto rips Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco and moves it build a crossing to Alcatraz Island. These shots were made using a combination of miniatures, life-size set pieces and computer animation. Aside from a few helicopter shots, none of scenes from the film were actually shot at the bridge due to government restrictions. In addition, a keen eye might notice that the scene suddenly changes from daytime to night once Magneto and his people have made their crossing.

The battle scene at the end of the movie has some very impressive effects. The mutant characters are seen wielding greater power and strength than ever before with characters jumping, flying, walking through walls – all done using stunt people, props, practical and computer generated effects. Also, Magneto lifts up burning cars and heaves them into the crowd of soldiers for an impressive display of strength. Like the other movies, this movie tried to keep each of the effects in line with the mutant’s powers – using them to enhance the characters more so than simply impressing audiences.

Music for this movie was done by John Powell – the first choice for Brett Ratner. His score is very elegant and appropriate, but it ultimately falls short of the fulfilling the tone set by previous films in the series. Though he makes an effort to reuse some previous themes, this film has very little that stands out from what was done in the past.

The characters in this film are brilliantly cast, and the main cast gives exemplary performances. The Last Stand is a very emotional and dramatic movie – putting the story of the rivalry between normal people and mutants to the foreground. However, some decisions made by management executives and writers for the direction of the film created some disappointment among fans of the series. Many major characters were killed off in this film (some without much reason or explanation). Also, the action of the story continues to plod foreword without much time devoted to the characters or how they grapple with the way things are happening. Lastly, the divisions between the “Dark Phoenix” plot and the “cure” plot make the threads that hold the story together begin to untangle. Though commercially successful, I consider The Last Stand to be a mixed bag, and I understand why many regard it as one of the weaker entries in the X-Men franchise.