X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

Director:

Brett Ratner

Writers (WGA):

Simon Kinberg (written by) &
Zak Penn (written by)

Release Date:

26 May 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Take a Stand

Plot:

When a cure is found to treat mutations, lines are drawn amongst the X-Men, led by Professor Charles Xavier, and the Brotherhood, a band of powerful mutants organized under Xavier's former ally, Magneto.

Plot Keywords:

Mutant | X Men | Battle | Outrage | Regeneration

Awards:

4 wins & 29 nominations

Cast

Hugh Jackman	...	Logan / Wolverine
Halle Berry	...	Ororo Munroe / Storm
Ian McKellen	...	Eric 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
Daniel Cudmore	...	Peter Rasputin / Colossus
Ben Foster	...	Warren Worthington III / Angel

Also Known As:

X-Men 3 (Singapore: English title) (USA) (working title)
X3 (International: English title) (informal short title) (USA) (promotional abbreviation)
X-men - L'engagement ultime (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence, some sexual content and language.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

Canada | USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | UK:12A | Norway:11 | Sweden:11 | Denmark:11 | Germany:12 | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | New Zealand:M | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Brazil:12 | Ireland:12A | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #42477) | Hungary:16 | India:A | Netherlands:12 | Malaysia:U | Chile:Y7 | Italy:T | Hong Kong:IIA | Iceland:12 | South Africa:10M | South Korea:12 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | France:U

Filming Locations:

British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The bridge scene is based on the scene in "New X-Men" #147 involving the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges rather than the Golden Gate Bridge.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Wolverine leaves on the motorcycle from the school and goes to the woods looking for Jean, to Magneto's hide-out, he is wearing a brown leather jacket. But, once in the woods, he senses something, the camera pans down as he extends his claws. Although the DVD Commentary from the Writers & Director mention it and jokingly say "He has a mutant power here, the ability to lose his jacket. He has a jacket here, if you look at his sleeve... and now, no jacket." This is because right after that he is shown in nothing but the white wife-beater style t-shirt. But if you look at it in slow-motion, and see in subsequent shots, it is actually his watch. In some shots, his jacket hangs as low or lower than the sleeve and if he was wearing it, we would most likely have seen the front part of the jacket against his jeans in that shot.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Troldspejlet: (#35.16)" (2006)

The last stand? I hope not

I'll be truthful, I didn't like this film very much. Of course, it had a lot to live up to, of course, with the previous two films high standard. The film opens well, with strangely disturbing versions of Xavier and Magneto visiting a young Jean. It also goes straight into to the action, the two main plots of the story soon becoming apparent. Both however, come second place to special effects in this film. At just over 1 and 30 minutes, it would be almost impossible to cram a finale worthy of the trilogy without missing out some things. I just don't see why it had to be the emotion. With the cure side of the story, it seems we never get an insight into the characters worries and feelings towards it. The phoenix part is also extremely disappointing, we aren't ever told why Phoenix does what she does and who is in control. You can only go so far as to blame Brett Ratner, he does a good job with the battle scenes but always seems to want to rush anything involving a character's emotion. I can imagine him on set hurrying along the actors as they try to get into character for the harrowing scenes. So if newcomer Ratner isn't the problem, what is? The script. It's as if the writers truly want this to be the last film, killing off characters early to make way for new ones. Rogue is put on the back seat, even though the central theme of the cure should have her at the forefront. The final battle is also inexplicable, with both sides not really sure what they should be doing. It does allow for one of the great moments of the trilogy (Kitty and Juggernauts chase through - and I mean through - the facility). Still on the script, don't forget the corny lines ("I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!") and terrible ending which seems to forget the events of the rest of the film. Vinnie Jones and Halle Berry are both below par in the acting stakes even thought they didn't have much to work with. I don't want this to be the last stand as I think the saga deserves better than this. The previous films had intelligence and emotion, compared to explosions and annoyances. Maybe X4 will prosper without many of the main characters, well, one can only hope.