The anti-juggernaut of the X-Men movies, The Last Stand robs the saga of its momentum.
After the triumph of X2, expectations were sky-high for the third instalment, but with franchise kingpin Bryan Singer off directing Superman Returns – a film which would cost X-Men: The Last Stand more than once, the hunt was on to find a director nearly as problematic as Singer. Cometh the hour, cometh Brett Ratner, the poor man’s Michael Bay, signalling a tonal shift and, let’s face it, a filmmaking downgrade that was possibly the last thing the franchise needed as it sought to tackle one of – actually no, scrub that – two of the X-Men’s most beloved storylines.
Ratner’s take on the franchise is, in a word, messy. There’s an undeniable sense of scale, sure, but the film feels bloated with too many plot threads as two separate and distinct stories compete for dominance and there’s not enough care for the characters who got us this far. It’s not just that X-Men: The Last Stand bites off more than it can chew—it seems determined to eat with its mouth open, gleefully throwing away the series’ core dynamics in a mad dash to hit as many over-the-top moments as possible.
The advent of a mutant “cure” is the headline event that kicks off this third movie, something that sharply divides the mutant community and deepens the distrust between mutants and humans alike. Meanwhile, the X-Men are dealing with an unexpected problem of their own – Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) has returned from the depths of Alkali Lake (and death) with a new hair colour and a whole new attitude. Oh, and Cyclops (James Marsden) has abruptly vanished, but more on that later.
As Magneto (Ian McKellen) rallies the Brotherhood Of Mutants to his cause, the X-Men must find a way to put aside their own differences and take a stand between two forces on the brink of war.
The main thrust of the movie is based loosely on Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men run, specifically the “Gifted” arc of 2004 and on its own makes for a great subject for an X-Men movie. A shame, then that the makers felt obliged to pick up on the foreshadowing of X2’s ending and do the iconic “Dark Phoenix” saga the ultimate disservice of cramming it in as a b-plot and then completely botching it anyway. Instead of exploring the complexities of her power and inner turmoil, the film reduces her to a near-mute, rage-fuelled pawn of Magneto. Her transformation, which should have been the emotional core of the film, becomes a background spectacle and when Jean’s arc culminates in her (technically unnecessary) murder at the hands of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), it’s hard to feel much of anything—other than disappointment.
One of X-Men: The Last Stand’s most egregious failings is the cavalier treatment of the veteran characters. First on the chopping block—literally—is Cyclops. James Marsden’s Scott Summers, unfairly characterised in X-Men and underused in X2, is disposed of with unceremonious haste. If you blink, you’ll miss it, which may have been the intention, because the film clearly has no interest in mourning him—or even acknowledging his importance to the franchise (in reality he too was committed to Superman Returns and so couldn’t be available for more than a cameo – but it needn’t have been this). He’s followed in fairly short order by Professor X (Patrick Stewart), whose death is framed as a shocking twist but comes off more like a misguided attempt at being “edgy”, as does the character’s uncharacteristically hostile and aggressive behaviour leading up to his demise. Even Mystique, Magneto’s constant and most loyal companion is disposed of in quite perfunctory manner. It’s meant to show how ruthless Magneto is but it just feels off for the character we’ve come to know. The big-name deaths might have been meant to up the stakes and make everything feel dangerous but instead they rob the franchise of its heart, leaving the emotional stakes in tatters.
But it’s not just the character assassinations that drag The Last Stand down. The film’s lapses in logic are staggering, even by comic book movie standards. Take the mutant “cure” plotline, for example. It’s a fascinating concept that raises moral and philosophical questions about identity, but the film barely scratches the surface. Instead, it becomes an excuse to throw a series of increasingly ridiculous set pieces at the audience, culminating in a bridge-lifting showdown that strains credulity, even in a world where metal-bending mutants exist. Why Magneto bothers moving the Golden Gate Bridge just to get his army toward Alcatraz is anyone’s guess. This is a guy who fashioned a floating platform out of the miniscule quantity of iron in somebody’s blood after all. The scene also suffers from a jarring, unexplained shift from day to night, which feels like either a massive editing oversight or a sign that no one was paying attention to continuity.
Perhaps the most glaring oversight comes towards the climax. As Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) spirals further into her Phoenix persona, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) declares he’s the only one who can stop her. Why? Because, apparently, nobody thought to use Leech—the mutant whose power-dampening ability is the lynchpin of the film’s entire plot. How hard would it have been to get him within proximity of Jean and neutralise her powers? Instead, the film opts for a “Wolverine must do it” approach that feels forced, ignoring the simpler, more logical solution staring everyone in the face.
Still, the movie isn’t without a few saving graces. Halle Berry finally feels like she’s found her comfort level with Storm and Kelsey Grammer’s Beast is a marvellous addition, bringing some much-needed gravitas and dry wit to the chaos. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, as always, manages to salvage a few scenes by sheer force of charisma, even if his hair doesn’t seem to be as committed to “the bit” as it has been previously. Ice Man (Shawn Ashmore) and Colossus (Daniel Cudmore) finally get something to do, although Rogue (Anna Paquin) is further sidelined in favour of bringing Kitty Pryde’s Shadowcat (Elliot Page) to the forefront and the overdue debut of Warren Worthington III/ Angel (Ben Foster) is wasted. The action scenes, while often nonsensical, are visually impressive in places, particularly when they’re not bogged down by the film’s disjointed narrative, although the wirework is overused and often clumsily apparent.
But overall, X-Men: The Last Stand marks the point where the franchise stumbles. It tries to do too much and ends up doing very little that sticks. For a film that’s supposedly about standing united, it feels fractured and rushed, as though it was more concerned with ticking boxes than telling a coherent story. A disappointing conclusion to what should have been an epic trilogy, The Last Stand fumbles its most important moments and leaves the franchise teetering on the brink. A brink that the next movie, X-Men: Origins – Wolverine, would plunge it over.
