Kath and I saw it last night at an advance Marvel screening.
Guys, honest injun–I thought it kicked ášš.
I’m discussing it below, and others are free to join in once you’ve seen it, but I’d like to keep this one as spoiler-free as possible, mainly because of the caliber of certain jaw-dropping moments.
Weaknesses first–The first two films were primarily character-driven stories. This time out, it’s largely plot driven, or even device driven, the device being that a “cure” for being a mutant has been derived from Leech (cast with eerie accuracy; the kid’s eyes are perfect.) This leaves open the opportunity for discussion of matters of free will, of government abuse, but the script is such that you don’t get the feeling of real people interacting so much as characters pontificating.
New characters are mostly either given short shrift (Angel, Madrox) or not developed quite as well as, say, Nightcrawler was in X2 (Beast comes to mind.) The script desperately needed another dialogue pass–Joss Whedon to punch it up, perhaps–to bring characterization more clearly into focus, and to eliminate some stilted and cliche-ridden dialogue.
But to me, the weaknesses were far outweighed by the plusses.
The actors were uniformly well-cast, even those given tragically minimal screen time. I’d been concerned that I wasn’t going to be able to see the Beast as anything other than Kelsey Grammer in blue makeup and fur (he’s simply not an actor who disappears into his characters like, say, Alan Cumming), but I needn’t have worried. He’s fully believable as Hank McCoy, and you have to love the Shakespearean gravitas he applies to his reading of the Beast’s trademark “Oh my stars and garters.”
Storm had enough screen time to still the complaints of Halle “I don’t have enough to do!” Berry, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is as compellingly watchable as ever, and Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart shine as Magneto and Xavier. It’s no coincidence that the best scenes are when these two brilliant British thespians are playing off one another. And Famke Janssen FINALLY has some major meat to chew as Phoenix, although there was one sequence where the passionate Jean wraps her legs around Wolverine and I just kept flashing back to her trying to crush the life out of Pierce Brosnan in a Bond movie.
And, oh my lord, enough major action sequences and set pieces to satisfy the most rabid of comic fans. Whereas director Brett Ratner may lack the touch for deep character and cerebral moments that come so easily to Singer, no one can deny his handling of action sequences.
The film has a sense of epic sweep, a go-for-broke attitude that really makes you feel as if the first two films were building toward all this. Not everybody makes it through in one piece, and there’s more of a sense that absolutely anything can happen and nobody is safe. Which makes for a feeling of a freight train of a film, as if you’re not watching it so much as hanging on for dear life as it continues to build up steam.
Hightlights include the long-awaited Iceman versus Pyro smackdown, and Kitty Pryde versus…Juggernaut?!?!
And you must, MUST remain in the theater until the credits are over. There’s a tag that MUST be seen.
PAD
• 
Thanks Peter. It’s rare someone tries to inform people online about a movie while staying spoiler free.
There’s been a lot of negativity about this movie (AICN, big surprise) but I still have a giddy feeling when I see the X3 trailers. I do think my inner fanboy is going to have some memorable moments here.
Funny thing is, with X3 my worries lie with some of the details. The dialogue, the handling of some characters… The big stuff seems okay. Epic standoff, great casting overall… With the Superman trailer I think the details are ok, but the big ideas worry me. The urchin, nothing but Supes-vs-nature and Supes-vs-guy-with-gadget, the casting of Routh and Bosworth, stuff like that.
It will be interesting to see which I like best, and which most of the audience will like best.
Funny thing is, with X3 my worries lie with some of the details.
This is where I have my worries as well.
As much as I enjoyed the first two X-Men films (and I did very much enjoy them), I am one of those who notices the little things. And while it doesn’t completely detract from my enjoyment of the films, it does make me a sigh a bit.
Like, how hard is it for Hallie Berry to at least try and keep up the accent the character had in the first film? Would it have been a pain in the ášš to do something to indicate that Wolverine & Sabretooth knew each other?
All those little things that would make the films even better than they were. 🙂
That said, I still have severe reservations about X-Men 3, even though I’m thinking I’ll enjoy this one too. Those reservations are probably greater just on the things I’ve heard might happen in this film.
