X-MEN: THE LAST STAND

BY CHRISTOPHER HASKELL
JULY 28, 2013

“X-Men: The Last Stand” is all over the place. There are great cinematic moments like Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) meeting the Phoenix (Famke Janssen) at her childhood home. Still, with dialogue muddied with horrid turns of phrase, absolutely no focus, and half of the cast disappearing throughout the film, it is apparent how poorly handled this film was from the start. Kelsey Grammar is a nice touch as the Beast, but otherwise, this film lacks any real new star power besides pointless new additions like Ben Foster and Ellen Page. The same actors return to their roles, but nothing further is added to their characters. That is, save for the constantly devastating shifts to the X-Men lore that impact the future of absolutely any sequels. The most prominent example of this is the “cure” story arc, which takes away the superheroes’ powers. With an ending that minimally gives back to the audience with a surprising spin on “the cure” that opens the door to some possibilities, it is still not enough to save this film from poor execution and dismal dialogue. Not that “X-Men: The Last Stand” is impossible to watch, but compared to the previous installments, it lacks immensely.