4 things I loved, hated, and was confused by in X-men 3: The Last Stand.
First, the spoiler-free review: Xmen 3: The Last Stand is a movie I'm pretty split on. Part of me liked it; part of me didn't, and part of me was pretty boggled by it. I'm not comparing it to the comics, as I think the movies are in an entirely different universe, and thus the comparison isn't really apt. (Besides, I don't have a strong-enough background in either the comics to really discuss them indepth; I was more of a casual fan than anything else. I liked the cartoon more.) I thought it was a good summer popcorn movie, and certainly a nice way to escape the horrible heat, but on the other hand…I had quite a few problems with it as a picture. It's certainly not the strongest X-men - that's still X2 - but I'm not sure if it's the worst.
And now, for the spoilers:
The Good:
The Phoenix - Jean Grey having a duality to her character actually made her interesting. I like Jean Grey, but she was rather blah in the firs two movies - Professor X Jr. more than a superhero in her own right. She was boring. In this one, Jean becomes more than just Professor X Jr. Her powers are awesome, and I love the way the Phoenix is introduced as a character more or less completely reliant on instinct. And honestly? I’m glad they didn’t bring in the cosmic forces. I don’t think they would fit well here.
Storm Does Something! - Yes, Storm actually does something besides sit in the background. It’s nice to see her finally come into the spotlight, and actually look like she’s there for a reason. Happy days! Go Storm! Storm was my favorite X-men ever in the comics/cartoon, so it makes me happy that, for once, they treat her as more than a good looking weather machine. She actually acts like a leader, and a teacher, and a member of the team.
Beast - Kelsey Grammar does a good job with Beast, which makes me happy as I was rather fond of ol’ Henry, too. He does a good job of being conflicted; his politics don’t match his personal issues. I wish we would have got more on him. I loved his intro, with him sitting on the ceiling reading Scientific American. *grin* (Though it’s just a nitpick, but I have to wonder - what fool would give up a cabinet post for an ambassadorship?)
Small Details - There are lots of really nice small scenes in this movie that are wonderful. I love in the scene where Magneto moves the bridge, and there’s a family in a car whose doors get stuck and they can’t get out. They manage to survive Magneto’s forces storming the bridge, and when they get to Alkatraz, Magneto slowly glides in right in front of them. He turns back to look at the family, and the mother slowly reaches and locks the door, and Magneto smiles. It’s just a wonderful suburban safety maneuver that makes me laugh. Beast’s outfit not fitting at all. Colossus having Rogue absorb his powers in the training room sim.
The Bad:
Ok Phoenix, my uber-powerful ally - why don’t you sit around for a long while? - We get at least three scenes - maybe more, but I stopped counting at three - saying how Jean is an incredibly powerful mutant. However, her primary use to the Brotherhood seems to be ...sitting around. A lot. She only gets about three chances to use her powers at all in the movie, and most of her time is spent looking good, staring at others. It's quite the waste, considering how interesting her character was. Perhaps it's just because the basic idea struck a hit with me, but I didn't like it that she took the background on both sides of the conflict, in a movie that is mostly about her. It bothers me how passive she is; I don't really get the idea that anything that goes on with Jean/Phoenix is something she can control, and basically her only character trait is to be unstable.
For some reason I can't quite explain, it also bothers me that she is not the one who chooses when she dies. I don't like that it's Wolverine who helps her - no one should have to help her! It’s her fate, and if she’s the most powerful mutant since like, ever, (as the movie keeps pointing out) - she shouldn’t need Wolverine to claw her. I really got the idea that nothing Jeane did in this movie was something she had any control over. (And while I said I wouldn’t compare the comics to the movies, I will say it’s notable that in the comic, Jean committed suicide all by herself.)
Mystique's De-Morphing - It's incredibly stupid Magneto just ups and abandons her at basically the drop of a hat. I understand why the script makers make him do it - it's to show just how much of a zealot Magneto is and how little he cares about homo sapiens, but it makes little sense because Mystique has already been established as his right-hand; she knows just as much as he does, and they've been established as being quite close.