Critical response has been, as far as I’ve seen, highly mixed. This is a GOOD thing, especially for a “genre” movie. It means the movie is good enough that some critics overcome their kneejerk “genre movies are crap” reflexes, but it hasn’t lost touch with its genre nature (i.e. if all the critics love it, it’s probably turned into a totally different kind of movie, and fans won’t like it).
I’m a bit divided on whether or not I want to see this one. I tend to plan out my movie-watching a lot further in advance than I used to, due to Japanese theater ticket prices.
So, the question I’m asking is…is this movie worth me shelling out about $16-$18 American to go see?
For what it’s worth, I enjoyed the first Rush Hour movie…and I greatly enjoyed the first two X-men films.
Craig, in the first X-Men movie, Sabretooth took Wolverine’s dog tag. I took that as a hint that there might have been a pre-existing relationship between the two characters.
I’m one of those weirdos who doesn’t care if the movies stay faithful to the details of the comics, as long as they stay faithful to the spirit of the comics and the fundamental things that make the characters who they are. I think X-Men and X-2 accomplished that.
I’ve seen the trailer for X3 and it looks absolutely friggin’ way-cool. I can’t wait to see it.
I also saw the Superman trailers. I think Routh looks great as Supes and Kevin Spacey may in fact play a better Luthor than Hackman did. If Routh has the acting chops to pull off the character as well as Christopher Reeve did, I think Superman Returns may be another winner as well.
Kevin Spacey as Luthor. I just don’t know. That’s mostly just because I can’t stand Kevin Spacey. But then, I wasn’t all that crazy about Hackman as Luthor either.
Stacie’s still making fun of me for the first X movie. “Bunch of grown men in a movie theater CLAPPING for a MOVIE.” Like to see HER after seeing a movie she waited twenty years for and see HER reaction. Still gonna drag her along, though. She’s going to owe me forever for A Thousand Acres.
I just hope Cyclops has some more to do in this one. As much as I like Wolvie, Cyclops needs more screen time.
Thank you so much for reassuring me. Now I can walk into the theater tomorrow well assured that X3 or The Last Stand or whatever will not be crap.
I’m hoping to see X3 by the first of the month at the latest. My only concern is that this is allegedly the LAST movie!
Wolverine is supposed to be getting a solo outing next, hopefully with Hugh Jackman in the role.
But can’t they take and still do X-Men movies without the huge casts? I’d still go if it was just one or three heroes against a villian provided the movie was as good quality wise as previous installments.
I just came from watching it and i absolutly loved it. It seems that i like Brett’s vision on the X-men more the Bryan’s.
It could have been a little longer.
And i’m not a big fan of all those other comic-book characters so i’m glad that they had small parts.
I’m a huge Wolverine fan and liked how different the movies are from the comics.
Euhh, to the Cyclops fan, i hate to brake it to you but he has very little screen time.
Lee-
This is the last movie that the current cast signed for when they first signed for the original film. Now they would have to offer them a new contract for the roles for any additional films which is why many film series are in threes by the way. the kids in Harry Potter were only signed for the first 3 as were the principle teachers. Hugh Jackman has gone on record that he KNOWS what made him the man he is today and it is the role of Wolverine which has made more possible in his life than he could imagine so he is sooo there for a Wolverine film. After the film is been out for a bit I will give you my reasoning as to why this is not the last we will see of the X-Men.
Well, I’ll be seeing it tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to it now more than ever! In general, the rank-and-file film critics are always a mixed bag — especially for non-comics savvy critics reviewing comic book-related films — so while they give me a ballpark reference point, I usually have my mind made up to see a film long before the reviews hit the streets.
It had some great set-pieces, and I agree about the casting, but on the whole I was dissapointed. I think they tried to cram too many sub-plots into the movie without any thematic throughline – a loose jumble of concepts which are never properly fleshed out.
**SPOILERS FOLLOW**
(No, they don’t. I’m sorry, David, but this isn’t your call to make; it’s mine. I want this discussion to remain spoiler free. I want people to have just as much opportunity to get pole-axed by various events as I was. So I’ve deleted your spoilers, and I’m going to ask everyone else to respect my wishes on this matter. There are PLENTY of places around the net to discuss specifics with all the spoilers you want, but I want this arena to remain a haven for people to form opinions of the film and whether they should see it, or have their anticipation stoked, without having the story blown for them. As far as I’m concerned, any major storypoint that takes place more than ten, fifteen minutes into the film, I don’t want to see discussed in detail here. –PAD)
I’m hoping to see the movie tomorrow, before I start work. Fnord, I love matinees!
