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"Pretty good for a
naked blue chick." |
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Directed by Bret Ratner
- Written by Simon
Kinberg and Zak Penn
Starring Hugh Jackman,
Ian McKellen, Patrick
Stewart, Halle Berry
Distributed by Disney -
2006 - 104 mins - Rated
PG-13 |
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It is the Last Stand...unless money is made. |
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“X-Men:
The Last Stand” is certainly not “the last stand” since the franchise
is one of Fox’s big moneymakers. So, I will not review this movie as
the last in the series, but as another entry in a series that will
continue in a few summers.
When we last saw our mutant heroes, Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) was
apparently dead and Magneto (Ian McKellen) was on the loose yet again.
Chapter three revolves around Jean’s resurrection as a villain and
Wolverine’s (Hugh Jackman) love for her.
The most notable difference in “The Last Stand” is the absence of
Bryan Singer, who helmed the first two. Despite the overall cheese
factor involved, Singer kept the story exiting, fun and occasionally
frighteningly realistic (Apparently, Singer made the films as
allegories for gays). Since Singer left to make “Superman Returns,”
Brett Ratner has taken over, a decision much reviled in the geek
community. I personally think Ratner is a competent director, but
certainly not a visionary.
It does show.
However, for all the issues that arise under Ratner’s direction, this
remains a surprisingly solid film, not nearly on the level of 2003’s
“X2,” but a fun ride. New cast members such as Kelsey Grammer as Best
and Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut fit in quite nicely, and returning
cast members Jackman, Janssen, Shawn Ashmore and Rebecca Romijn are as
good as the material allows them to be. McKellen and Patrick Stewart
stand head and shoulders above everyone else, though; these two master
thespians can command respect with a single word and it’s always a joy
to watch them. Once again, it is only Halle berry as Storm who
disappoints…to be blunt, she is just not a very good actress when she
has to keep her clothes on.
Script? Okay. Visual effects? Not groundbreaking, but more than
adequate. Direction? Adequate…a few moments don’t work, but overall I
am surprised Ratner didn’t do worse.
I guess that if you liked the first two, you may like this one. If you
didn’t like the first two, you probably won’t care much for this one.
And, if the folks at Ain’t It Cool News are a good representation, if
you are a diehard X-Men comics fan, you’ll probably be outraged.
I fall into that first group. Although “The Last Stand” lacks the
resonance of the first two, questions are risen based solely on the
content. Is a “mutant cure” ethical? Should one remain passive or
violent if your personal freedom is threatened? Strangely, I found
myself agreeing with the “villainous” Magneto.
Any superhero movie that makes me consider interesting questions gets
thumbs up from me. |
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© Written by Jacob Hall -
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