I had been planning for Saturday, May 27, for nearly a month. This might be considered odd, of course, seeing as "X-Men: The Last Stand" actually premiered in theaters the day before, on May 26. But my plan was to spend my Saturday in Boston, settled in the center row of a 700-seat theater, ready to give one of the most popular film franchises the mega-watt welcome it deserved. In my excitement, I had told nearly everyone I knew about my plans, and even rubbed this enthusiasm in a few fellow film critics' faces.
Yes, my plan did go off without a hitch. And yes, it really was worth it.
"X-Men: The Last Stand" is a fast-paced and oddly pensive addition to the X-Men franchise. Despite having a new director, a renewed interest in X-Men history and a jubilee of conflicting perspectives, "The Last Stand" never loses its focus, and thankfully, never succumbs to the need to be the flashiest of all the X-Men films. Rather than delving into the monotonous cycle of action and violence of a typical sequel, "The Last Stand" can pride itself on a bevy of subtler moments in which both the characters and the audience explore the deeper meaning of what it is to be different, and how easily these differences can erase or draw lines between us. Definitely a profound subject, especially when these differences include having a blue, furry body, the gift of superspeed and having retractable claws.
Moral conflicts seem to take center stage in this episode, beginning with a debate over whether mutations are a gift or a curse and whether, like an illness, they should be cured or not. The laboratory that has produced a "vaccine" hails it as the cure to the mutant affliction. Though many mutants are insulted by this labeling, others flock for the injection. Even the X-Men question where they stand (yes, I know, easy shot at the title), especially Rogue (Anna Paquin), whose ability to absorb a being's life force seems a little less helpful than others.
Magneto (Ian McKellan) and his Brotherhood see the cure as an outright attack on the mutant race, and an attempt to repress what he feels is the superior race. His plan is to attack the government and destroy the vaccine by using his fellow mutants as his pawns. Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) is dismayed by the vaccine, but does not support the Magneto's violent solution.
Between the two factions is the Phoenix, formerly Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), who met an untimely end in the previous film. Thanks to some sort of miraculous mental self-preservation, she has survived. However, her uncontrollable unconscious, previously dormant thanks to the efforts of Professor X, has now emerged in the form of the Phoenix. With a released emotional side, the Phoenix is a deadly weapon, set off by lust, jealously and anger -- with fiercely animalistic reactions to boot. Professor X tries to convince her that she needs help to control her gift, and hopefully bring back the old Jean Grey, but Magento sees her potential in his plan, and claims he only wants to give her freedom and help her rise to her full potential.
Other new additions to the cast include Beast (Kelsey Grammer) -- the Secretary on Mutant Affairs within the government -- who, as one of Xavier's first students, finds his loyalties conflicted in the new battle. Also new is Angel (Ben Foster), with the Icarus-like gift of a huge, feathery wingspan, and Callisto (Dania Ramirez), blessed with superspeed and the ability to sense other mutants' powers. And finally there is the infamous Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones), who cannot be stopped once he reaches any level of momentum (this would be the time to refer to that famously dubbed-over episode of the cartoon and laugh).
One of the greatest strengths of "The Last Stand" is its ability to handle the difficult, complex relationships beneath the intra-species conflict. The love triangle between Jean Grey, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Cyclops (James Marsden) still retains its tension, if only through a few lines of dialogue. Rogue and Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) recognize more bumps in their relationship with the introduction of Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page), a new X-Man trained through The School for Gifted Youngsters. And the fascinating, conflicted relationship between Professor X and Magneto never loses its edge nor its subtle, affecting tone.
My qualms with the film are few and far between. I was heartbroken by the underuse of Cyclops and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn), although Mystique did manage to have a few amusing transformations. The dialogue was a little predictable and lazy at points: For one thing, neither the audience nor the X-Men themselves ever need Wolverine to remind them that they are indeed X-Men, even during the customary morale-increasing pre-battle speech.
Also, the final scene of the film teems with self-satisfaction, a characteristic I attribute somewhat to the attitude of the director, Brett Ratner. He may be a friendly, jovial guy as his co-workers claim, but it's pretty obvious when one is giving himself a pointed pat on the back. Not exactly a self-call, but not far from it.
"X-Men: The Last Stand" is far from the last episode in the X-Men franchise, stepping beyond the bounds of the ordinary sequel to keep us intrigued. Speaking of which, stay until the end of the credits. It's worth the $8.50 (plus $40 for the roundtrip bus fare).
