X-Men 3: The Last Stand (Widescreen Edition)

 

 

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- Spoilers Ahead -

I recently purchased X-Men 3:TLS and opened it eagerly. It starts out well, providing some background to key X-Men like Jean Grey and Warren Worthington III (aka Angel), and an old alliance with Magneto. However, as the action built-up, so did my disappointment. The farther the movie progressed, the farther the movie strayed from the franchise.
My most major disappointments include killing off major titular characters. You just don't do that to a comic book franchise because majority of the movie's audience will be comic readers who have their own personal favorites. There are repercussions on killing personal heroes especially that for which the movie is named! The X-Men is not a tragedy. It is a celebration of being different. My personal favorite is the Phoenix, but although I know that such a character can never ever be given extended existence, one like Charles Xavier should be timeless. Another is Scott Summers. You do not kill off Cyclops after killing Jean Grey (in the previous film). It's simply not right. I could think of a million other ways the film could run parallel to the comic book lines, on how Scott could have dealt with grief and actually move on.
On the issues of the Phoenix, I can probably write a book. Jean Grey's resurrection at Alkali Lake, is acceptable. What follows in the immediate scenes with Cyclops are not. Although the the movie's depiction of the Phoenix as a particularly insidious succubus is not distasteful, Ratner fails at capturing the essence of one of the world's most popular X-Men characters. The Phoenix is an entity and not a subconscious. Even the effects are bland. The Phoenix is called that because of the stylized fiery bird that engulfs Jean Grey when she is in that persona. I spent the whole of the movie waiting for that to happen as suggested in X-Men 2 (when Jean bursts into flame while freeing the Blackbird and holding back torrential waves). I feel stood up.
There are some excellent moments in the film, however, the Danger Room sequence was particularly delightful except for Storm's flying sequence (they've been making heroes fly for decades, and they can't get this right). Angel's refusal to get cured is another, and so is his appearance at the Mansion. Multiple Man is cool and so are the Morlocks. Callisto versus Storm is a classic feud as well. Other enjoyable developments include Anna Paquin's Rogue, focus on Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde), and the feuds between Iceman (Bobby Drake) and Pyro. Iceman's crystal form and Colossus's tinman costumes are excellent and should have been given more screen time.
Hugh Jackman's performance of Wolvie is as always excellent, and even most of Halle Berry's scenes as Storm is commendable although why they stick with Berry is a mystery to me. Halle Berry is short! Ororo Munroe is tall and regal -- being of royal Egyptian descent. But I'm willing to let this go. What is unforgiving is the scene where Storm and Wolverine walk together in the Mansion hallway. Wolvie is taller than Storm and that was a definite no-no. Storm is the tallest X-Man, save only for Colossus, and Wolverine is by far the shortest.
This third chapter in the X-Men movie franchise is a good take on action and a little bit of science fiction; however, the inconsistencies with comics are too much and too glaring and downright disrespectful. Watch this film if you'd like to see the X-gang in action, but don't expect this one to remain faithful to your characters. I would even go as far as to suggest watching the alternate endings to feel better after the disappointing end.
To Brett Ratner, next time you do a movie based on comic book characters, take time out to read a few issues. You fail miserably in the research department and only our love for the X-Men made this movie survive.

This movie is nowhere near the quality of the first 2.Thats pretty hard thoe because bryan singer is a great director and brett ratner has never made a good movie (except maybe this one). Im only buying it just to complete the trilogy. That being said if ur not that big of a fan of the first 2 and thought they were a bit slow you will probably love this one as it is all action.

I'll be truthful; I didn't like this film very much. Of course, it had a lot to live up to, of course, with the previous two films high standard. The film opens well, with strangely disturbing versions of Xavier and Magneto visiting a young Jean. It also goes straight into to the action, the two main plots of the story soon becoming apparent. Both however, come second place to special effects in this film.