I can appreciate Halle Berry being upset with the limited dialogue she was given in the first film. After seeing that one, I imagined this conversation happening:
FAN 1: So, how was Storm?
FAN 2: Awesome! Halle Berry looked great in leather — and they did her weather control really well!
FAN 1: Did she have her thieving abilities?
FAN 2: Um, no, it didn’t come up — but she did great weather control.
FAN 1: Had she been worshipped as a god in Africa?
FAN 2: Er, did I mention the weather control?
FAN 1: Claustrophobia?
FAN 2: LEATHER! WEATHER CONTROL! AND ONE REALLY AWFUL LINE! THAT’S IT!!!
Fortunately, Halle Berry saw the error of her ways and went on to the richer, more emotionally fulfilling role of Catwoman. Hey, wait a minute…
Problem with having too much backstory on Ororo(or anyone else in this series for that matter) is that it would take away from the current storyline. If you did the flashback to her background right, the way it was done in the books, it would take at LEAST thirty minutes. The writers have enough to put in with the current story without emphasizing too much of one character. Well, except Logan, but people are screaming for backstory on him anyway. That’s what really worked in the first movie. Except for Rogue and Magneto, the movie DIDN’T explain much of where they came from. Just jumped right into the story. Now, a solo vehicle like Batman Begins or Daredevil CAN go more into the backstory, since the movie only has the one hero to deal with. Eventually have to see both of those, actually. X-Men and Fantastic Four, even, have to deal more with the interactions between the characters and the way they deal with each other. (Anybody who didn’t like FF, well, I’m sorry, I thought it was dead-on right) A lot of people go into a comic movie expecting it to be just like the book. Two different media, so there’s gonna be differences. That last is in deference to a few people I know who have hated every hero movie since Superman II because, (Paraphasing here) they want “to see the drawn page that I’ve imagined up on the screen.”
And not too much Cyke, huh? Ain’t gonna stop me from seeing it tomorrow. Like I said, there are more characters to watch.
Rat, you’re right that they couldn’t work every detail of Storm’s backstory into the movie. So, how ’bout ANY details? At the end of the movie, all we knew about her character was that she felt bad when the senator liquified. And she knew what happens when a toad gets hit by lightning. That isn’t exactly a well-developed character.
saw it, enjoyed it ,nuff said !
hows that for spoiler free?
Actually, X2 was the last film that Jackman, Berry, McKellen, Stewart, et al were contractually signed for. They needed to sign new contracts to make X3. This is how Berry was able to lobby for more to do and to fly, etc etc, and Jackman was able to have a say in the picking of the (eventual) director.
IMO, X3 was good but not great (certainly not as great as X2). Could have done with an extra 20 mins to allow the characters and themes to breathe. And the way they treat Cyclops (especially considering that the film involves Pheonix) was a disgrace, but then I guess it was inevitable seeing as how he’s been completely pussified in the film series so far.
absolutely superb, it was a faithful sequel with real gravitas. There were scenes ( don’t worry no spoilers here ) towards the end that really tied the trilogy up. one moment in particular which was a real echo to the early Professor X and Magneto scenes, was brilliant.
In fact I actually preferred this in many ways to X2, it was taught, action packed and their was real character development despite what some critics have said.
The beast was exellent, loved him, perfect. Vinnie Jones as the Jugs was poor, he had the weakest lines by far.
I agree with the comments about length, another 30mins would have been fine, but then is that a negative? A good film always leaves you wanting more…
As for the characters who die I was genuinely shocked….brilliant.
Funny you should say that Jones had the weakest lines, as I thought he had the best line in the whole film. Of course, it was one that refers to a popular online viral video, so if you haven’t seen it, YMMV.
Loved the movie more than I expected to. Ratner hit it out of the park. Less cerebral than the first two (though it still has a cerebral side), packed with a lot of great action and absolutely stays true to the spirit of the characters without being afraid to take them in wildly surprising directions. I definitely plan to see it again before the weekend is out.
Peter,
I thought the acting and direction was good, but the rest of the movie was a trainwreck.
Donnell
I saw a midnight showing of it and had a great time! About 20-30 people showed up dressed up as X-Men (comic book style at that!), some dressed awesomely (Gambit, Psylocke, Colossus) and some hilariously bad (Juggernaut had a box helmet).
Now, as far the actual movie goes, I enjoyed it. I felt X2 was tighter with less to do, but this one had some solid action and was possibly more fun. I really enjoyed Beast, Shadowcat, and Juggernaut and wish that Angel had been used more. I have to give Brett Ratner a lot of credit for getting this movie together with the short amount of time that he had.
Saw the film this afternoon and wasn’t overwhelmed. I’d like to think I can divorce myself from being a die-hard comic book geek and enjoy a film for what it is, but there was some real sloppiness in terms of editing, stunt work (mainly the wire work, which looks like, well, wire work) and some huge lapses in continuity. One of the major set pieces involving a bridge seemingly takes place around sunset, and yet it leads directly into another sequence that takes place at night although in actual screen time, only a few seconds appear to have passed. Perhaps there was originally a transitional scene that split those sequences that would have indicated the passing of time, but if that bit was ultimately edited out, the two sequences don’t cut together the right way. And without giving anything away, one character gives orders to keep anyone from entering a particular location, but in he next big action sequence, one of his cronies does exactly the opposite.
One of my biggest regrets is that with four decades worth of supporting characters on tap, the production chose to ignore most of them in favor of creating lots of not very exciting background mutants, most of whom had nebulous powers, or powers that were a specific story point (such as two particular sequences involving Wolverine, one of which you’ve probably seen a clip of on any talk show appearance that Jackman made this week). having recently interviewed a number of behind the scenes people from the film, I realize this is because of the difference in opinion between the director, studio execs and Marvel execs, with Ratner winning the majority of those battles, but what is the purpose of having access to thousands of cool-looking characters if you’re just going to make 90% of them look human, with the exception of a few tribal tattoos?
And that brings me to a subject that will no doubt brand me a mega-geek, but it involves the film’s very premise, which is to provide mutants with a ‘cure,’ obviously taken from Joss Whedon’s current X-Men run. But my problem is the same as it was with Marvel’s recent Decimation storyline, where most of the Marvel mutants have been de-powered: if you lose your mutant abilities, does it also retroactively change your appearance as well? Okay, maybe if you were Angel, you’d lose your ability to fly, making your wings a pair of useless appendages. Or maybe the wings would eventually wither and fall off, but at least Angel looks human to begin with. But if Beast was ‘cured,’ would he simply lose his athletic and gymnastic abilities and still look fuzzy? What about Nightcrawler, who was born looking the way he is? My point with the comic book storyline as well as the film, is there doesn’t seem to be an internal logic behind the thinking. Characters change or don’t change because of some arbitrary thinking rather than thinking through the implications of what you’re trying to do. As I say, I’m probably thinking too much about these things, but that’s just the way my brain works, or doesn’t work, I guess.
Having said all that, the movie isn’t all bad. The first 15 minutes or so, including the first major sequence with the team in action are very well done. For all my whining, I really love the Beast makeup, and Kelsey Grammar’s performance. And I enjoyed the few scenes with Kitty Pryde, one in particular, which was humorous but nicely well thought out.
One final observation, for whatever it’s worth. Why is that everyone who spends time at Xavier’s school eventually lose their accent? Storm seems to have lost her really bad African accent between films one and two and now talks like any other happening chick. Colossus doesn’t have a Russian accent, although he has so few lines in the second or third films that it’s almost hard to tell anyway. And unless my ears are playing tricks on me, Rogue seems to have dispensed with her Southern accent between two and three. Perhaps this is a hitherto unknown ability of Xavier’s that has never been explored?
Oh, and people at the screening today must have thought I was a complete loser, telling all of them to stay through the credits, but I thought it was a public service.
No kidding… best superhero movie ever. And second best comic book movie ever, after Sin City. It was everything I’d ever want in an X-Men movie (except, perhaps, a better use of Madrox… he’s basically a one man army, and Magneto uses him as a diversion?).
And Juggernaut has the best line in the movie. I nearly cried from joy when I heard it. It still makes me laugh sitting here thinking about it.
Just got back from seeing X3. I read Peter’s review before going and I’ve read it again now… Frankly a writer of Peter’s calibur I don’t understand how he can say the movie kicked ášš. As an effects extravaganza it was on the level of Revenge of the Sith, fantastic. As a movie with a plot and characterization, once again I thought I was watching revenge of the sith, poor plot, really poor characterization.
The cast is excellently chosen, Kelsey is the embodiment of the beast. As always Ian and Patrick can take the worst dreg and raise it up to at least good and Hugh was believeable. Famke, had no part unless that was to glower at the sets. My friends and I left the theater debating if she had more or less dialog than Arnold did in the Terminator.
Continuing the Star Wars vs X-Men analogy. Anakin’s fate at the end of the Sith left me with an emotional response, no matter how bad the lumbering crap fest of a plot was and how bad the acting was. After 3 movies I had an emotional investment somewhat in the character. In X3 I kept thinking, would you get it over with all ready!
This movie is a trainwreck.
I just got back from seeing the movie, and while I really did enjoy it, here are my random list of things to rant about..
Accents… yeah, I noticed that too, Joe. I can’t imagine how hard it must be to maintain those little things. It’s those little things like the accents (or lack thereof) that still bother me.
No, they probably won’t bother most other people, but there’s a reason this movie is X-Men and not Some Other Group of Characters with Similar Powers. Rogue is a southern belle, Pyro is Australian, Wolverine is Canadian… it’s not difficult.
I’m also not fond of fundamental changes to a character just for the sake of a minor plot point in the movie. Case in point: making Juggernaut a mutant.
They apparently confused Kid Omega with one of the Spikes.
Using Arclight from the Marauders instead of the natural Brotherhood choice of Avalanche…
Did Callisto have the ability to move like that in the comics, or was that given to her just to give her something else useful instead of introducing another character? I’m still trying to figure out who they confused her with for her appearance. 🙂
I was left scratching my head in the end credits, because while I thought I knew which girl was Siryn (same girl that actually got to use Siryn’s power in X2, but didn’t really look familiar), but where the hëll was Psylocke that she’s in the credits!?
And Artie? Is that the kid that blinks to change the channel?
Go figure: Jubilee has appeared in all three, with three different actresses iirc, had a line or two of dialogue total, and still didn’t get to show her powers. 🙂
Multiple Man was good though, even with what few lines he had. Although, it would’ve been cooler to see him actually use his power to create the duplicates.
And in the end Cyclops was treated like crap in the entire trilogy, imo.
Craig, you picked up more names than I did, although if I was trying to identify them by powers, costumes or whatever, I’m not sure I would have been all that successful.
I don’t remember Callisto having any extraordinary powers when she first appeared, which was X-Men 170 or 171 I think, although she does have a knife fight with Storm who stabs her in the heart, thus becoming new leader of the Morlocks. Does anybody remember her having any powers at all?
Frankly, I’m not all that bothered about Juggernaut being a mutant. I did miss the original costume, which was very cool indeed. Funnily enough, I was recently talking to Norman Cabrera who did a lot of the design work for the character, and who by the way, is a big comic book fan. The original film costume was going to be very much like the comic book version, right down to the helmet, for which they constructed an elaborate ball and socket assembly so that the helmet could rotate around within the collar. It sounded like a great idea, but when they cast Jones as Juggernaut, the producers wanted people to see more of him, so the helmet and costume were cut way back. Pity.
I saw it today, and I thought it was… decent. On the plus sides, the action sequences were pretty well done. Kelsey Grammar was perfection as the Beast. The three storylines coming together at the end worked quite well. And they *really* broke with comic-book canon to provide some surprises. (Fret not, I’m keeping things spoiler-free here.)
Alas, as with the previous two movies someone felt there was a need to cram every possible mutant from the comic books into the movies, resulting in many beloved characters appearing as nothing more than extras. (Psylocke, anyone?) Storm’s accent seemed to come and go. (They long ago abandoned Wolverine’s Canadian accent. Imagine the uber-tough guy sounding like Puck — or French! Hasn’t happened since the first poorly-animated Marvel cartoons, won’t happen again.) There were several scenes put in solely to show some action, and it’s hard to see this movie having a broad enough appeal to reach non-comic fans. When I review it, I’ll give it a B: not bad, but not something I’d see again.
“I’m also not fond of fundamental changes to a character just for the sake of a minor plot point in the movie. Case in point: making Juggernaut a mutant.”
What else would they make him? You really want to bring the whole Cyttorak ruby thing into it? In an X-Men movie, you can’t bring non-mutant superpeople into it. It simply wouldn’t work.
And anyway, he’s a mutant in Ultimate X-Men.
“Did Callisto have the ability to move like that in the comics, or was that given to her just to give her something else useful instead of introducing another character?”
The latter. They apparently combined Quicksilver and Caliban to create her (I didn’t even know it was meant to be her until the end credits). In the comics, I believe her only powers are enhanced senses (well, I understand she now has tentacles, but I didn’t read Excalibur, so I don’t know what that’s all about).
“but where the hëll was Psylocke that she’s in the credits!?”
My only guess is that she’s the chick with the purple hair, who seems to have Kitty’s powers.
“And Artie? Is that the kid that blinks to change the channel?”
No, it’s the kid with the lizard tongue, although I don’t remember seeing him in The Last Stand (and I was trying to keep an eye out for familiar faces).
Peter, THANK YOU from the bottom of my mutie-loving heart for letting me know to stay through the credits. As if I wasn’t ALREADY blown away…
Saw the midnight show and I thought it was fantastic.
I’d give it a 9 out of 10 and put it on par with X2 and a bit better than the first one.
I know there are a lot of people who can’t wait to tear a movie like this apart, and you can sure do that with X3 if you want. I choose not to. Was it entertaining? Hëll yeah. Would I watch it again? Yes, many times on DVD.
X-Men isn’t meant to be an Oscar nominee for Best Picture. Summer blockbusters generally aren’t. But I have a lot more fond movie memories of watching popcorn flicks than an Oscar-nominated think-pieces, and I often wonder why some critics hold some of those movies up on such a high pedistal.
Anyway, I saw the scene at the very end of the moving coming, but did not see the scene after the credits coming … yet it made perfect sense. Great zinger to go home with.
I think somebody should look at continuing the franchise above and beyond the Wolverine flick that’s on the way. There are so many different directions to go, and I think you could make a pretty good flick as long as you have some of the mainstays.
I look forward to spoiler-rich talkback!
Posted by Kath at May 25, 2006 04:39 PM
This is the last movie that the current cast signed for when they first signed for the original film. Now they would have to offer them a new contract for the roles for any additional films
Bet i can guess who’s said they’d be willing to come back and who said this was it…
Someone on the writing staff is either a magician or thinks like one — one of the prettiest pieces of misdirection, planting a “Chekhov’s gun” (so to speak) in the guise of something else entirely.
Whoever conceived, plotted and designed the bridge sequence has no idea how suspension bridges work.
Why did all the cars have their lights on? It was daylight when they stopped there.
The film — at least as presented — implies that Angel can make about Mach 4 using just his cute feathery wings. (And the sequence that introduces him is one of the more shuddersome bits i’ve seen in a while…)
They got the mandatory Hitchcock — i mean Stan Lee — cameo over early, didn’t they? (Or wasn’t that Stan with the hose?) Stan’s best cameo yet is Willie Lumpkin. Perfect. (How the heck did Jack know what Stan was gonna look like forty-odd years down the road?)
Kelsey Grammer was, indeed, great “This *used* to fit me”, forsooth.
Kitty and Juggernaut — loved it. Ditto Kitty and Bobbie’s jump off the roof.
My own reaction to “We can cure you” was “I’d rather you cured me of breathing” — but i was only thinking of Storm, Wolverine and so forth; seconmd thought was that there would be, i’m sure, a number of mutants (analagous to the “Jokers” in the “Wild Cards” books) who might jump at the chance…
Am i just sick, or did anyone else flash on Xander’s “Crayon-breaky Willow” speech in the final big sequence?
Overall, loved it. I do expect another sequel, sooner or later.
