X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

Review

The question is, will you control that power or let it control you?

The X-Men series of films have proven themselves to be among the elites of the comic book turned movie adaptations. Sporting a strong cast, well written stories, plenty of action and excellent direction by director Bryan Singer (Superman Returns), the first two films are in select company among the best of the genre. X-Men: The Last Stand is a film that became the subject of much speculation and controversy when Singer left the project before filming began to instead helm the aforementioned Superman film. After a search for a new director that included rumored candidates such as Alex Proyas (I, Robot) and Rob Bowman (Reign of Fire), Brett Ratner (Rush Hour 3) was brought on board. The result is a film considered by most to be the weakest in the series but a strong entry nonetheless into the lore of comic book movies. 

 X-Men: The Last Stand picks up where the second film left off. Jean Grey (Famke Janssen, Goldeneye) is dead and a new threat faces the X-Men: "the answer" for mutation. Some humans have deemed the cure a means of saving the mutants, allowing them to fully integrate into society by changing who they are fundamentally. The arch nemesis Magneto decides to gather his forces to attack the humans who wish to cure the mutants of their powers. The X-Men, of course, oppose the use of force, but team member Rogue (Anna Paquin, The Piano) buys into the cure as she longs to touch other people without bringing harm upon them. Meanwhile, Jean Grey appears out of the lake where she died in the second film, presumably killing her love, Cyclops (James Marsden, Enchanted) and becoming a being known as "The Dark Phoenix." Her powers are so great that they have morphed her into a being unable to control herself, letting only her darkest and most horrific powers and emotions loose, and killing off another prominent member of the X-Men in the process. Will she side with Magneto? Will the X-Men stop Magneto and return Jean to a state of normalcy? Both questions will be answered in an exciting finale. 

This is certainly an entertaining movie, but it just doesn't reach the level of greatness of the first two films. Looked at in a vacuum and ignoring the existence of the first two films (only aware of their basic plots) this film looks very good, but in the context of the series, the drop off in quality is clearly discernible. The exit of director Bryan Singer was a major blow to the franchise, and the politics surrounding the hiring of his replacement have been well publicized and criticized. Ratner has delivered a film that is certainly worthy of the franchise and he continues the story in a logical and exciting manner, but the magic of the first two films is simply lost here, and the result is a fun popcorn movie that lacks the cleverness, spirit, and sense of awe that accompanied the first two. It feels like there is nothing we haven't seen already in this film and it becomes tedious at times. This film also introduces some characters from the comic book that we are meeting on screen for the first time, and it's no surprise that we see some of he "weaker" or perhaps better said "less interesting" mutants. 

A couple of them had me chuckling, like the "porcupine" mutant (Kid Omega) whose power allows his face to extend 8 inch long spikes. It came off as silly and, frankly, nearly worthless as a power. Other newly introduced mutants, like Angel, work better, but his character is not given sufficient time on screen so that we really care about his angle. It's a good one, and his character plays a role in the end of the film, but his angle is rushed as a subplot that didn't fit in completely with the rest of the story. However, this is a fun action film that is competently directed and acted with a lot of explosions and fun mutant on mutant on human brawling action.

Released	24 May 2006 (Indonesia)
Quality	BRRip 720p
Resolution	1280x528
Genre	Action | Adventure | Sci-FI | Thriller
Ratings	6,8/10 from 279.316 users Metascore: 58/100
Info	imdb.com/title/tt0376994/
Director	Brett Ratner
Starcast	Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry