Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Before I begin, let me say that I went into X-Men III: The Last Stand really wanting to like the film. And to a degree I did, though before we proceed any further I will admit that in the end, I found this to be the weakest so far in the series. Said to be the last X-Men film, I’m not so sure that will be the case, what with the $102 Million opening weekend.

At this point, it behooves us to take a look at the plot, because an idea of what’s going on is essential to any further discussion of the film. Basically, X-Men III: The Last Stand is a true extension of the first two films, and once again we find the evil Magneto (Ian McKellen) leading an army of mutants in a war against humanity.

This time, however, he has a bit more ammo than ever to rally the undecided mutants to his side. That’s because one Warren Worthington II, head of a major American corporation, has isolated a cure to the genetic root cause of mutation. Worthington hasn’t done this out of any sense of altruism; he’s motivated by the desire to cure his son, Warren Worthington III from the mutant gene.

The cure causes an uproar unparrelleld in the already fragile mutant-human understanding, with some mutants actively seeking the cure, and others wholeheartedly rejecting it. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Jean Grey, one of the X-Men who align themselves against Magneto and the evil mutants, has returned from her seeming death to join the villains.

Rising like a Dark Phoenix from the ashes, Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) is the most powerful mutant of all, and may just be a greater threat than Magneto and his hordes could ever be. But will even the combined might of Professor Xavier and his X-Men be enough to save the world this time?

In retrospect, X-Men III: The Last Stand reminds me more of a piece designed to stage the exit for several characters who no longer wish to be part of the franchise than a serious attempt at closing out the saga.

And the film suffers for this, not least of all because it so closely apes the theme of “good mutants vs. bad mutants” already told in the first two films. Once again, we have Mystique (Rebecca Romijin) killing everyone in sight, Rogue (Anna Paquin) pining for her lost humanity, and Magneto trying to wipe out the human race in favor of his new mutant order.

Magneto, at least, is a complex enough character. Having suffered through Nazi persecution during the holocaust, he has become the very thing he hated and despised, the leader of a new type of “master race”. But for the most part, we see little complexity in the rest of the cast, and development is lacking.

A few new characters are introduced, like Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones), but he, and they, are not really built upon. The one exception is Hank McCoy aka The Beast (Kelsey Grammer), who truly shines as the blue-fur covered mutant-human ambassador. He even spouts the characters classic tagline, “Oh my stars and garters,” which was not lost on an old time comics fan like me.

The action is slow, almost labored at times. But when it gets going X-Men III: The Last Stand is as unstoppable as the Juggernaut himself. There are several intense battle scenes that will definitely catch your eye.

Then too, the effects are first rate, and a scene with Magneto levitating the Golden Gate bridge was pure movie magic that had the entire audience enthralled. And of course there is far more than that, too.

I suspect that fans of the first two films and comics fans overall will enjoy the X-Men III: The Last Stand. Still, I found it the weakest of the three so far. A fourth film seems in order, perhaps with the Sentinels (of whom we get a glimpse) as the adversary?

And whatever you do, don’t leave the theatre/end your DVD without viewing the sequence at the end of the credits.

Before seeing this film, be sure to see:

X-Men

X-Men 2

More Comics Movies and Video:

Fantastic Four

Batman and Robin

Batman Begins

Superman the Movie

The Return of Swamp Thing

Spider-Man

Spider-Man 2

Hulk

Daredevil

Hellboy

Darkman

Man Thing

The Flash: The Complete Series

V for Vendetta

The Punisher (1989)

The Punisher (2004)





Recommended: Yes

Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8