X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) Review

     X-Men: The Last Stand, was released on May 26th, 2006. Directed by Brett Ratner and written by Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn it continues where X2 left off. Jean Grey's death has shaken the X-Men to the core, particularly Scott Summers (James Marsden) who has fallen into a state of depression. Meanwhile a group of scientists lead by Warren Worthington II (Michael Murphy) has developed what they believe to be a "cure" for mutants suppressing the x-gene so as to make the subject a "normal" person.

     With X2's production wrapping in  November of 2002, Brian Singer fully intended to return for the third X-Men film. This was not to be. Instead, he was offered the director's chair for Superman Returns from Warner Brothers. Singer could not turn down the offer to direct a film with such a high profile character but Fox did not want to delay X-Men 3 so they went ahead without him. Along with Singer left screenwriters Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty. Fox offered a variety of different directors the job, including Joss Whedon and Darren Arronofsky but eventually Matthew Vaughn got the job. Unfortunately Vaughn ended up leaving the project as he felt he didn't have enough time to make the film he wanted to make. In desperation the studio went to Brett Ratner, who had been in line to direct the first film. Zak Penn would be the only writer to return joined by newcomer Simon Kinberg who had worked on early drafts of Fantastic Four and Elektra (and who is the sole writer/director of the upcoming Dark Phoenix film).

     All of this would result in a rushed script, one that was continually interfered with by the studio. James Mardsen was busy filming Superman Returns so Cyclops is killed early in the film. This was fine with the studio because, "Wolverine’s the most popular character" and "With Cyclops, you can’t see his eyes. It’s a harder character to relate to for the audience (from a Zak Penn 2008 interview)." At one point, they even considered killing him off-screen. The Fox executives felt Dark Phoenix story was too dark, so the focus shifts away form Jean's story in the second half of the film.

     Almost everything that happens in The Last Stand feels like an anticlimax. After a brief flashback of Jean Grey's first meeting with Charles and Eric (who are working together despite seemingly having completely different visions of how to deal with young mutants) we are introduced to Warren Worthington III (Ben Foster) and given an incredibly rushed backstory for Angel. Then we learn about the cure and see Mystique (who has evidently been captured since the events of X2) being broken out of prison by Magneto, who is infuriated by the very idea of a mutant cure and begins forming a resistance.

     Then Cyclops is killed after a brief reuniting with Jean, who is found by Wolverine and Storm. After this we see Angel run away from Worthington industries, he will not appear again until the third act. Back at the X-Mansion, Xavier explains to Wolverine that Jean survived with the help of a power he calls "the Phoenix" which he had repressed up to this point. Shortly after, Jean runs away. Of course Magneto wants to use the Phoenix power for his own ends so both he and Charles go to her old home, where she is hiding. There she kills Xavier in front of a horrified Logan and Eric. She then leaves with Magneto. This is roughly the end of the first act.

     By the end of the film Mystique, Magneto and Rogue have all lost their powers (Rogue willingly takes the cure) and Jean has been killed by Wolverine. The cure is still in use, its controversial  existence unresolved (though the final shot suggests that it might be faulty). Nothing has really been resolved, or even learned by anyone and the characters whose stories have come to an end have not had their arcs resolved satisfactorily. Why  the studio thought it would be a good idea to introduce a bunch of new characters (Angel, Kitty Pryde, Beast, and Juggernaut, just to name a few) while killing off or shunting aside pre-established ones is anyone's guess (though it probably has something to do with merchandising).

     The direction is mostly unremarkable and there is a shift in the visual style from the first two films, with the colors being much more saturated. There are some fun action scenes, though they are handled with far less sense of geography and clarity then those of X2. The score, by John Powell, is much more bombastic and densely orchestrated then either Kamen or Ottman's music, which works for the more over-the-top tone of this film. Powell, like Ottman, makes good use of lietmotif though he abandons Ottman's melodies completely. It's a fine score, one too good for such a mediocre film.

     In the end, X-Men: The Last Stand, is a huge step down from it predecessors. Many previous superhero threequels had been disappointing, but none of them had quite as much riding on them as The Last Stand. This trend would continue (with less disastrous results) with the following year's Spider-Man 3.

Score: 5/10