X-Men: The Last Stand (PG-13)
Mike:
Scott:
Scott: Tonight we are reviewing X-Men: The Last Stand
, the third installment in the X-Men series. This movie finds our favorite mutants faced with a tough choice; stay an outcast and retain their powers, or take a magic potion and become a normal human being.
What'd you think Mike?
Mike: I know people are going to start accusing us of liking everything again, but I liked it. It’s the time of year when all the movies we have been waiting for start to come out.
Scott: I know. This is when we are supposed to like the movies; these are the big budget movies after all.
Mike: It was great to see a number of things from the comics brought to the screen.
Scott: I guess it was about time too. They alluded to 'in' jokes before, but this movie you got to see those comic scenes and hear the favorite quotes.
Mike: For those that don't know; I am a huge X-Men fan. I have all the comics going back to the introduction of the 'new' X-Men back in 1975.
Scott: I was born in '74, so I am not as big a fan as Mike. I do like the comics and collected them for a few years.
Mike: I’m not that old. I bought the comics from the 70’s in the 80’s.
I felt like the previous X-Men movies were the first ones to bring Marvel comics to life. DC did a great job with Superman and Batman, but Marvel had mostly done TV movies that were B movies at best.
Scott: This decade has brought respect to Marvel movies.
Mike: Except for the Hulk!
Scott: Never mention the Hulk!
Mike: To my fellow X-fans, you finally get to see both the Danger Room and a Sentinel.
Scott: I have been waiting for a Danger Room sequence; I always loved those in the comics.
Mike: There are also a number of cool scenes like Colossus throwing Wolverine in a fastball special. Plus, we get to see characters we have been waiting for like the Beast (Kelsey Grammar) and the Angel (Ben Foster).
Scott: I love seeing all of the characters from the books. Some characters appear in the credits and you are left to wonder where they were in the movie, like Jubilee.
Mike: Probably best of all, the story concerns the Dark Phoenix saga, which was probably the best X-Men storyline (in the comics) in the past 30 years.
If you don't know what that means, ask a X-Men comics fan they'll tell you. Probably in more detail than you want to hear.
Scott: Two words I wanted to mention for this movie: Body Count. I thought I was watching a horror movie with all of the killing. It's not graphic, but it is shocking and in one scene, disturbing.
Mike: There were a couple of times in the movie where I was stunned. Not necessarily by the killing, but by who was killed.
Scott: But we won't get into whom.
Mike: No we won't, but for anyone who has seen the trailer, you will finally find out the subject of the funeral. You know comics and comic book movies, no one stays dead forever.
This movie definitely turns the whole X-Men movie franchise on its head!
Scott: It makes you wonder if they are going to keep going with the X-Men movies or not. I always thought three was all they were going to make.
Mike: I think if this does well enough, there will be more down the road. That said, this is the end of a trilogy, but not necessarily the end of the series.
Scott: I hope they don't keep pushing them out because it will devalue the franchise. One every once and a while would be good.
Mike: They've been doing them about once every three years so far and that works for me.
Scott: I wanted to start our actor discussion with Halle Berry. I thought this was her best X-Men. I think she finally got into the role and let herself go. Her prior roles as Storm were stiff at best. In this movie she sold the role.
Mike: I think after her complaints, they finally decided to let her do something. This is Storm's biggest role in the movies.
When you think about it, these movies have a pretty amazing cast: Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen and now Kelsey Grammar.
Scott: But not when they first came out. Several of these actors have really done well since the first installment in 2000.
Mike: True, Ian McKellen went from Shakespearian actor to International star since these movies began. Also, these movies helped make Hugh Jackman a star.
Scott: I had never heard of Jackman before X-Men, and now I see him all the time. Blockbusters make you well known, I guess, even when you are one of many in the cast.
For the Wolverine fans out there, he gets to kick some butt in this one. And for the record, you really don't want to piss him off.
Mike: If you like the claws, you are in for a treat.
Scott: You mentioned Colossus earlier (Daniel Cudmore), he didn't say much, but he kicked some butt too.
Mike: A number of the characters get some butt kicking scenes: The Beast (Grammar), Jean Grey (Janssen), Magneto (McKellen) and Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones), especially. Juggernaut will seem familiar to anyone who has seen Snatch or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Scott: The Beast's makeup wasn't the best, but his CGI moves, or 'sped up' live moves (I couldn't tell how it was done) looked good.
Mike: He sure was BLUE.
Scott: Yes he was. Yet, he still looked like Grammar even in that makeup.
Mike: One of the great effects was watching Angel/Warren Worthington fly. His wings were fantastic. I was hoping they would develop his character a little more.
Scott: I was thinking more about how fast he can fly. He flew across the country in a few hours. Not too shabby.
I think the Director, Brett Ratner's, first X-Men movie was a success.
Mike: Yes. Early on I recognized his name from the Rush Hour movies, which I enjoyed a lot.
Scott: He also directed The Family Man. Those movies were entertaining, and surprisingly funny.
Mike: Turns out he's responsible for a couple other movies I thought were entertaining. Including After the Sunset and Red Dragon. On a side note it looks like he is 'friends' with Lindsay Lohan. Poor guy.
Scott: A little trivia about him; he acted in Scarface back in 1983 as 'Boy in a pool'.
Famke Janssen reprises her role as Jean Grey/Phoenix for this movie.
Mike: Her role is very pivotal.
Scott: Let's just say she has some 'issues'. She didn't really talk much in the movie, but you're right, she was pivotal
Mike: Unfortunately, I think she spends a little too much time standing still looking threatening.
Scott: Yeah, and she gets scary ugly a few times too.
Mike: I would have liked to explore her character a little more.
Scott: In some scenes her effects reminded me of Rogues from the first X movie.
Mike: Yeah, but in other scenes her powers are completely unlike any others.
Scott: It's like pick a power and stick with it...
That kid, Jimmy/Leech (Cameron Bright), was in Thank you for Smoking. Took a while to track him down. IMDB doesn't always have all of the characters in the movie in their actor list.
Mike: They do if you click 'more'.
Scott: I know, sometimes it's hard to remember names too.
Mike: Maybe I remember him from the Butterfly Effect, but I thought it was something more recent.
Scott: Did you miss Bryan Singer, who decided to direct Superman Returns instead? The sequel for Superman Returns is scheduled for 2009, by the way.
Mike: Yes, but I can't wait to see what he does with Superman Returns. I will tell everybody, that out of all the cool movies coming out this summer (Pirates of the Caribbean, Cars, Miami Vice, MI:3, The Da Vinci Code), Superman Returns is the one I am pining for.
Scott: It would appear that this summer is a good one for movies.
Mike: Oh yes, let's hope.
Scott: Back to this movie though, what do you rate this?
Mike: I give it a 4 for comic book action movie and a 4 overall. My only real complaint would be that it is too short at 104 minutes.
Scott: It had a really long build up and that made me think the movie went over 2 hours. I was really surprised when you said it was 1:44. I enjoyed it; I too, give it a 4 overall and a 4 for comic book action.
Mike: Oh my stars and garters, this movie is good.
