X-Men: The Last Stand Review

X-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 superhero film directed by Brett Ratner and is the third entry in the franchise and the last in the original trilogy. It received mixed reviews, but it is in my opinion a very solid movie nevertheless.

The plot is about the newly invented mutant cure that causes a rift and an eventual war between the mutants. The plot is incredibly entertaining and I couldn’t believe how engaging it was and endlessly fun. Because it is the end of the trilogy and some characters meet their end, the consequences are bigger and the stakes are raised which is awesome and adding to its dark appeal a lot. I can understand the flaws that critics find in it and I agree with those flaws but they did not prevent me from enjoying this movie overall as I found its plot having the same political charge and great dialogue and character dilemmas as before. Yes, it is overcrowded with characters leading to a somewhat decreased character development. And yes, the action scenes are overwhelming, but what action it is, very well executed and this series is one of the rare superhero franchises that I thoroughly enjoy, both in its plot and its action.

Wolverine has a good story here and his dilemma with his love Jean is very emotional and dramatic. Storm is once again simply awful, Rogue’s story is underdeveloped but intriguing, Mystique’s conclusion is heartbreaking and the rest are just so underdeveloped and rushed. Jean is interesting as I hadn’t known before how powerful she was and it turned out she is the most powerful mutant here. But that still didn’t make me like her character as I found her boring, annoying and not properly explored. But Magneto and Professor X are once again terrific with both getting a very tragic conclusion which was very unexpected.

The acting is excellent. I still strongly disliked Halle Berry’s and Famke Janssen’s characters and especially performances, but all of the trio including Jackman, Stewart and McKellen did an amazing job once again. The action is incredibly well done and the war in the end is very entertaining. I also liked the dialogue and although the directing and editing are mediocre, the film still has a solid and sophisticated script and intriguing political themes. If it hadn’t focused on so much characters and if it reduced the action, it would have been a much better film though. But the effects are great, the outcome is unpredictable and the story is always involving. The action is also terrific as is the score and some of the characters are great, but most are just rushed and underdeveloped.

When I look at this film closely, I have to say that it is an underrated film. Yes, it has many evident flaws, but it also has its strengths and it is not that worse than its predecessors. Actually, I would say that it is probably more entertaining than the first film and although not on the same quality of ‘X2‘ and of course the incredible prequels, it is still better than the two Wolverine movies for sure. It definitely is an underappreciated entry that is probably the most purely entertaining and the darkest one without a doubt.

X-Men: The Last Stand has its evident flaws including weaker character development, too much action, so-so editing and directing and it is overcrowded with too many characters, but it is still quite an underrated film in my opinion as it is the darkest and most entertaining entry in the franchise with excellent action, some powerful scenes and an overall very engaging and well concluded story.

My Rating – 3.5