X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

When a cure is found to treat mutations, lines are drawn amongst the X-Men, led by Professor Charles Xavier, and the Brotherhood, a band of powerful mutants organized under Xavier's former ally, Magneto.

Director:

Brett Ratner

Writers:

Simon Kinberg, Zak Penn

Stars:

Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart

5 wins & 29 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hugh Jackman	...	Logan / Wolverine
Halle Berry	...	Ororo Munroe / Storm
Ian McKellen	...	Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto
Patrick Stewart	...	Charles Xavier / Professor X
Famke Janssen	...	Jean Grey / Phoenix
Anna Paquin	...	Marie / Rogue
Kelsey Grammer	...	Dr. Henry 'Hank' McCoy / Beast
James Marsden	...	Scott Summers / Cyclops
Rebecca Romijn	...	Raven Darkholme / Mystique
Shawn Ashmore	...	Bobby Drake / Iceman
Aaron Stanford	...	John Allerdyce / Pyro
Vinnie Jones	...	Cain Marko / Juggernaut
Ellen Page	...	Kitty Pryde / Shadowcat
Daniel Cudmore	...	Peter Rasputin / Colossus
Ben Foster	...	Warren Worthington III / Angel

Storyline

It has been several months since The X-Men stopped William Stryker, but that victory came at a price, they have lost Jean Gray when she tried to save them from the collapsed reservoir. Scott Summers (Cyclops) is still grieving about her loss. One day, he came out to the place which is where Jean Gray sacrificed herself. Then, Jean Gray appeared right in front of him. Though, it seemed that after that, Scott had disappeared. Meanwhille, the rift between humans and mutants had finally reached the boiling point. When humans discovered what causes humans to mutate, they have found a cure for the mutation. The X-Men were appalled at this idea. It was not long at all until the news about the cure came to Magneto. He decides to organize an army of mutants and wage his war against the humans. Then, it became clear that Jean Gray evolved into the Pheonix, her new mutant powers are so strong that she can not control her own body. Then, she kills off Professor X with her new powers. Now, The ...

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Plot Keywords:

mutant | x men | battle | outrage | lake | 

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Taglines:

Whose Side Will You Be On?

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence, some sexual content and language

Details

Country:

Canada USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 May 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

X III: The Last Stand

Filming Locations:

British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$210,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£7,091,820 (UK) (26 May 2006)

Gross:

$234,360,014 (USA) (22 September 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Marvel Enterprises, Donners' Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES Dolby Digital EX SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actress Beverley Mahood was considered for the role of Dazzler, a mutant with the ability to control any form of light. The role was later dropped when Bryan Singer left the production.

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Goofs

When Wolverine leaves on the motorcycle from the school and goes to the woods looking for Jean, to Magneto's hide-out, he is wearing a brown leather jacket. But, once in the woods, he senses something, the camera pans down as he extends his claws. Although the DVD Commentary from the Writers & Director mention it and jokingly say "He has a mutant power here, the ability to lose his jacket. He has a jacket here, if you look at his sleeve... and now, no jacket." This is because right after that he is shown in nothing but the white wife-beater style t-shirt. But if you look at it in slow-motion, and see in subsequent shots, it is actually his watch. In some shots, his jacket hangs as low or lower than the sleeve and if he was wearing it, we would most likely have seen the front part of the jacket against his jeans in that shot.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Eric Lensherr: I still don't know why *I'm* here. Couldn't you just make them say yes?
Prof. Charles Xavier: Yes, I could, but it's not my way. And I would expect you, of all people would understand my feelings about the misuse of power.
Eric Lensherr: Ah, "power corrupts" and all that. Yes, I know, Charles. When are you going to stop lecturing me?
Prof. Charles Xavier: When you start listening. And you're here because I need you.

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Crazy Credits

When the 20th Century Fox logo fades away, the X in the logo stays for a second longer before it also fades away.

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Connections

Referenced in Family Guy: Not All Dogs Go to Heaven (2009)

User Reviews

Enjoyable, Satisfying Conclusion

I must be one of the few, it seems, who enjoyed X-Men: The Last Stand. I have been an X-fan for many years and my expectations were still met by this film. Do I think that it could have been a bit better? Certainly. The script seemed to pack too many elements into a short running time. With those issues solved I believe that it would have been fantastic. Still, I felt that X-3 was almost on the level with X-2's greatness. It has taken another viewing and some time to reach this point. At first, I felt betrayed at the many liberties taken with story elements. But after I left the theatre, I could not shake the feeling that I needed to view it again. After the second time, I came to grips with the film and now like it quite a bit.

Contrary to some critics' reviews, I do not believe that X-3 became overshadowed by action. There really is quite little of it until the finale, which feels quite epic. There are excellent character moments sprinkled throughout. The acting is generally superb across the board. More Ian McKellen is always nice, and Hugh Jackman impresses again with Wolverine. Kelsey Grammar actually does a respectable job with Beast. The other characters all do well with what they are given. There are a few poorly written one-liners that reminded me of the ones in X-Men 1, but the script is mostly intelligent with powerful themes such as the Cure. Another difficulty is that the film cannot pay the proper amount of attention to the many characters, including the new ones. But they still all seem to contribute something to the larger plot movement in the film. Ratner's only obvious difference from Singer is his frenetic pacing and energy. X-3 really moves quickly, and this does not have to be a negative. I also enjoyed the emotion that was hinted at in X-2, and came into full force during X-3. I do not think that it reached sentimentality or was melodramatic; it really felt powerful. The stakes really do seem to be high for the final chapter of this trilogy. The viewer finds this out quickly concerning Cyclops and Mystique, later with Jean and Xavier (in a particularly awe-inspiring scene), and during the finale in a nice moment with Jean and Wolverine. I think that many of the problems people are seeing in the film resulted from the pressure the entire production team was placed under in order to develop and finish the entire film in less than a year.

But all in all, I have really come to enjoy it as a satisfying film that met my high expectations. Look at it this way if you must. Try to see X-3 as not a stand-alone film but more as the third portion of one large story. The first X-Men had the difficult job of introducing a large ensemble cast of mutants and establishing a story and tone (other superhero films with one primary character have it much easier). X-2 had the most enviable position as most of the characters had already been partly developed and it did not have to conclude the entire story. It could work mostly on its own, just having to leave threads open for the next one. X-3 had the extremely difficult task of closing out the entire trilogy for good. I see it more as the third portion of one expansive tale, thus in the larger scheme it must move quickly toward a complete conclusion. In my opinion, the many actors under the abrupt switch in direction did an x-cellent job.