   GDNet at the Movies: X-Men: The Last Stand
  I had been thinking of writing this review since seeing the movie last week, but this thread [spoiler warning] convinced me that I should explore my thoughts here.There are no spoilers contained in this review/analysis, however comments and replies made by other members or myself may disclose seminal plot elements.The critical opinions of X-Men: The Last Stand, aka "X3," seemed near-uniformly dismal. One reviewer bemoaned the replacement of Brian Singer with Brett Ratner, suggesting that Ratner lacked the deftness of touch to preserve the nuance and shading of the emotional core of the two previous movies. Whatever, dude. I'll cut straight to the chase: X-Men: The Last Stand rocked, hard!Virtually all film adaptations of existing works (novels, memoirs, comic books) take a certain amount of license, and the X-Men films are no different. Bobby Drake (Ice Man) and Anna Marie (Rogue, identified as Marie) are too young, as is Warren Worthington III (Angel). And it is absolutely unpardonable that all three films left out Gambit - although, given the age reduction of Rogue, I suppose it makes sense.The first two films were reasonably canonical. This film takes a number of steps that shred the comic book continuity (present, past and most likely future), and I think it's better for it. The problem of comic books as a medium (and, incidentally, television) is that their open-ended nature requires that you sustain narratives in perpetuity, which makes it difficult to present seminal events that cause significant shifts in direction. This is the reason why comic books engage in retcons so frequently, as an easy way to undo a done change that might hamper efforts to sell more books.People die in this movie, people central to the X-Men mythos, and they don't come back. And the movie benefits from taking that artistic risk in the service of an emotional and meaningful narrative. It also does something else I truly commend, in toying with our canon-dictated view of who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, but in a manner so subtle that you might miss it if you're not paying attention. So here's a pointer: it revolves around Xavier and his decisions in the tutelage of Jean Grey from her adolescence. Arguably, the concluding events of this film are his fault, and his motivations don't necessarily stand as pure. Makes for an interesting discussion.Oh, yeah. The Super Hero Movie Review boilerplate stuff: the special effects are excellent, and excellently used; the variety of mutant powers are well selected and balanced, though one or two invariably feel cheap (deflating dude in the mutant rally - weak). The concluding faceoff feels poignant and momentous, but in the after effect it hits you that all that carnage was confined to an extremely small area and had a minuscule direct effect (though the ramifications are much larger).Per X-Men stories, the mutant-powers-as-metaphor-for-human-intolerance rhetoric is present in abundance, but it lacks weight. In a scene where a mutant asks Magneto (he doesn't know who he is) where his mark is and Magnus shows his concentration camp stencil, it feels inorganic and somewhat forced, out of character for a theatrical megalomaniac like Erich Lensherr.Tip for those who haven't seen the movie yet: sit through the credits.Overall, X-Men: The Last Stand was satisfying, to me. It's not a great movie, but it raises great questions within the Marvel Universe that made the film far more fun for a trained film theorist! I recommend it without reservation.   
  I kind of disagree with the plural or people central to the X-Men mythos dieing. Other than that, the movie was fun, even if it missed reaching the cohesiveness and script polish that the others seemed to have.   ;  I posted in the original thread, but basically I enjoyed the move tremendously. My primary gripe is that the movie was far too truncated: it could have easily spanned the 150 minute mark with enough gripping content. Hell, even beefen up the climactic battle: Colossus vs Juggernaut, Iceman vs Pyro (their "showdown" was the worst kind of unsatisfactory vegen burger).I wasn't too happy with Angel being relegated to some sort of symbolic role. I might also have mentioned (though I don't care to check) that if there was to be a fourth movie, the best bet would be to introduce Bishop's character along with some sort of corollary plot (though not the Trevor Fitzroy business). With the presence of Bishop, it would almost demand Gambit's presence given their extensive history. And at this point in the game, the time is ripe for rearing in the new characters. Bishop would enter the scene via critical plot point (time portal) while Gambit slides into the action through secondary circumstance.edit: Oh, also, you mentioned Cyclops was a pansy for not "getting over it". The impression I got was that Jean had been tormenting him telepathically.. probably since the river incident. I don't think she suddenly "awoke" and started calling his name out to him one day; it seemed like he was perpetually being plagued by her telepathy and one day broke down enough to go retread the dead ground.   ;  I thought it was good, but not near as good as X2. To me he really skipped out on the most dramatic parts such as the relationship between Archangel and his dad (side note: I cringed during the part where Angel did that superhero pose, after busting out of the straps, super-cheesy).  It was quite fun watching Beast beat the crap out of people.  It was better than I expected, it's just that the bar was set really high with X2.   ;  I thought it was a fairly good film. The new characters didn't do much for the overall story but they were still ok. There was moments were I was like "Yes that was aweome" and other times when I was just thinking "ok why did that just happen?" and I guess that is what movies should try and do.   ;  All I know is that Wolverine was killing people, not just beating them up, and that's the only Wolverine I want to see.But freaking A, still no Gambit. WTF, mate? After teasing us with listing his name next to Beast's in the Mutant Registry that appears briefly in the second movie, giving us Beast in the 3rd movie, and then NO GAMBIT!!!We'll see what happens in the future. Supposedly this is the last "X-Men" movie, but it would be really dissapointing if it is. Again, we have yet to see Gambit. We still need to see an ass kicking Rogue. And please PLEASE can we have Psylocke in a traditional costume?   ;Quote:Original post by capn_midnightAll I know is that Wolverine was killing people, not just beating them up, and that's the only Wolverine I want to see.But freaking A, still no Gambit. WTF, mate? After teasing us with listing his name next to Beast's in the Mutant Registry that appears briefly in the second movie, giving us Beast in the 3rd movie, and then NO GAMBIT!!!We'll see what happens in the future. Supposedly this is the last "X-Men" movie, but it would be really dissapointing if it is. Again, we have yet to see Gambit. We still need to see an ass kicking Rogue. And please PLEASE can we have Psylocke in a traditional costume?I'd like to see if they can find an actress that can match her physique. Lemme see if I can find a picture.edit: These should do.;Quote:Original post by Alpha_ProgDesQuote:Original post by capn_midnightAll I know is that Wolverine was killing people, not just beating them up, and that's the only Wolverine I want to see.But freaking A, still no Gambit. WTF, mate? After teasing us with listing his name next to Beast's in the Mutant Registry that appears briefly in the second movie, giving us Beast in the 3rd movie, and then NO GAMBIT!!!We'll see what happens in the future. Supposedly this is the last "X-Men" movie, but it would be really dissapointing if it is. Again, we have yet to see Gambit. We still need to see an ass kicking Rogue. And please PLEASE can we have Psylocke in a traditional costume?I'd like to see if they can find an actress that can match her physique. Lemme see if I can find a picture.oh, I can think of a few, but I don't want to get banned for posting pictures :D   