X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

An all-out war looms when the discovery of a cure for mutations draws a line between the followers of Charles Xavier and those of Magneto.

Director:

Brett Ratner

Writers:

Simon Kinberg, Zak Penn

Stars:

Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry

7 wins & 37 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hugh Jackman	...	Logan / Wolverine
Halle Berry	...	Ororo Munroe / Storm
Ian McKellen	...	Erik 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

When a cure is created, which apparently can turn any mutant into a normal human being, there is outrage amongst the mutant community. Whilst some mutants do like the idea of a cure, including Rogue, many mutants find that there shouldn't be a cure. Magneto, who still believes a war is coming, recruits a large team of mutants to take down Warren Worthington II and his cure. Might seem easy for the X-Men to stop, but Magneto has a big advantage, which Wolverine doesn't have. Jean Grey has returned, and joined with Magneto. The Phoenix has woken within her, which has the ability to destroy anything in her way, even if that 'anything' is a X-Men.

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Plot Keywords:

x men | walking through a wall | raven darkholme character | logan character | erik lehnsherr character | 

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Taglines:

L'Ultime chapitre de la trilogie (The final chapter of the trilogy) [France]

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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

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

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 (United Kingdom), 26 May 2006, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$122,861,157, 28 May 2006

Gross USA:

$234,362,462

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$459,359,555

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox,Marvel Enterprises,Donners' Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES Dolby Digital EX SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ellen Page is the only actress to portray Kitty Pryde, a.k.a. Shadowcat, in more than one film in this franchise. In the first film, the role was played by Sumela Kay, and in the second by Katie Stuart. Ellen Page plays the role in this film and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).

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Goofs

(at around 36 mins) When Mystique is hit with "The Cure" and normalizes, her hair is black. in X2, in her normal form, she is a blonde.

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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

SPOILER: A scene appears after the closing credits: Dr MacTaggart checks up on her comatose patient, and discovers Professor Xavier transferred his mind into the patient's body.

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Alternate Versions

The original DVD release of the film had two different sets of navigation menus, one themed around the Brotherhood, and one themed around the X-Men. The content selectable is the same regardless, but this aesthetic was not reused on the Blu-ray release.

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Connections

Version of X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001)

User Reviews

A generally enjoyable film with a few major flaws

First off, X-Men: The Last Stand was by no means "drivel." In combination with the previous ventures, moviegoers and fans will receive a decent whole. The plot itself is not convoluted, but there are numerous mini-plots for just about every other character in the film. The huge number of plot lines Ratner chose to cast wound up limiting the film, removing key emotional elements. The film just was not long enough to adequately cover everyone's story. The music did not add anything to the movie either, it seemed tacky and amateur. Through length, plot numbers and music, X3 failed to properly and satisfyingly tie up the trilogy.

Problems aside, X-Men did succeed in creating a fabulous action-driven film. Ratner and Fox worked magic on the special effects side of things. I was particularly impressed with the opening scene, which found a 20 year younger Xavier and Eric (Stewart and McKellan) at the house of Jean Grey.

Despite being somewhat of a letdown, the film does bring in some interesting parallelism to the first two films. Speaking of the first films, I recommend viewing them right before or soon after seeing the third, as viewing them reminds you that you do care about the characters (being underdeveloped in X3). Most should find the third entry reasonably enjoyable and miles ahead of poorer entries into the superhero genre (Fantastic Four, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Ultraviolet, and the extraordinarily bad Batman Forever and Batman and Robin).