Honestly, I wouldn't want to see it happen, but if they really needed that scene to show Magneto [and the Brotherhood, by extension] as zealots, they should have had Magneto kill her. It would be in character for him - after all, both he and Mystique think of homo sapiens as a lesser state, at the very least. (Mystique even uses "homo sapien" as a curse!) Having him kill her not only shows smartness on his part - removing the only one who really knows his secrets, now that she's a liability - but also allows him to reward Mystique's loyalty by giving her a fate they would both prefer - to be dead, rather than to be less than the mutants they were born as.
This also would have underscored two themes:
1) The Cure - Well, it isn't, and Mystique’s devolution proved that not all of them wanted it. Mystique never would have taken it voluntarily. It would make her death a tragedy; a real political hullabaloo, far more than just a demorphed girl. Now the government has a demorphed dead girl who never would have taken that cure. Magneto could have used her as a martyr for the cause; the government would have to explain around her, and Magneto could use her death to put pressure on the government and convince mutants to join his side by using her death as a rallying cry.
2) The Brotherhood vs the X-Men: Mostly it would establish how hardcore the brotherhood's beliefs are. And it would have established them as a threat, because if that is what they are willing to do to themselves, then what would they be willing to fellow mutants who just dared not to go along with them? Or other humans? It would have heightened suspense.
And considering it had no effect on the plot but a 30 second scene later with the decoy camp, I've got to say - was it meant to be a decoy? Was Raven still working Magneto or not? There doesn't seem to be much subtext in this movie (save the Big Gay Mutant Boyfriends moment in the beginning *snerk*) so I'm assuming she really did betray him, but it really had no point to it other than to show why they recruited multiplication-man.
Clunky Cast Changes - What happened to Nightcrawler? Who is Kitty Pride? Colossus? Where did Beast come in? A lot of cast plusses and minuses, and all of them are very clumsily explained - if at all. I think a lot of it was meant for the fan boys, because so many characters flew past my head and I had no idea who they were. Hey, I haven’t seen the cartoon or read the comics in a long time - and frankly, considering how different the movie universe is - I don’t think I should have to. The cast is also kind of bloated - why is Angel even in this movie? He only goes about 4 scenes, and interacts barely-at-all with any of the main characters.
Draconian Measures - Ok, this is possibly just me, but did it bother anyone else the way they de-powered Magneto? I don’t like that the X-men more or less switched their viewpoint on the cure completely. They didn’t like the idea of mutants being forced to undergo the cure, yet with Magneto, all of a sudden it’s OK? Damn slippery moral slope, there.
The Ugly
I Know Where You Recruited Most of Your Extras - Evidently, Magneto found most of the mutants willing to join him in a cyberpunk convention. Ruins any drama the brotherhood might have had as a collective of mutants of all kind.
Holey Wolverine, Batman! - Dear writers, director, etc - We get that Wolverine has powerful regenerative powers. We got it the first time you had him heal uber-fast after being poked. We got it the second time. We even got it the third, fourth, fifth, and even the six hundred and sixty seventh time. Considering how short this movie was, maybe some development could have gone to other characters instead of Wolverine's amazing healing powers, because we got it the first time.
Dear Wolverine, Do You Like Me? XOXO - This whole damn movie is pretty much a love letter to Wolvie. Great if you’re a Wolverine fan, but considering he’s getting his own spin-off, I was kind of hoping this would be more of a team effort, considering Wolvie’s plot was important in the other two, too. It’s sad that a lot of the Phoenix storyline (which should have been more about Jean, IMO) is pretty much about how Wolverine feels about it. And while I’m pretty apathetic to ol’ Wolverine, his overwhelming presence is what killed the X-men comics for me, and I don’t think his character is so strong that the movie really needed to focus on him so much - especially when he wasn’t as affected as other characters by the two main plots, unlike the second movie (Stryker was the one who gave him the skeleton, yes?), and possibly the first, even, though my memory is hazy on that one.
Death - The biggest thing that bothers me about the film, though is the attitude towards Death it has. So many deaths, and none of it is ever really talked about. It’s like it doesn’t matter that at least 50 - probably more - people die at Alcatraz - it doesn’t even come up again. Scott dies in the first 15 minutes, and everyone forgets about him - Jean and Wolverine don’t even remember him until they’re halfway through their make-out session. Which, in all honesty, I can see for Jeane, who is acting out of pure instinct and really isn’t aware of much beyond that. But Wolverine? Who found Scott’s glasses? Really, really should have thought of it sooner. Poor Scott is such an afterthought, he doesn’t even get a headstone until the end of the movie! Professor X’s death is the only one that is mourned. No one even mentions all the poor people who were disintegrated by Jeane during her rampage, or all the pawns that Magneto sends in first. They just don’t exist as anything but a special effect. It bothers me, because I think any time you kill someone in a film, you need to show some reaction to it. Death should mean something, dammit, even in a comic-book movie.
