The Imagination of Fantasy

X-MEN: THE LAST STAND - THOUGHTS UPON VIEWING (SOME SPOILERS)

The basic plot summary is that a "cure" has been discovered to suppress the Mutant X gene and make mutants normal thanks to a boy named Leech, whose mutation is that when mutants are around him, they have no powers.  Magneto sees this as a call to war and recruits an army of mutants, while the X-Men must find and stop him.  The trouble is, in the meantime, it is discovered that Jean Grey is alive and that many of the "psychic barriers" Xavier placed in her to control her unprecedented telekinetic/telepathic powers have created two personalities, and her "death" forced the violent, uncontrolled, no regrets and extremely powerful half, the Phoenix, to emerge.  One battle is for a united world where humans and mutants can live side by side; the other is a fight to save Jean Grey, who has been consumed by her power and knows no consequences.

Ohmigosh ohmigosh.  This movie was sad!  Very very sad. There are lots of deaths in this movie; it's definitely the last in the franchise.

Reasons to see this movie (QUASI-SPOILER ALERT...)

Jean Grey coming back as the Phoenix.  It's actually a pro and a con because in the comic and the cartoon, she fights her way back toward good and then gains some redemption.  She's not actually good most of the time, and that's all I'll say.

Magneto's comeuppance.  This is the best plot point.

The use of other X-Men not heretofore used or used very much: Juggernaut, Kitty Pryde, Angel, the Beast, Colossus...(except no Gambit...sigh)

Wolverine finding his passion and purpose.

Rogue finding peace and love. 

Pyro getting his ass kicked.  He's such a brat.

However, this movie was not as good as the first and second one, mainly due to the fact that Brett Ratner got a hold of the director's chair.  It was kind of sloppy compared to the first two, with the focus switching in and out of the whole mutant vs. human and mutant vs. mutant thing and some sort of love story between Wolverine and Jean Grey (where's Cyclops? Guess...) and Magneto's and Xavier's doh-see-doh with their philosophies and their friendship. A lot of screen time was used to show off several mutants' powers.  The dialogue was not very good at all.  And the ending was incredibly anticlimactic.  Also, the whole movie felt rushed, like they were trying to get everything in.

Still, there will definitely not be another one, so go see it. It's still a good movie.  And there is closure for the trilogy.  It just doesn't compare to the first two. 

Anyone else seen it who wants to comment?

Re: X-MEN: THE LAST STAND - THOUGHTS UPON VIEWING (SOME SPOILERS)

Re: X-MEN: THE LAST STAND - THOUGHTS UPON VIEWING (SOME SPOILERS)

Re: X-MEN: THE LAST STAND - THOUGHTS UPON VIEWING (SOME SPOILERS)

That depends.  If you really really liked the first two, and don't go in with too many expectations (esp since tmoney thought it was awful and i thought it was lukewarm at best), then go see it at the show. Maybe as a matinee, though.

If you kinda liked the first two or are expecting great things, wait for the DVD.  I didn't think it was horrible.  It's just an incredible letdown after X2.

It's definitely not worth a repeat viewing.  Good for eating popcorn, tho.

Re: X-MEN: THE LAST STAND - THOUGHTS UPON VIEWING (SOME SPOILERS)

Re: X-MEN: THE LAST STAND - THOUGHTS UPON VIEWING (SOME SPOILERS)

Magneto will begin filming soon, if not already.
starring Gandalf, as expected.  It will cover the earlier days of magneto and xavier's friendship.

Re: X-MEN: THE LAST STAND - THOUGHTS UPON VIEWING (SOME SPOILERS)

Re: X-MEN: THE LAST STAND - THOUGHTS UPON VIEWING (SOME SPOILERS)

the only name listed so far is Ian.

And yeah...looking forward to the Wolverine spinoff as well.

Re: X-MEN: THE LAST STAND - THOUGHTS UPON VIEWING (SOME SPOILERS)

tmoney - You're right, The Juggernaught is not a mutant - his helmet gives him special powers. The Kitty Pryde fight scene would not have happened the way it did because he is not a mutant. The Juggernaught is actually Professor X's step-brother, which was also never apparent.

I have been willing to let the continuity recombinations go since X1 (continuity as it occurs in the comic books). I decided to judge the X movies on cinematic quality and entertainment value rather than on how accurately the characters, powers and plots were portrayed in respect to the original storylines. I figured a good movie is a good movie, and so I can't really judge a film that is trying to squeeze decades of stories into a couple of hours of screen time on its ability to remain "canon."

However, X3 was so far off the mark on just continuity alone that it was a slap in the face to the Marvel writers / artitsts. I liked X1 and I really liked X2 as movies. Sure, they were not true to the comics, but I could adjust and enjoy a good action flick. With X3, I couldn't make myself quit thinking "That doesn't make any sense!" So, I'm biased when it comes to judging the quality of the movie. I tried to just enjoy it as though there were only X1 and X2 and no comic book series, but it was so bad that I couldn't get over it. Are there any other X-Men comic book fans who think that X3 failed miserably at entertaining dedicated comic readers, especially in relation to the minor errors of X1 and X2 - or am I just too nerdy for my own good? Some things were accurate, like JG becoming the Phoenix and Magneto's fate (though, it happened differently in the comics) - but Beast and Angel and The Juggernaught and the thing with Cyclops and... I could go on and on - it ruined the movie for me.

Re: X-MEN: THE LAST STAND - THOUGHTS UPON VIEWING (SOME SPOILERS)