This Post Is Rated XXX (Not Like That You Perv)

We went to see X3 last night. Or X-Men: The Last Stand, if you prefer.

I liked it, but didn't love it. It's probably on par with the first installment of the series but not as good as X2.

The Last Stand dealt with Jean Grey's return from the (assumed) dead and transformation into Phoenix at the same time that a "cure" for mutants is released. The Brotherhood of Mutants takes issue to the idea of a cure and decides to try to destroy the company and the source of the cure, only to be countered by the X-Men, who Magneto considers "traitors to their own kind". Along the way, we get a few new mutants on both sides of the fight. The new additions to the X-Men are Kitty Pride (yeah, yeah I remember that scene from X2) and Hank "Beast" McCoy (yeah, yeah I remember that scene from X2, too.), while the Brotherhood adds (among others) Callisto, Juggernaut, and Arclight (who may or may not have been played by Prince (compare: 1, 2) in a fishnet outfit and bra).

I'll try to break it down into what I liked and didn't like, but I should warn you, I'm not a comic purist. I know that Juggernaut is not a mutant, but they made him one. I realize they changed the origin of Phoenix. I don't mind. I want the film to be good and I want it true to the majority of the source and most importantly to the spirit.

Pro:

The continued posing of ethical questions. Sure comic book movies aren't supposed to be the deep, thought provoking films according to common belief, but that doesn't mean they can't have a point. In all three films, questions were raised that don't have simple answers. It's nice when even "mindless action" isn't mindless.

The bad guys are actually bad. One problem with many films of this genre is that even the bad guys won't kill anyone except in the big fight scene or in their "master plan" for world domination. That was not the case here. Rather than using his powers to shove police cars out of the way and forcing them into crashes that people in the movies always escape, Magneto uses them to pick up and then crush the cars. He even turns his back on one of his own when there is no use left and refers to other less important mutants as pawns as he sends them to their doom.

It really is a ensemble piece. Both the X-Men and the Brotherhood are made up of multiple mutants each with a role to play. There may be major and minor but everyone is essential.

Fastball Special. Sure, it wasn't done exactly the same way and they never used the phrase, but still...

As always, Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart are excellent.

Con:

The film was missing Singer's touch. The subtlety and nuance of his directing were gone, and I'm not sure whether the blame falls on Ratner's directing or the rush to complete the film.

Kelsey Grammer as Beast. I love Beast. He's a great character. It just didn't work. Some of the time, it was great, but then there were times when he just seemed absurd (as if any man in a furry blue suit could not be absurd).

Too much crammed into too little film. I love the idea of the cure. I loved the use of Phoenix. I love battles with the Brotherhood. Shoving them all into one film didn't do justice to any one storyline.

Phoenix. Jean's uncontrollable, unlimited powers have always been a touchy point. The storyline needs to be handled in a certain way otherwise she overshadows everyone. It wasn't handled as well as it could be.

Where did Nightcrawler go?

Halle Berry. She really has an Oscar?

Pyro, the Anakin Skywalker of the series. I call him that not only because he changes sides, but because he is poorly played by an actor that decides that instead of portraying any real emotion, he should just make his character whiny and annoying. (To be fair, this was a problem in X2, also.)

Other things from the film that deserve comment require spoilers. I'll try to make this where you can't read it accidentally, but if you are using an RSS reader or in some other way not able to see formatting, you may want to stop now or skip down to the final summary paragraph if you don't want things spoiled.










Spoilers start here. Highlight to read.

At the end of the film, we have lost Cyclops and Jean (though either could be resurrected in some way). Magneto, Rogue, Mystique and many others are powerless, and Xavier is alive, but with his mind in a completely different body (hope you stayed till after the credits for that one). They really did want this to be the last stand and end the entire series. I actually kind of liked the direction they took. It was a way of really shaking things up and making it evident that no one was safe. Even if they choose to leave everyone as they were (i.e. not restore powers or have it turn out that someone isn't dead), they could still make another sequel with focus on those that remain. I hope that they do.

Two final things:
Jean's sacrifice was well portrayed and moving, but why not stab her with one of the million cure darts on the ground instead of killing her?
Was anyone else surprised at how easily the Professor decided the answer to his "ethical question" that he had posed to his students? I guess it's not such an ethical dilemma when it's your own life.








Spoilers end here.

It was certainly worth seeing, and I wouldn't mind seeing it again. I don't think, however, that it will overcome X2 as the best film of the series. Fox has been very clear that they want this to be a trilogy and it should end here, but I hope the money they keep making will help them reconsider.

Until later...