Movie Review: X-men: The Last Stand

I really enjoyed the X-men movie series, and not just because Hugh Jackman makes the sexiest Wolverine ever, but because I am a comic junkie... *gasp* Yes, I know, shocking isn’t it? Though X-men was never my forte, I still knew enough about them and I just had to see the movies (Batman is more my style).

As with most movie series these days, there is always a weak link in the bunch. X-men (the first movie) was an excellent introduction to all the fantastic characters. And the actors chosen to play each superhero fit their character to a tee—which is rare in such adaptations—Wolverine being the most popular in the comics and the movies.

Then came X2: X-men United...and the weak link. What went wrong? I don’t quite understand what happened with this movie. It was almost like the producers thought they had everyone hooked with the first movie and therefore could get cheap with the second. Did you know that in the second flick, we rarely see Wolverine’s metal claws actually come out? One moment his hands are normal, and then he puts his arms down (below camera view) and we “hear” the claws come out, and the next he’s slashing at people with the claws out—what’s up with that? What, they couldn’t find enough computer nerds to work the CGI program? Also, there was a considerable lack of violence shown in the second one, the fight scenes were constantly being cut so you really couldn’t see what was happening... just a lot of jumping around from this punch to that kick... What, did the producer’s suddenly gain a conscious, concerned with all the violence they had shown in the first one? Come on! That’s all the X-men are about—violence—a little too late for that. The second movie had a low budget feel—lower than the first one, though the storyline was good as we got to see how Wolverine came into being.

And now we come to the pièce de rèsistance - X-men: The Last Stand. Having seen the second one, I wasn’t sure if I should get excited about the third, and watched with a very critical eye. It was in one word: FANTASTIC! The special effects were great, we got to see Wolverine release his claws many times (LOL), the storyline had lots of surprising twists, like killing off main characters—it was beautifully done in my opinion.

*SPOILER* DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE YET!
Killing off Professor Xavier was a complete surprise, not to mention the fact that it was Jean Grey, his protégée, who did the killing, made it even wilder. Hell, turning Jean into a evil mutant and siding her with Magneto was pretty shocking in itself. I honestly kept on waiting for her to “wake up” and turn against him, but she never did. But what really tugged at the heart was Wolverine being forced to kill the love of his life to save the planet, and being the only mutant capable of doing so.
*END OF SPOILER*

This was truly a movie packed with action, adventure and a tragic love story which brought the X-men franchise to a perfect end, while leaving the viewer with hope for the future of mutant-kind.

Whether you have seen the other two X-men movies or not, you have got to see this potent, and exciting film, sure to please the whole family – from comic-crazy kids to grunting husbands, and romantic wives... X-men: The Last Stand is a must-see in this romance author’s opinion.