X-Men III: The Last Stand (2006)

I will admit right off the bat that I'm an X-Fan from way back. I will plainly state my bias. I collected every single issue of every single X-title that came out during my Jr. high and high school years (they were my ‘issue-a-day habit’). But, sadly, when realized I could have helped pay a good portion of my college tuition with the money I spent on comics, I had to give it up. But I can still remember the first time I saw Colossus and Wolverine do their “Fastball Special” in the books. I was rapt watching Callisto and Storm duke it out in the film, like they did in the comics for rule of the Morlocks. It gave me a thrill to hear Kelsey Grammer deliver the Beast’s infamous, “Oh my stars and garters.” GEEK. With a big flashing neon sign overhead.

Now that that’s out of the way…

Brett Ratner. New director. Known for Rush Hour. Not someone the faithful could easily put their money behind. Bryan Singer (who directed the first two installments, and most notably The Usual Suspects) had gone off to man the helm of another comic book film franchise, Superman Returns. The third in a series typically doesn’t live up to the reputation of its predecessors (The Godfather 3, anyone?). But, Mr. Ratner, I commend you. Screenwriters Simon Kinberg & Zak Penn, I commend you. More than any other film, you bottled an important part of the essence of a title that has been around since 1963. X-Men was never simply about good guys and bad guys fighting each other in spandex suits for me. It was about the struggle of being who you are in a world that doesn’t accept you for that. It was about trying to find a safe space to grow in. This film captures so much of that. You’re a mutant in a world that doesn’t accept mutants. Suddenly the government announces a cure for mutancy. Do you take it to fit in? Do you find comfort in who you are and those like you? Anyone has felt like an outcast at some point in their life. The question is, how do we handle it? Your ‘safe space’ is in jeopardy. Do you let it be taken away or do you fight for it? So many parallels are drawn between the X-Men comics and the queer community, so maybe it was speaking to me on more potent level, even if I wasn’t listening when I was younger.

But, have no fear, even in all this morality, there’s some good, old fashioned fisticuffs. I never winged at the balance between talkie-talkie and fighty-fighty (see The Matrix Reloaded). The fight scenes were well done, the special effects were well done. I did notice a continuity blip when Magneto moved the Golden Gate Bridge in broad daylight and then a few minutes later it was night. My biggest acting gripe was with Vinnie Jones (from Lock, Stock & 2 Smoking Barrels and Snatch) as the Juggernaut. He was, disappointingly, a caricature in a film where every character mattered. When he yelled, “Don't you know who I am? I'm the Juggernaut, bitch,” I about pissed myself for laughing. And Angel (played by Ben Foster) was not as huge a player as the previews made him out to be. Integral to the storyline, yes, but he had about 2 minutes of screen time collectively. Last gripe, too much character death. Was is really necessary to kill off jean Grey?! Leech was right there when Wolverine got his brilliant idea of how to get rid of the Dark Phoenix. Why not use Leech to power her down? I was happy that I stuck around after the credits to see the ending scene where Professor X comes back to life through another body. It happened a couple of times in the comics, so I gave a geek cheer to see it in the film.

Admittedly, it was hard for me to take this film just as a film and not have the comic books as reference. I cringe when I read reviews that say, “oh, the movie wasn’t as good as the book.” Take the film for the film. Having said that, I would love to see some comments here from people who are not on the geek level that I am. I think that anyone (knowledgeable in the X-Verse, or not) can enjoy this film. Either then themes or the action (or maybe both) will get you one way or another.