Xmen III The Last Stand 2006 Directed by: Brett Ratner Cast: Hugh Jackmanm Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen

Written by: Ricardo Barberini January 7, 2007

Having seen all the previous X-Men series, I was looking forward to seeing the last in the series.  No, I do not believe it is the last one.  There are already plans for Ian McKellen to come back as Magneto.  So, we will see.

As directed by Brett Ratner, the story line is relatively simple.  The president of a pharmaceutical company who has a mutant son has been desperately trying to find a cure to reverse the effects of mutant genes and make the mutants “normal.”  He has succeeded in his quest by finding a young boy whose DNA has antibodies that can be used to destroy the mutant cells.

The other good news is that the government has captured Mystic the super mutant right hand person of Magneto and is interrogating her to locate Magneto’s hideout.

While all this is happening, Scott manages to free Jean/Phoenix from under tons of water that had her entombed.  He manages to resurrect her but loses his own power momentarily.  Jean thanks him by killing him since Jean is no longer Jean but the malicious lusty Phoenix.

Professor Xavier tries to bring Jean back to reality but Jean destroys him by shredding him into thousands of pieces and joins hands with Magneto.  Magneto has a final plan to invade Alcatraz Island where the young boy with antibodies is kept in protective custody to kill the boy and confiscate the anti mutant serums.

The last stand is the battle to the end between the six remaining good mutants and the horde of evil ones let by Magneto and Jean.  In the final scene Magneto gets injected with the antibody and becomes human and Wolverine kills Jean to save her from herself!  However, the door is left open for Magneto’s return.

X-Men like Batman and Superman is based on comic books so no great acting talent is required.  Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are good but not great actors.  Just because a person is a Shakespearean actor does not make him great, and neither of them even tried to put any effort into his role.  The American cast led by Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry do their best to act asinine. The only exception is Kelsey Grammar as the mutant Dr. Hank McCoy.  I have seen him on television in the Medium series playing a menacing character.  He has talent beyond comedy and overshadowed the rest of the cast including overrated Oscar winners Halle Berry and Anna Paquin.

Dante Spinotti, the cinematographer, did a wonderful job in this film.  The scenes are crystal clear even when watched on DVD and that is saying something. The major reason for success of this movie was its special effects which was outstanding throughout.

The story was quite engaging.  There were no tense moments of drama so you can just sit back and enjoy the simple story line and lots of great special effects.

This movie can be enjoyed by the entire family.  There are no elements of gratuitous violence or four letter words.

We give this movie

Go rent it.