X-Men: The Last Stand **
Directed by: Brett Ratner
Written by Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn
With: Patrick Stewart, Kelsey Grammar, Ian McKellen, Michael Marsden,
Famke Janssen, Ben Foster, Vinnie Jones, Ellen Page, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman
Review by Larry Stanley
**BEWARE THE SPOILERS, FOR LO THEY SHALL COME AND HENCE SCREW UP A MOVIE FOR
SOME**
Well, it didn't suck as much as we thought it would. But on the other end it
was not as good as a lot of us had hoped for either. Now I understand that a
movie will always take some liberties with the original written formula but
to actually attempt to create a new formula will almost always go awry.
This is what Ratner has tried to do here in several places. And if you read
the books, it will probably not sit well with you. Frankly, the movie will be
hailed as a masterpiece mostly by those who have no idea just who the X-Men
are or what they are supposed to be based on the formula in everything from
Uncanny X-Men to Astonishing X-Men. It is difficult to go into the story simply
because there were several different story lines from the books smashed into
the film with none of them really meshing in with the others. They took "The
Death of Jean Grey", "Days of Future Past" and the idea of a cure from the first
6 issues of Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men. It was almost like there were different
films spliced together to form one movie.
One thing that I was happy to see was the Danger Room sequence at the start
of the film. The problem with this scene is that it is one of the ones heavily
promoted in all the ads but it is gives short shrift in the actual film. The
'fast-ball special' was excellent as was the way the Sentinel head looked. However,
I think a further demonstration of what the Sentinel looked like would have
been appreciated.
As usual, the film is dominated by Magneto and Wolverine. Both McKellen and
Jackman use their off screen talent as a base on which to develop their respective
characters. But this is where artistic license is done away with and new formulas
are introduced. For instance, here Magneto is not the strategist he is in the
books. Also, he does not care when other mutants are killed or lost due to the
'cure'.
Jean Gray looks more like one of the living dead (I was actually thinking this
is how the Scarlet Witch should look in the Avengers Disassembled film which
I hope will be made someday) and not like a Phoenix. Callisto is a cross between
Quicksilver (or Flash for you DC fans) and Caliban (super speed and the ability
to sense other mutants).
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS Do Not read on unless you have seen the
film or don't care if you find out stuff. SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
Phoenix kills Cyclops off almost at the start of the film. When she returns
here, she is flameless and the Phoenix Force never is displayed. It is now a
symptom of a split personality, buried deeply in her subconscious. It is an
insult to the character of Scott Summers to kill him in the way they did.
First it was Jean Grey's love for Scott that gave her the strength to overcome
the Phoenix and save humanity. Yes, I understand it was impossible to follow
the Comic book 100% but some stuff just should not change and the love between
Scott and Jean has lasted for about 40 years. Capping Cyclops the way they did
was nothing short of cheap soap opera theatrics.
Frankly, they should have left the Phoenix story alone and just done Days of
Future Past or even the Cure story and let her stay dead. As Phoenix Janssen
is so badly developed that it amounts to virtual slap in the face to any fan
of the Comic book. During the sequence she just stands around doing nothing,
and I mean nothing, for about fifteen minutes before she decides to destroy
Alcatraz Island, San Francisco and possibly the planet Earth in a beautiful
display of FX. Unfortunately cool FX does not a movie make as I have said before.
To me, Ratner seems to have no idea or love for the characters in the film,
Comics or fans. Vinnie Jones is excellent as Juggernaut, but his power is not
a mutation. It is derived from the mystic "Gem of Cyttorak." This magical jewel
gave him strength, invulnerability and made him almost unstoppable. Changing
him into a mutant worked for the last battle sequence, but it also destroyed
the character of, well, the character.
In the final battle Magneto could have easily won the battle without losing
any of his mutant army. Instead they went for flash and special effects instead
of a well thought out script.
This film is a bad ending to the excellent franchise that Brian Singer gave
us. Apparently Singer offered to do this film as soon as he finished Superman
Returns, but the studios wanted an X-Men film out to compete against that same
film; their loss just to try and make a quick buck. Waiting for Singer and putting
this film out next to Spider Man 3 next summer would have given Marvel a strong
lead in the Comic franchise film department.
As it is, they allowed Ratner to toss in Mutant characters right and left without
any development of who they are or what they can do. They kept telling us that
Storm would have a stronger role here, but while she is given more lines she
is still left out in place of Wolverine. She is supposed to be the team leader,
but it is him that takes command, gives orders, and it is he that everyone looks
to for advice and encouragement.
I guess the biggest problem with the film was time. They tried to cram everything
they could into a film that runs only a little over an hour and a half. They
needed to be a two hour film or even a little longer to accomplish everything
they needed in a way that would have worked.
Now, here is a question… How long was the first X-Men movie?
A second questions… How did it feel to you?
X-Men and X-Men Last Stand run the same length. 104 minutes, according to IMDB.
But in X-Men we had strong character development, well thought out story lines,
a plot that followed X-Men formula with artistic license and a witty, creative
script. Compare that to X-Men Last Stand.
For instance, the film introduces Angel; why? His part is next to nothing. He
gets to save someone at the end of the film, and then takes off from the battle
like it is not important. His whole dialogue adds up to fewer than two dozen
words it seemed like. Rogue, one of the strongest characters spiritually in
the books is virtually destroyed here.
No, this is not the epic finish we wanted. But it was not a total failure. The
sets were better, and the FX shots were good. The "20 years ago" retrospective
of Professor X and Magneto, still friends, visit Jean Grey for the first time.
And the scene where young Warren Worthington lll tries to cut off his fledging
wings is a real emotional stroke. It will cause you to wince.
And am I the only person who noticed that during the battle at Alcatraz it is
mid-day when the Mutant army arrives only to suddenly turn into deep night?
Somebody screwed up.
Frankly, to me the best part of the film was the shot of that bullet bouncing
off his eye in slow motion…. Oh, wait. That was in the new Superman Returns
trailer at the start of the film. Sorry.
-- Larry Stanley, Editor PCU Comics, Sci-Fi, Horror, Videos
and Movies.
Always accepting amateur articles, art and fiction.
larrystanley@penguincomics.net http://www.penguincomics.net
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PCU/Penguin Comics Unlimited/ultimate-fanboy TM 2005 by Larry Stanley