X-Men: The Last Stand

Ratner is not Singer, which wouldn't be such a big flaw if it weren't for the fact that Singer = X-men. The young director inserted so much of his own style into the X-men series that Ratner simply has no options. However, he is able to do the action sequences as effectively as his predecessor, he handles the dynamics and tension well (the film really flows fast), and he also retains a decent portion of chemistry between the main characters. But. He lacks a creative approach to the matter, the new characters are bloodless, superficial, and any deeper dialogues in Ratner's routine performance suddenly sound convulsive and untrustworthy. There’s an increase in clichés and superfluous pathos, which replaces honest work with the main idea, in which Singer was the master of masters. Although the X-Men were never great philosophers, one could not deny them depth and sophistication. The third film has the energy, good moments and the characteristics of the previous parts, but Ratner is unable to imitate Singer's bravura and diligence. Why couldn't Bryan wait one more film? X-Men: The Last Stand could have been the peak, whilst this is just a good comic book film. ***1/2 (29/05/2006)

As Hollywood eye-candy entertainment for a young audience, The Last Stand is flawless. As a sequel to Singer’s X-Men 2, however, it’s just sad. Brett Ratner is an enthusiastic filmmaker, an aficionado of nice images, effects and movie heroes, but he’s too superficial and childish for the meaningfulness of the material that Bryan Singer outlined before him. The character of Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones) and the occasional lapses in logic seem to have fallen out of a game adaptation by Paul W.S. Anderson and the film has more in common with Fantastic Four than with its predecessors. At the age of seventeen, when I loved Commando because there was “always something happening” in it, I would have liked The Last Stand best out of all of the X-Men movies. P.S. If Singer had added “his own thing” to the high-octane screenplay and shot it himself with a straighter face and a more modest 120-minute runtime, this really could have been the best instalment of the franchise. (23/05/2006)

Compared to the second one, this entry is much less demanding in terms of viewer's attention and knowledge of the mutant mythology. Also, there is a bit less action, though the ending more than makes up for it. It was nice the cast again, as well the metal claws of good-old Wolverine, but the Famke Janssen’s character seemed completely redundant to me. It disrupts the main storyline and doesn't fit well into the hyped finale. The visual effects, on the other hand, are absolutely breathtaking – I could only watch in disbelief during the scene with the bridge, just like with the one involving Xavier. Brett Ratner knows very well how to satisfy the desires of mainstream viewers without significantly degrading the story and characters and he did a very good job here, even though the whole thing feels quite inconsistent and unengaging overall. At least the more intimate passages and romance are pleasant to watch. (18/07/2006)

A film that completely disgusted me throughout the entire trilogy. This is a film that is made solely for the sake of the effect, without any sense or ability to utilize not only the potential of what has already been filmed, but also the potential of the characters and the story. The emotional scenes do not work at all, new characters appear here that are completely unnecessary. A great disappointment. (29/03/2014)

The Last Stand is definitely the most bombastic part of the whole mutant trilogy. Despite the change in director (Ratner instead of Singer), they managed to film an epic piece of entertainment with great special effects that makes skillful use of the psychology already developed in the first two X-Men. The story revolves around the discovery of a cure against being a mutant (the ever more frequently casted fresh-faced Cameron Bright). Magneto takes advantage of an opportunity and widens the ranks of his followers (Juggernaut, Callisto, Phoenix...) and makes preparations for the long discussed war. Which makes room for lots of playing about. Ratner even came up with several wonderful novelties (the 1 to 5 mutant evolution scale, Wolverine’s improved fighting style) and amazing scenes (Wolverine approaching Jean is absolutely perfect, as well as Xavier testing his strength with Phoenix). But Ratner is no Singer and so his work with character psychology was a little shoddy. He tied up some loose ends from part two and tried to open some new storylines (Angel, Mystique), only to close them again. It’s hard to say how it would have all ended up if Brian Singer hadn’t eloped with the guy in the red cloak, but even so X-Men: The Last Stand is the biggest blockbuster event of this year. P.S. I really like Famke Janssen, but she gave me goose bumps in this movie and I was almost afraid of her. (17/07/2006)