rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States, United Kingdom; 2006
Directed by Brett Ratner; produced by Lauren Shuler Donner, Ralph Winter; written by Simon Kinberg, Zak Penn
Starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, James Marsden, Kelsey Grammer, Vinnie Jones, Ellen Page, Ben Foster, Shohreh Aghdashloo
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
'X-Men: The Last Stand' is very entertaining but suffers under its own
ambitions. Without going into the story, it introduces too many new
characters. Dr. Jean Grey turns into Phoenix (Famke Janssen), we meet
Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones), Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page), Dr. Hank McCoy or Beast
(Kelsey Grammar), Angel (Ben Foster), Multiple Man (Eric Dane), Jubilee (Kea
Wong), more screen time is give to Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and Pyro (Aaron
Stanford) and then there are characters who are not even X-Men but necessary
to the plot. On top of this we have the leading character Wolverine (Hugh
Jackman), Storm (Halle Berry), Rogue (Anna Paquin), Cyclops (James Marsden),
Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) and of course Magneto (ian McKellen) and Charles
Xavier (Patrick Stewart). Some of them have so little screen time one might
ask why they are present, but to keep the complete story moving it is
understandable.
Already my review is like the film. With best intentions, but too many
characters mentioned. This causes me to avoid the plot itself. I only want
to mention that the plot is driven by a cure for mutantness, which most of
them are offended by since they don't see it as a disease. Sounds about
right. What the film does in the story is raising questions that could be
placed in the world we are living in. To name something, Magneto is changed
into something like a terrorist, but we understand his cause. Although his
path may not be the right one, it is one we might be able to understand.
There are many other links like that, again a little more than the film can
handle.
Let me focus on the good parts. The film is entertaining, has a lot of fun
with the mutant power and gives us some great images. One with the Golden
Gate Bridge in particular, can only bring a smile to your face. Most screen
time is given to Jackman, McKellen, Janssen and Berry, and especially
Jackman has become the character that carries all movies. It is the right
choice, although I would have liked to see a little more if Mystique. The
film leaves enough room for sequels but it proves how much Wolverine played
by Jackman is needed. I can see how other characters can lose their place in
the complete story, but he, and Magneto for that matter, are too much the
center, too important.
Maybe 'X-Men: The Last Stand' is not as good as the original and especially
'X2', it still stands and when actors want to return I will still be looking
forward to a next installment. For this one, keep watching until after the
credits.