X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
*** (out of 4)
Brett Ratner steps into the director's chair for this third installment in the series. This time out both sides of the mutants must fight when a scientist learns of a cure that can turn the mutants back into humans. That's pretty much all of the story you need to know because, in truth, there's really not much going on here story wise. That's not necessarily a bad thing but I'm sure some fans will be upset that the new characters really aren't developed all that well and the older characters also seem to have been underwritten to the point where we get nothing new from them. With that said, none of those things hurt the movie too much because where it really works is during the special effects and action scenes. The highlight of the film takes place towards the end and involves the Golden Gate Bridge. I'm not going to ruin what happens for those who haven't seen the film but it's quite spectacular and shows a great deal of imagination. On top of it being creative, the entire sequence is just downright cool. The action scenes here are all extremely well-handled and I think Ratner does a very good job at keeping them moving at a fast pace. Of course, by now it should come as no surprise that the cast members own their roles. Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are all very good. Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen, Rebecca Romijn and Ellen Page add some fun but it's Kelsey Grammar who really shines as Henry McCoy. X-MEN: THE LAST STAND isn't a masterpiece or even better than the last film but it at least manages to be entertaining even if there's nothing here to take very seriously.
