Moviehole.net X-Men 3 Review! Legit and Positive!

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http://www.moviehole.net/news/20060516_xmen_the_last_stand.html

Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, James Marsden, Vinnie Jones
It’s time to take a look at one of the years most hotly anticipated & debated films of 2006, Brett Ratner’s take on the “X” franchise, “X-Men: The Last Stand”. Set shortly after the events of “X2”, “The Last Stand” finds the band of Mutants in a state of disarray. Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) is apparently dead, and with Cyclops (James Marsden) shirking his responsibilities at Professor Xavier’s (Patrick Stewart) school for the gifted, fellow “X-Man” Wolverine is taking on substitute teacher duties alongside Storm (Halle Berry). In all of their minds though, the seemingly deceased Jean is reaching out to them from her grave, leading to disaster for all of them when the resurrected “Phoenix” emerges in her place.
While these events are unfolding, Warren Worthington II (Michael Murphy), in an attempt to “cure” his own son (Ben Foster as “Angel”) has discovered a strange source of vaccine against the “X” gene, that seemingly has the ability to convert any Mutant back to a mere mortal – but whether or not they voluntarily take the treatment or it is forced upon them is taken up by Magneto (Ian McKellen) & his “Brotherhood”, including Pyro (Aaron Stanford), Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) & Juggernaught (Vinnie Jones) amongst others. Adding to the mix is the Secretary of Mutant Affairs, Dr. Henry McCoy (Kelsey Grammer) otherwise known as “Beast” who juggles his personal beliefs in “curing” mutants alongside his professional standing; Rogue (Anna Paquin), who believes her boyfriend Bobby (Shawn Ashmore) is developing feelings for newcomer Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) due to her inability to touch him without killing him. It all comes to a massive climax involving the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz island, as both Humans & Mutants wage a mammoth battle against and with each other, and have their (dun-dun-dah!) Last Stand.
Alright, so it’s complicated to describe this film, because there is a hell of a lot of stuff going on it. Hopefully that’s given you some indication of the general idea, but apart from that, you need to know where it stands in the “X” trilogy (so far), and to do that, we have to talk about Brett Ratner, or more specifically the Internet backlash against him.
Seemingly from the moment he was announced to helm “The Last Stand”, there has been a collective bashing of him, and I can’t for the life of me figure it out. I don’t claim to be some kind of genius when it comes to what I like, I just like it. So therefore, movies like “Rush Hour”, “Red Dragon” & even “Money Talks” have been enjoyable films for me. Are they perfect examples of their genre? Hell no! Are they entertaining? To me, absolutely. It’s with that in mind (and the great job he did with the “Prison Break” opener) that I didn’t get involved in any of the hating, choosing to wait and see what the final product was like. Here’s the thing – “X-Men: The Last Stand” is not the disaster some of you have been expecting, it is in fact a very entertaining movie that fits in well with the first two films. As has been the case with both 1 & 2, there is definitely cheesy dialogue (thankfully nothing comparing to the embarrassing “coming out” scene with Bobby in part 2) in places, some of the effects work doesn’t look the greatest at times, and some of the supporting parts are as thin as can be, but as with the other entries, the stuff that does work far exceeds the things that don’t. A few particular standouts that have been mentioned in some of the other early reviews include the FX that surround “Phoenix”, the de-aging of Magneto & Xavier by 20 years, “Beast” unleashed during the final act of the film, and the fact that also like the first films, Rebecca Romijn is still smokin’ hot.
Hugh Jackman has always been the standout in the “X” franchise, and it’s never been more obvious with what he’s given here that they are pretty much solely writing the film around him. The one thing that I will say about him is that outside of a quick comment by Jean in the film, there is nothing to do with his history that was such an integral part of “X2”, and that does feel like kind of a let down. Famke Janssen & Halle Berry both return to their roles with a little bit more relish from the second outing, Janssen making a good turn at being the “nasty” Jean, and Halle actually getting to do more than show up for 5 seconds at a time before disappearing in the background and Kelsey Grammer is perfect for Dr. McCoy – you’re not likely to look at the character in a comic again without hearing his delivery of the lines. Patrick Stewart & Ian McKellen by this point have their characters so well down that they could sleepwalk through the part sand still come away smelling like roses (it is great to see when they were working together during the early flashback of the film though). Unfortunately though, as is the case with at least one of the acting parts in the 3 films to date, some are sorely underused, and this time out, the honor goes to Anna Paquin who gets a grand total of maybe 10 minutes onscreen. Considering the amount of presence that Vinnie Jones gets as Juggernaught (and I do like Vinnie), there really should be a bit more of a trade there, for someone who is supposed to be a pretty big part of the underlying thread of the film.
Here’s the thing – if you’re one of these people who have gotten caught up in the “I hate Brett Ratner” scene, you will most likely come away from this film disappointed, because you are hoping that this film will really suck badly. On the other hand, if you’re a fan of the “X” movies to date, and go in not caring about who’s calling the shots, I think that you will probably walk away enjoying this at least as much as “X-Men 2” (but I do miss Nightcrawler). There are some very good (and very surprising) twists that happen during the course of the film that really give it a great sense of forward momentum, and along with the always great Jackman front & centre, “The Last Stand” is well worth your time for any fan of the franchise - and make sure to stay until the credits finish.
Rating :
stars8.gif

Reviewer : Adam Weeks
 
wow....Anna's lack of screen time was most noticeable
 
It's been posted already but thanx for putting on the front page for everyone to see! Good to know that the review was positive! :)
 
Hardly any reviews mention Mystique :(

I know shes isnt in it that much, but still.
 
