X-Men: The Last Stand

It's as if I've gone from a four-star restaurant called Singer's, serving chicken medallions in cheese batter, Sacher cake for dessert, and 2004 Chardonnay, to a perfectly functional fast-food chain called McRatner, with a triple burger and a Coke. You might eat at both places, but you'll have a different experience, not to mention the memories you'll take away. (2006-09-14)

Well, I don't know. At least given the material, this installment could have been the best one, but the way Ratner narrated the story was just pathetic. There was a lot of action in The Last Stand, but it was so devoid of emotions or spirit, that I just couldn't care less about how it all went and especially how it would turn out in the end, which is a huge red flag for any movie. Plus, most of the new characters and even some regular ones did not appear at all, so after the second installment, the rating dropped back down to average. (2013-07-31)

Not as emotional and near-perfect as the first installment, and not as comic book-like and cohesive as the second installment, yet despite the change of director, it is still adequately X-Men and unmistakable. Wolverine with Hugh Jackman's traditionally sharp face is a safe bet and it's no wonder he remained the main character. Others lag behind him surprisingly this time, which is especially disappointing with the highly favored Storm, from whom we don't get any new surprises. It's even more unfortunate that the very interesting background characters (Angel and especially Kitty) are not developed. Before Bryan Singer's departure, a grand finale of the entire mutant saga had been promised, which surprisingly doesn't come together in the end. I didn't feel like I was watching the last installment, more like maybe one of the later ones. After the first few showings, due to my love for the school for gifted youth, I gave a rating somewhere around 90%, because after three years of eagerly awaiting and then fearing the outcome, I felt highly satisfied with the path Brett Ratner took. Still, with a bit of distance, it's not that glorious, mainly due to the unnecessarily clunky screenplay. For an installment where the two major storylines of Phoenix's rampage and the mutation cure come together, it's a shame to waste such an ace up the sleeve as Juggernaut. One of the most iconic villains in the comic books could have been a draw for a subsequent installment, but here he is just an ordinary unremarkable pawn. With distance and comparison to the remaining installments (including Logan's solo movies, X-Men: First Class, and X-Men: Days of Future Past), it must be admitted that this is indeed the weakest adventure of the Children of the Atom. Fortunately, it still translates into a clear victory. (2006-06-05)

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. (2014-03-30)

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. (2006-07-18)