At just over 1 and 30 minutes, it would be almost impossible to cram a finale worthy of the trilogy without missing out some things. I just don't see why it had to be the emotion. With the cure side of the story, it seems we never get an insight into the characters worries and feelings towards it. If it had been 2 and a half hour, it would have been able to develop all of the characters, and the back stories would have been more relevant to certain characters. The phoenix part is also extremely disappointing, we aren't ever told why Phoenix does what she does and who is in control. You can only go so far as to blame Brett Ratner, he does a good job with the battle scenes but always seems to want to rush anything involving a character's emotion. I can imagine him on set hurrying along the actors as they try to get into character for the harrowing scenes. So if newcomer Ratner isn't the problem, what is?

As for the script goes. It's as if the writers truly want this to be the last film, killing off characters early to make way for new ones. Rogue is put on the back seat, even though the central theme of the cure should have her at the forefront. The final battle is also inexplicable, with both sides not really sure what they should be doing. It does allow for one of the great moments of the trilogy (Kitty and Juggernauts chase through - and I mean through - the facility). Still on the script, don't forget the corny lines ("I'm the Juggernaut, [...]!") and terrible ending which seems to forget the events of the rest of the film. Vinnie Jones and Halle Berry are both below par in the acting stakes even thought they didn't have much to work with. I don't want this to be the last stand as I think the saga deserves better than this. The previous films had intelligence and emotion, compared to explosions and annoyances.

Overall, it was worth seeing on the big screen, and I'm glad that I saw it. It is an "O-Kay" film. But again, you'll be a little disappointed as an X-Men fan. Maybe X4 will prosper without many of the main characters, well, one can only hope.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you for this product
Fast shipping, great product! Thank you so much for a great customer service. Will do business again for sure!

Published 20 months ago by Celine Duval

4.0 out of 5 stars X-Men aims to please and does!
It was an ambitious undertaking to do justice to this fantastical comic book franchise from the fertile mind of Stan Lee and company but I think all things considered,the... Read more

Published on Nov 15 2009 by Robert Badgley

5.0 out of 5 stars Once again amazon.ca delivers top quality
I will definitely be back to buy more items from amazon.ca. The movie set was in perfect condition and arrived ahead of schedule (I think). Read more

Published on July 18 2009 by S. Godsall

5.0 out of 5 stars Question?!
I'm confused!! Is this really a copy of each of the 3 X-Men movies?? The explanations is not clear. Anyone can clarify?

Published on May 4 2009 by Annie Wagner

2.0 out of 5 stars This is not what I expect.......
Seriously, "X-men" and "X2" were both pretty good movies. Yet the "last stand" is really bad..... I am sooooooo disappointed about this movie. Read more

Published on May 16 2008 by J. Au

2.0 out of 5 stars Wolverine doesn't cry! He kills
X-Men: The Last Stand is the second sequel to X-Men, and unlike the first sequel it falls far short of the original. Read more

Published on July 5 2007 by K. Driscoll

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST MOVIE OF 2006
I cannot believe how good this movie is. Everything in this movie is terrific. Don't rent it, buy it. Fans of action movies will love this. Read more

Published on April 7 2007 by G_R_E_G

4.0 out of 5 stars It is more of the same, only a little better...
I watched the previous two movies in the "X-men" series, but I almost didn't watch this one. The reason is simple: pretty much all the reviews I read said it was awful. Read more

Published on Jan 8 2007 by M. B. Alcat

4.0 out of 5 stars Action packed!!!
What is wrong with all you cry babies out there?? This movie is packed with action and visually stimulating. You want to talk about boring, check out the 2nd film. Read more

Published on Oct 10 2006 by Boo Hoo Hoo

2.0 out of 5 stars Shallow and Devoid of Heart
I'll keep this simple and I won't give out any spoilers. I, personally, hated this film. Yes, I was a comic-geek back in my day, but the deviation from the comics is not the... Read more

Published on Oct 9 2006 by Shining_One

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