Sunstar said:
It's been posted already but thanx for putting on the front page for everyone to see! Good to know that the review was positive! :)

What was positive about it? What he wrote was disappointing, and then he gave it 4/5 :confused:
 
Storm22 said:
Don't like the sound of that!

Yeah, but remember in X2 when Mystique knocks out that fat guard in the bathroom and as the camera passes her she turns from blonde Rebecca back to Mystique, she looked VERY computerized in that scene. That wasnt a very good looking effect.
 
CapBeerCino said:
What was positive about it? What he wrote was disappointing, and then he gave it 4/5 :confused:


It sounded positive to me...looking forward to Beast :)
 
Wow....Rogue is virtually nonexistant in this film. The TV spots would suggest she had a meatier role than that. :(
 
Lightning Strikez! said:
Wow....Rogue is virtually nonexistant in this film. The TV spots would suggest she had a meatier role than that. :(

I know that sucks, I was really looking forward to see Rogue fight!!!:( :down
 
Can this film sound even more botched than it already is? Seriously, "the cure plotine" is begging for Rogue to have a very, very central role in it all.

I understand that this story for her essentially goes back to the first film and her desires and I also understand that movie Rogue and comic Rogue are a bit different but let's at least develop her in this film. I mean, she's an X-Man now. Let's see her struggle with not only abandoning her powers to be intimate with Bobby but let's see her decide on whether or not she wants to abandon her part on the team and at the school.

That's not too much to ask because it's important. Singer invested alot in her character arc. It's getting thrown away rather quickly in this film.
 
Lightning Strikez! said:
Wow....Rogue is virtually nonexistant in this film. The TV spots would suggest she had a meatier role than that. :(

Yeah, unfortunately those TV spots where very deceptive like some other things that were promised for this film(Phoenix FX, Colossus vs Juggernaut)
 
I hate how Anna is barely in the film :down :( She should be an integral part of the "cure" story.

Plus, why are they showcasing her in a lot of the commercials and media too? She has done countless appearances and interviews for X3 already. All this for a character who is in the movie 10 minutes and then goes on to get the cure? Geez, I hope not.
 
Spoiler Warning ahead.

Ok i know there is alot of people hating on this movie because Cyclopse gets axed supposibly. And so doesn't Xavier. I however heard a rumor that at the end of the credits there is an easter egg at Moria island and one of them turns up alive. The rumor goes as thus.

Cyclopse turns up and is violently crazed state. Afraid that the Phoenix will get him. He hears a familure voice. The same one from Alakli lake and the screen goes black then red.
It can either mean jean is back or Xavier is not dead and is using jeans voice to snap Cyks out of the crazed state.

In the x-men universe never assume that Cyclopse and Xavier are dead. For there is always rebirth in the story that is the mutants and the x-men. So if this is the finale then a few dying makes since.
However if there is a 4th assume none is dead really for Jean died once then again.
 
J.Howlett said:
Can this film sound even more botched than it already is? Seriously, "the cure plotine" is begging for Rogue to have a very, very central role in it all.

I understand that this story for her essentially goes back to the first film and her desires and I also understand that movie Rogue and comic Rogue are a bit different but let's at least develop her in this film. I mean, she's an X-Man now. Let's see her struggle with not only abandoning her powers to be intimate with Bobby but let's see her decide on whether or not she wants to abandon her part on the team and at the school.

That's not too much to ask because it's important. Singer invested alot in her character arc. It's getting thrown away rather quickly in this film.

It would at least be somewhat acceptable if she doesn't take it. But to have her go through so big a change without actually seeing any internal conflict about it is just stupid. From the moment she hears about it she wants to take it, and she never even has doubts.
 
"The cure plotline" should've had Rogue as the central figure, bar none. You can have debates with the other characters but essentially, for our heroes, it comes down to Rogue's character. It affects her the most. We, as the audiences, would've identified with her the most. They're shortchanging what could've potentially been a very, intriguing character study on the part of Rogue throughout the film.

She should've had the same central role that Logan had in X-Men. That's how it should've gone. You could've balanced the "cure" plotline with the Phoenix story.
 
spinny0617 said:
It would at least be somewhat acceptable if she doesn't take it. But to have her go through so big a change without actually seeing any internal conflict about it is just stupid. From the moment she hears about it she wants to take it, and she never even has doubts.

I honestly wouldn't blame her...didn't she try to take the cure in the comics but didn't because such a cure didn't exist?
 
spinny,

Exactly right. What should've transpired is this:

See her apart of the team. See her as a real figurehead in the school with the younger students. See still struggling with the intimate angle. See what the arrival of the cure means to her. See her struggle with abandoning what she's developed into as part of the X-Men and as part of the school and what she desires most in the world.

This should've been her journey. As you say spinny, she hears about the cure. Then, she sees that Bobby is straying. And finally, she decides that she wants to take it because of her love for Bobby.

That's half of what it should've been. The other half is what see means to that team and to that school, especially if she's comfortable with her place in that school and on that team.

If she would've gone through all of that and still decided on the cure, I would be satisfied. As long as there was a journey to it, it wouldn't matter to me whether or not she took the cure.
 
Poor Rogue I wanted her to be developed more. Well, atleast it's a positive review.
 
AVP82 said:
I honestly wouldn't blame her...didn't she try to take the cure in the comics but didn't because such a cure didn't exist?

it did exist and she didn't take it.



j.howlett> it's Fox's fault for not wanting to push back the release date for this movie so that Anna would've been available to do some extensive pickups/reshoots.

Same goes for Jimmy Marsden btw.

Everyone surrounding this movie has been saying that Rogue's storyline is central to the cure plot... so where is her storyline?
 

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