X-Men 3: The Last Stand (2006)

X-Men 3: The Last Stand (PG13) - Review

"Gifted indeed"

Whereas in the 2nd film the X-Men soared like their signature vehicle the Blackbird, it is now piloted by director Brett Ratner (Rush Hour) and they instead land with a sickening thud.  A hurried and rushed production that went into overdrive when former director Singer jumped ship to WB and their Super-ambitions, X3 sullies all the good buzz its franchise had built for itself.  The films always had a loose yet grudging respect of the source material, but here it is all thrown away like so many cured mutant powers as longtime characters are either killed off screen with nary a whimper or killed onscreen to drive up revenue.  When there are terrible youtube jokes interfering with your narrative (I’m looking at you, Vinnie Jones’ Juggernaut) and even the narrative interferes with your narrative (why Alcatraz for instance), it is hard to appreciate that which is good.  Jackman’s Wolverine again gets all the good lines, Kelsey Grammers’ Beast is wonderful and Kitty Pryde is a nice addition to the team (played by indy darling Ellen Page).   None of that can rescue the film from its terrible misunderstanding of the source stories, being mashed together by ignorant filmmakers, being formed into the just-because-we-can action setpieces that are the worst aspect of the series.  The pathos, the weight, the motivations are all lost to the mighty dollar, and being in the hands of Fox there are no other Marvel heroes able to come to their aid.


3.5 “Oh wait, Prof X Isn’t actually dead?” credit roll sequences out of 10 (BAD)

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Media and Reviews by Kevin Gasaway