And now, for the spoilers:
The Good:
The Phoenix - Jean Grey having a duality to her character actually made her interesting. I like Jean Grey, but she was rather blah in the firs two movies - Professor X Jr. more than a superhero in her own right. She was boring. In this one, Jean becomes more than just Professor X Jr. Her powers are awesome, and I love the way the Phoenix is introduced as a character more or less completely reliant on instinct. And honestly? I’m glad they didn’t bring in the cosmic forces. I don’t think they would fit well here.
Storm Does Something! - Yes, Storm actually does something besides sit in the background. It’s nice to see her finally come into the spotlight, and actually look like she’s there for a reason. Happy days! Go Storm! Storm was my favorite X-men ever in the comics/cartoon, so it makes me happy that, for once, they treat her as more than a good looking weather machine. She actually acts like a leader, and a teacher, and a member of the team.
Beast - Kelsey Grammar does a good job with Beast, which makes me happy as I was rather fond of ol’ Henry, too. He does a good job of being conflicted; his politics don’t match his personal issues. I wish we would have got more on him. I loved his intro, with him sitting on the ceiling reading Scientific American. *grin* (Though it’s just a nitpick, but I have to wonder - what fool would give up a cabinet post for an ambassadorship?)
Small Details - There are lots of really nice small scenes in this movie that are wonderful. I love in the scene where Magneto moves the bridge, and there’s a family in a car whose doors get stuck and they can’t get out. They manage to survive Magneto’s forces storming the bridge, and when they get to Alkatraz, Magneto slowly glides in right in front of them. He turns back to look at the family, and the mother slowly reaches and locks the door, and Magneto smiles. It’s just a wonderful suburban safety maneuver that makes me laugh. Beast’s outfit not fitting at all. Colossus having Rogue absorb his powers in the training room sim.
The Bad:
Ok Phoenix, my uber-powerful ally - why don’t you sit around for a long while? - We get at least three scenes - maybe more, but I stopped counting at three - saying how Jean is an incredibly powerful mutant. However, her primary use to the Brotherhood seems to be ...sitting around. A lot. She only gets about three chances to use her powers at all in the movie, and most of her time is spent looking good, staring at others. It's quite the waste, considering how interesting her character was. Perhaps it's just because the basic idea struck a hit with me, but I didn't like it that she took the background on both sides of the conflict, in a movie that is mostly about her. It bothers me how passive she is; I don't really get the idea that anything that goes on with Jean/Phoenix is something she can control, and basically her only character trait is to be unstable.
For some reason I can't quite explain, it also bothers me that she is not the one who chooses when she dies. I don't like that it's Wolverine who helps her - no one should have to help her! It’s her fate, and if she’s the most powerful mutant since like, ever, (as the movie keeps pointing out) - she shouldn’t need Wolverine to claw her. I really got the idea that nothing Jeane did in this movie was something she had any control over. (And while I said I wouldn’t compare the comics to the movies, I will say it’s notable that in the comic, Jean committed suicide all by herself.)
Mystique's De-Morphing - It's incredibly stupid Magneto just ups and abandons her at basically the drop of a hat. I understand why the script makers make him do it - it's to show just how much of a zealot Magneto is and how little he cares about homo sapiens, but it makes little sense because Mystique has already been established as his right-hand; she knows just as much as he does, and they've been established as being quite close.
Honestly, I wouldn't want to see it happen, but if they really needed that scene to show Magneto [and the Brotherhood, by extension] as zealots, they should have had Magneto kill her. It would be in character for him - after all, both he and Mystique think of homo sapiens as a lesser state, at the very least. (Mystique even uses "homo sapien" as a curse!) Having him kill her not only shows smartness on his part - removing the only one who really knows his secrets, now that she's a liability - but also allows him to reward Mystique's loyalty by giving her a fate they would both prefer - to be dead, rather than to be less than the mutants they were born as.
