X-MEN: THE LAST STAND

2.9/5
stars hugh jackman, famke janssen, patrick stewart, ian mckellen

ok, so there was the phoenix saga, arguably the biggest storyline of the cartoon series, a whole bunch of mutants that were introduced in X2, all the original cast returning, a bigger budget than the first two films, and a legion of film and comic book fans with $14 ready to go. so what the hell went wrong?

the story does follow on from the second film with the return of jean - and something else. from here on, there is not only a battle between mutants and humans, but also a battle of loyalties within the x-men as well as magento's brotherhood of 'evil' mutants. through all this, we are introduced to a some new characters such as kitty pryde, collosus, and juggernaut.

with such a rich story and controversy, you'd think a decent director would create an end of a trilogy of epic, if not monumental proportions. but alas, that was the only thing X3 lacked - a good director. and what flowed from that was poor editing, hampered story, and just all-round unsatisfaction (the movie was that average that i had to make that word up).

the characters in the film are portrayed in a completely differnt light from the first two films, making the audience try to figure out what the hell is going on. xavier's character is the most frustrating, alongside the way the film deals with cyclops. not to metion i keep forgetting that rogue is supposed to be able to fly and super-strength. and doesn't the name "phoenix" bring to mind a bit of fire? i mean, a flint at least would suffice. oh, and mystique! the list could go on.

the mentality that the makers of this film had would have been something like this, "put in as many action sequences in as possible, regardless of how they punch holes in the story". i admit some of the action sequences were pretty impressive, but there were just so many that they all just compete with each other to say "hey, i'm the better action sequence!". the film, in both its story or special effects, never peaks or makes you think "holy shit!" like nightcrawler's intro in X2.

i think its fair to draw an analogy with the terminator series, where the first two kicked ass and the third - with a different director - was shit. after the trailer, i had a bit of confidence in brett ratner as a director but like a lot of good trailers, it showed all the good bits and that was about it. and no matter how many times storm uses her powers (finally), the film flatlines the whole way through.

it pains me to give such a dismal rating to one of the best franchises out there, but i can't justify giving it any more. i don't think i'll even see it a second time.

hopefully bryan singer returns to make the next triology, and brings back the elegance and just plan kick-assness of the first two. i hope superman returns was worth it!

oh, and one more thing: DAMN YOU BRETT RATNER!

-LOki