X-Men: The Last Stand Mutates into Best of Trilogy Posted by: Joe Tracy, Publisher

When a movie series gets more than one sequel, it makes you wonder if the filmmakers are running out of ideas, just milking the franchise, or really have the ability to make a genuinely great movie.

In the case of Karate Kid III, they ran out of ideas. In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, they improved upon a rather lackluster and dark Temple of Doom. So was X-Men III, known as X-Men: The Last Stand, a hit or a miss?

A hit.

Definitely.

One of the elements that make the X-Men franchise so great is the respect and honor between the villain (Magneto) and the hero (Xavier). Usually this type of honor and respect, amongst enemies, is reserved for old war movies. Here we get to see it in a modern movie and in X-Men: The Last Stand, the honor these two rivalries have for each other goes to new heights.

Bryan Singer, who directed the first two X-Men installments, wasn’t around for X-Men: The Last Stand because of another project he was working on – Superman Returns. So director Brett Ratner (of Rush Hour fame) took the reigns and helped make this supposed last installment the best of the series.

X-Men: The Last Stand is a solid and interesting movie from beginning to end. While the character development may not be quite as strong as the first movie, it doesn’t need to be because it was the first movie that established who the characters were and what their backstory was. Part three really intensifies the entire series with the ethical situations it puts the characters in and, as such, it holds your interest nonstop. No one is safe in this movie (as you’ll find out more than once) and the first plot point (about 40-45 minutes into the movie) is the strongest of all three films.

In X-Men: The Last Stand, a “cure” has been found for mutants. This creates an ethical dilemma for many characters. Is being a mutant really a “disease” that needs to be cured? Should the government try to force this “cure” on bad mutants? These questions are central to the entire story and both humans and mutants will have to make decisions and live with the consequences.

While X-Men: The Last Stand is virtually flawless in its storytelling and execution, there are a few flaws in the continuity of the movie. In one scene we see mutants on the Golden Gate bridge in broad daylight. Cut to another camera, same scene, and it is suddenly dark. It’s a strong and flawed contrast. Another problem is when Magneto throws virtually every car that was on the Golden Gate bridge at the people he is fighting. When the fight is over, a picture of the Golden Gate bridge shows all the cars still on it. These are flaws that a continuity expert should never let happen. But they are minor flaws when compared to an interesting story, awesome visual effects, great acting, and some gut-wrenching moments.

As such, I award X-Men: The Last Stand with a score of 9 out of 10. It’s definitely the year’s most exciting and well-executed film to date. Of course, with a name like The Last Stand, you’d think that’s the end of the X-Men theatrical franchise, right? Wrong. The end of this “final” X-Men movie clearly leaves an opening for more. And many will debate whether that was a good idea. One thing that leaves no doubt, however, is that X-Men: The Last Stand is the best of the three and as such will rule the summer box office.