Well, I have to say – I LOVED it!
I really thought it was a great film. MUCH better then the first one and close to the second.
I thought the handling of the Jean/Cure storyline was great, and interwoven with a lot more panache then I expected. Let’s be honest, I didn’t expect much from Ratner. I groaned when he got the gig. But I never lost hope that he’d do right by the characters and the first two movies. I’m glad I didn’t.
There were tons of great moments, none of which I’ll spoil. I will say that I thought Kitty was the best addition to the cast. I wish we’d seen more of Angel.
Oh, and how cool was Madrox? They have him the T-shirt with the symbols and everything! And even in two lines the actor conveyed a lot of personality.
Who wants to sign him up for the X-Factor TV series? I mean, if they can make the crap that was Mutant X, surely someone would spend the money for an X-men movie spin-off about a group of mutant PI’s. Right?
Loved it. Thank’s to PAD I stayed through the credits (Stan’s not the only creator cameo listed in the credits). I did see the end bit coming though.
David
I loved the movie!! It doesn’t bother me that it wasn’t totally faithful to the comic books. I just take it as a given that the superheroes of films usually inhabit different universes than their comic book counterparts. And how could the filmmakers bring in Juggernaut’s comic book origin and Phoenix as an alien entity without confusing the non-comic geek audience? X-Men 3 did a great job in wrapping up the storyline of the trilogy which concerned exploring the place mutants (read it “those who are different”) have in the world and what strategy the mutants will use in order to bring about change and acceptance.
And in a movie titled “The Last Stand” I expected to see a big blow-out battle. I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, I belive this was the best cinematic superhero battle since Superman II.
I was surprised by some of the developments in the movie. And Wolverine is totaly cool as always and Madrox gets a great scene and a great line. McKellen and Stewart are superb, as is the Juggernaut vs. Kitty Pride sequence.
I rate the movie three and three-quarters stars out of four. I took off a quarter of a point because Halle Berry seemingly chose not to act all that much while making the film.
Here are two spoiler-free additional thoughts about the movie:
1) How did this get a PG-13 rating? Not only did this film have a pretty high body count, but most of the killings were done in a pretty gruesome fashion, often involved major characters, and happened onscreen. (This could be the “if there’s no blood, it’s not that bad” theory of acceptable violence, so popular in comic books.)
2) Why aren’t there action figures based on this movie? The only releases I’ve seen are five new X-Men figures — but they’re the figures from the comic books’ not the movie. Considering how nice looking many of the characters are, you think there’d be more figures.
(BTW, Psylocke appeared as a background character during Magneto’s speech in the chapel. She has no dialogue or action; you only know it’s her because of the pink slash-tattoo over her eye.)
You really want to bring the whole Cyttorak ruby thing into it?
They didn’t have to mention anything about it one way or the other.
You wouldn’t have even known one way or the other until they show that Juggernaut indeed has to be a mutant.
No, it’s the kid with the lizard tongue, although I don’t remember seeing him in The Last Stand
Hrm. No idea then.
The eye-blinking kid was also in X2 (or at least the character was), which is why I picked up on him as perhaps being Artie.
you only know it’s her because of the pink slash-tattoo over her eye.
I completely missed it then.
“You wouldn’t have even known one way or the other until they show that Juggernaut indeed has to be a mutant.”
I don’t really understand what you’re saying here.
I don’t really understand what you’re saying here.
See, this is why I barely ever talk about movies when I can’t go into spoilers. 😛
Was that Chris claremont mowing the lawn?
I honestly liked the film. It wasn’t overwhelming, and it didn’t “triumphantly end the trilogy,” but it was remarkably competent.
I do think more time should have been given to some of the characters, and the dialog was lacking a little, but overall, it worked. Especially that line from Juggernaut that got several unexpected giggles from animation geeks like me in the audience.
I also like the fact that certain risks were taken with characters that most sequels are afraid to take. (Trying to keep this spoiler-free.) This forced the focus onto other characters and – in a way – forced them to “grow up” and take greater responsibility. Since there will be certain “solo films” by these characters in the future, showing them having to carry extra weight in this film is a good basis for those films.