This also would have underscored two themes:
1) The Cure - Well, it isn't, and Mystique’s devolution proved that not all of them wanted it. Mystique never would have taken it voluntarily. It would make her death a tragedy; a real political hullabaloo, far more than just a demorphed girl. Now the government has a demorphed dead girl who never would have taken that cure. Magneto could have used her as a martyr for the cause; the government would have to explain around her, and Magneto could use her death to put pressure on the government and convince mutants to join his side by using her death as a rallying cry.
2) The Brotherhood vs the X-Men: Mostly it would establish how hardcore the brotherhood's beliefs are. And it would have established them as a threat, because if that is what they are willing to do to themselves, then what would they be willing to fellow mutants who just dared not to go along with them? Or other humans? It would have heightened suspense.
And considering it had no effect on the plot but a 30 second scene later with the decoy camp, I've got to say - was it meant to be a decoy? Was Raven still working Magneto or not? There doesn't seem to be much subtext in this movie (save the Big Gay Mutant Boyfriends moment in the beginning *snerk*) so I'm assuming she really did betray him, but it really had no point to it other than to show why they recruited multiplication-man.
Clunky Cast Changes - What happened to Nightcrawler? Who is Kitty Pride? Colossus? Where did Beast come in? A lot of cast plusses and minuses, and all of them are very clumsily explained - if at all. I think a lot of it was meant for the fan boys, because so many characters flew past my head and I had no idea who they were. Hey, I haven’t seen the cartoon or read the comics in a long time - and frankly, considering how different the movie universe is - I don’t think I should have to. The cast is also kind of bloated - why is Angel even in this movie? He only goes about 4 scenes, and interacts barely-at-all with any of the main characters.
Draconian Measures - Ok, this is possibly just me, but did it bother anyone else the way they de-powered Magneto? I don’t like that the X-men more or less switched their viewpoint on the cure completely. They didn’t like the idea of mutants being forced to undergo the cure, yet with Magneto, all of a sudden it’s OK? Damn slippery moral slope, there.
The Ugly
I Know Where You Recruited Most of Your Extras - Evidently, Magneto found most of the mutants willing to join him in a cyberpunk convention. Ruins any drama the brotherhood might have had as a collective of mutants of all kind.
Holey Wolverine, Batman! - Dear writers, director, etc - We get that Wolverine has powerful regenerative powers. We got it the first time you had him heal uber-fast after being poked. We got it the second time. We even got it the third, fourth, fifth, and even the six hundred and sixty seventh time. Considering how short this movie was, maybe some development could have gone to other characters instead of Wolverine's amazing healing powers, because we got it the first time.
Dear Wolverine, Do You Like Me? XOXO - This whole damn movie is pretty much a love letter to Wolvie. Great if you’re a Wolverine fan, but considering he’s getting his own spin-off, I was kind of hoping this would be more of a team effort, considering Wolvie’s plot was important in the other two, too. It’s sad that a lot of the Phoenix storyline (which should have been more about Jean, IMO) is pretty much about how Wolverine feels about it. And while I’m pretty apathetic to ol’ Wolverine, his overwhelming presence is what killed the X-men comics for me, and I don’t think his character is so strong that the movie really needed to focus on him so much - especially when he wasn’t as affected as other characters by the two main plots, unlike the second movie (Stryker was the one who gave him the skeleton, yes?), and possibly the first, even, though my memory is hazy on that one.
Death - The biggest thing that bothers me about the film, though is the attitude towards Death it has. So many deaths, and none of it is ever really talked about. It’s like it doesn’t matter that at least 50 - probably more - people die at Alcatraz - it doesn’t even come up again. Scott dies in the first 15 minutes, and everyone forgets about him - Jean and Wolverine don’t even remember him until they’re halfway through their make-out session. Which, in all honesty, I can see for Jeane, who is acting out of pure instinct and really isn’t aware of much beyond that. But Wolverine? Who found Scott’s glasses? Really, really should have thought of it sooner. Poor Scott is such an afterthought, he doesn’t even get a headstone until the end of the movie! Professor X’s death is the only one that is mourned. No one even mentions all the poor people who were disintegrated by Jeane during her rampage, or all the pawns that Magneto sends in first. They just don’t exist as anything but a special effect. It bothers me, because I think any time you kill someone in a film, you need to show some reaction to it. Death should mean something, dammit, even in a comic-book movie.