Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
Left: Passions run high between Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen). Right: Storm (Halle Berry, left) and Callisto (Dania Ramirez) use their formidable powers against each other in a no-holds-barred fight.
BY ITSELF, X-Men: The Last Stand is a very entertaining film. Alas, it cannot stand alone and when compared to the previous two films, it falters.
The Last Stand, directed by Brett Ratner, falters because X-Men rests on the careful balance between characterisation and action and in this film it erred on the side of action.
Usually that would be a good thing for an action flick and the film can easily satisfy an adrenaline junkie. It is excitingly action-packed and features good graphics and visuals, from stunts to the mutants themselves. Unfortunately, X-Men has always been particularly engaging because it rests on characters whose personalities are as endearing as their superpowers.
In truth, the trilogy has consistently had a problem in the characters it chooses to depict and in the depiction of them and this seems more pronounced in this instalment. While the characters Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellan) have been perfectly cast and beautifully played, the others have been more problematic.
THE PERFECT WOLVERINE
Wolverine remains as exciting as ever and his fight scenes are a significant part of the jet propulsion that makes X-Men a chair grabber. With a wondrous combination of animal magnetism, grit, bravado and wit, Jackman makes the perfect Wolverine.
Storm has long been rescued from the bad hair of the first instalment and now has a style that is more becoming of Halle Berry, which allows the actress to sit more comfortably in the role. Even so, the character still has not managed to fulfil her potential.
In that same vein, Rogue slips into ignominy and brings nothing as it relates to the film's action potential and very little toward its emotional impact. Though Magneto makes a great villain, he simply is not allowed to dominate enough and the few seconds for which Phoenix (Famke Janssen) took over the screen at the end of X2 seemed worth more than most of her presence in The Last Stand.
New additions to the mutant cast include Beast, who is beautifully played by Kelsey Grammar. Vinnie Jones thuds around menacingly as Juggernaut, but Ben Foster (Hostage, The Punisher) is simply wasted. Much more could have been made of the character Angel.
Furthermore, the end of the film threatened to be extremely disappointing in an attempt to imbue it with a sense of well-being, which simply defied reason. Nonetheless, X-Men: The Last Stand manages to rescue itself at the last moment and so, though it is certainly not the strongest of the three, has not mutated too far, so that it remains an entertaining flick, even if not emotionally satisfying.