And dámņ it, I walked out during the credits and missed the whatever-the-heck-happened. I just wasn’t feeling very well and needed sleep. I hope to find out what I missed – heck, I liked it enough to pay for another admission, especially with that moronic “Omen” remake the only thing coming next week.
I avoided this thread because I didn’t want to see anything to spoil it for me. THANKFULLY I overheard the guy behind us staying we need to sit through the credits to catch something we shouldnt miss. Whew.
I really liked it, but I was a wee bit disappointed by certain aspects.
My God, what a pile of F*&(*&(* S)(*)(*)(*)(
Ratner was the worse choice ever to make it and has for what happened with the Golden Gate Bridge, I think they want to give terrorists ideas.
Sorry, I didn’t like it, and I’m liking it less the more I think about it. It felt less like the smart, soulful X-movie I was expecting and more like a “hey, let’s see how much stuff we can ruin/blow up” sequel. I’m all for big changes/killing characters off, but they just weren’t handled right. The characters act in ways that make no sense in terms of their prior character development, the dual plots (the ‘cure’/the dark Pheonix) didn’t mix well at all, and the Pheonix storyline was spectacularly mishandled. Really conspicuous continuity errors (like the sudden day/night switch during the final battle) didn’t help, either. I’d love to specifically identify each and every little thing I hated about the movie, but I don’t think it’s possible without violating PAD’s spoiler edict, and I’ve already wasted enough mental airtime this weekend with the franchise’s latest entry.
I haven’t seen a sequel this bad since ‘Highlander II.’ I can only hope for an ‘X-Men 4: The Apology”. Thumbs down.
The main problem with this movie was that Dark Phoenix and the cure were each more than enough material to be movies unto themselves. Trying to integrate them into a single movie (and not even a long movie) prevented either story from being fully and properly developed. It’s as if they suddenly realized they weren’t going to be able to make an X4, so they decided to cram EVERY idea they had for an X-Men movie into X3.
Yes, he was. He was listed in the credits as “Lawnmower Man” iirc.
It was so early in the movie that he and Stan get their cameos that it wasn’t until they showed Stan that I thought “Crap, I just missed Claremont”.
Ratner was the worse choice ever to make it and has for what happened with the Golden Gate Bridge, I think they want to give terrorists ideas.
If terrorists want to pick up the Golden Gate Bridge and move it to Alcatraz, they’re welcome to try.
Since the bridge has been mentioned, I can discuss it without fear that I’m revealing a spoiler.
I thought moving the bridge was an effect done for its own sake. Considering Magneto’s powers, he could have made a “flyng carpet” of metal to quickly bring everyone over, instead of a grandiose action that gave the troops plenty of warning that he was on his way. And while the film showed that Magneto was perfectly willing to sacrifice mutants that opposed his cause, you think he’d choose a stealthier way to attack rather than the way that led to the elimination of so many of his mutants.
Count me among those who didn’t like it. Lots of good ideas, all of which were horribly executed.
I couldn’t have hated this movie more. By the end, I couldn’t express myself profanely or loudly enough to satisfy the ire that was welling up in me. The story leaps through it’s plot points nearly because it has to. Of necessity, they do the Dark Phoenix story, but apparently they couldn’t find enough material in ONE OF THE GREATEST AND MOST SIGNIFICANT X-MEN STORIES OF ALL TIME to fill out a movie, so they go into Joss Whedon’s recent fantastic story. The final muddled mess doesn’t give enough time to either story.
Aside from not having character development, you have character devolvment. Wolverine might as well have been Cyclops with a healing factor and adamantium claws for the way he behaved in this movie. The finale, and the way the “X-men” acted was completely without the ethics we’ve come to expect from either camp.
And the end, I want to do this without spoiling, but Wolverine does not get to do that. That story element is not Wolverine’s and to give it to him (and everything else stolen from another X-character who got the really short end of the stick in this movie) was like Brett Ratner reaching through the screen to punch me in the face.
Expect more from your art, folks. “It’s just a popcorn flick” doesn’t work anymore in the world after the first two X-Men and Spiderman movies.
BTW, if you want to read my full (still spoiler free!) review of X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, it’s posted at The Armchair Critic http://www.blogger.com/posts.g?blogID=19763280 . More viewers are always welcome!