X-Men: The Last Stand (Movie Review)

If I haven't already made this clear, allow me to reiterate: I have little patience for comic book movies. I resent how painfully obtuse the female love interests are (a la Superman and Spiderman), and — as with science fiction in general — I feel it takes a keen level of skill to first write, and then execute, a compelling storyline. I.e. something that allows you to suspend disbelief without rolling your eyes.

Or, to give you a point of comparison:

Bad Comic Book Movie: Unbreakable (2000)
Good Comic Book Movie: V for Vendetta (2006)

Bad Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie: Serenity (2005)
Good Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie(s): Lord of the Rings

Out of fear that X-Men would qualify as "bad" science fiction, I avoided the series until a preview for The Last Stand (2006) piqued my interest. I saw (and enjoyed) the first installment over the weekend, and then caught the newest theatrical release (Part III) last night (hopefully I'll fill in that Part II gap soon).

At the risk of sounding like a broken record stuck on lukewarm reviews, I can't help but repeat once again that I was neither enthralled nor appalled by this film. I liked it. I was entertained. But it wasn't as complex as I had hoped.

Which isn't to say it isn't without the occasional exploration of the human (or mutant) psyche... just that those insights were typically surface level.

Set somewhere in the near future, the X-Men series (based on a long-running Marvel comic) chronicles the life and times of the next step in human evolution. This "step" (or "genetic mutation") evidences itself as a particular power or trait (some mutants even have multiple powers, as in the uncontrollable schizoid, Phoenix). Some mutants look normal enough; others develop features (abnormally large muscles; wings; quills; blue, snake-like skin, etc.) associated with their power.

As you might suspect, those who don't have the mutant gene (your average, run-of-the-mill humans) are a tad worried about what the mutants will do to them. Some want to find ways to assimilate mutants into normal life, but the more vocal parties want them exterminated and/or "cured."

And it's the latter that serves as the inciting action for The Last Stand. A "cure" has been found, and while some closet mutants are quick to take the cure, most are pretty upset that the U.S. Government thinks of them as a disease. In the mutant community, there are three forms of response:

1. The powerful Magneto (Ian McKellen) is still (understandably) upset by how he was treated as a Jewish adolescent in a Nazi concentration camp, and so is particularly upset to have his mutation be perceived as anything other than evolutionary progress. He rounds up his underground gang of mutant thugs to start a war against the humans.

2. The resourceful Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) presses for talks and integration. Himself a mutant with telekinetic powers, he founded a school for mutant children and is, by all intents and purposes, the sensei of the film. A former friend of Magneto, he still bears no ill-will towards this veritable adversary. He continues talks with Magneto, and despite their profoundly different ideologies, neither seems intent on hurting the other. Xavier employs the use of his own team (Xavier's Men or "X-Men"), most of them former students at his school. Names like Jean Gray, Wolverine, Cyclops and Storm primary among them.

3. Both Magneto and Xavier are outnumbered by undecided mutants... those who have neither taken sides, and those who may even want to take the cure so as to blend in with mainstream society.

This aspect of the film is the aforementioned surface-level complexity. X-Men certainly deals with control, conformity and individuality. Do we embrace others at the risk of our own extinction? Is conforming worth losing your identity? How human is fear of the unknown? Etc.

A dimension that I enjoyed even more involved Jean Grey/Phoenix. While Magneto and Xavier are both opposed to the cure and the level of government control it implies, Xavier himself is accused of trying to "control" Phoenix by limiting her powers. Which begs the question: what level of control is appropriate? If Xavier made the correct decision with Jean, does that mean mutantism really is a disease? Etc.

I also liked Kelsey Grammar as "The Beast," though I must admit to chuckling just about every time he made an appearance. As the Secretary of Mutant Affairs, it wasn't until one of the final scenes that I realized his super power (aside from looking like a big, blue version of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas) was anything more a keen eye for diplomatic relations. Turns out he's super strong, too!

Useful Info: Be on the lookout for an Easter Egg after the credits finish rolling.