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Film review

An action flick with soul

X-Men: The Last Stand isn't just car chases and explosions. Its characters and back story lend depth to the plot and special effects.

By STEVE PERSALL
Published May 25, 2006

[Twentieth Century Fox]

From left, Shadowcat (Ellen Page), Storm (Halle Berry) and Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) face an epic battle in X-Men: The Last Stand.

Superheroes would gladly trade a superpower or two for the movie track record of the X-Men, if X-Men: The Last Stand is indeed the end of their saga. No other comic book movie series has been as consistently satisfying, making lots of money and new fans along the way.

These Marvel Comics mutants weren't as familiar or as overdone in film and television, making the origins detailed in X-Men 2000 more interesting than usual. X-Men United (2003) dovetailed their personal problems with universal themes of social discrimination, starting with flashbacks to the Holocaust childhood of the villain Magneto - a brilliant move to make him more than simply evil - to become an allegory for any marginalized group considered "mutants" by status quo standards.

A subtext like that connects with audiences deeper than Bruce Wayne's vengeance or Superman's conflicted love life. It lends more purpose to the special effects showdowns; there's more at stake than just saving a city.

Without bragging about it, the X-Men are battling for our consciences through allegorical action, making this the smartest of all comic book adaptations, yet always fun.

X-Men: The Last Stand is a very good, although slightly ragged conclusion to the series (spin-offs for a couple characters are being discussed). The series lost something intangible when director Bryan Singer skipped this one to make Superman Returns. However, Singer left a firm foundation for his replacement, Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, Red Dragon).

Humans have created a cure for mutants, culled from the DNA of a psychic child (Cameron Bright) held in custody on Alcatraz. The discovery has personal meaning for tycoon Warren Worthington (Michael Murphy), whose son (Ben Foster) sprouted wings; the cure can now make him "normal." The correlation between this culture clash and real-life anti-gay forces is unmistakable.

Magneto wants to rally mutants to protect their unique status, rebelling against human oppressors by any means necessary. Phoenix's ability to destroy with her thoughts would be helpful to the cause. The X-Men are conflicted about whether a cure is a smart idea but united in believing Magneto's plan must be stopped.

Ratner constructs a few eye-popping sequences, such as moving the Golden Gate bridge to access Alcatraz and a virtual training session at Professor Xavier's (Patrick Stewart) mutant academy that could cap any number of action flicks.

The problem is that there are now too many mutant heroes to track in less than two hours, although seeing Kelsey Grammer playing superhero as a blue, hairy Beast is weird enough to be cool. Several key mutants are dead or human by the conclusion, and the younger ones simply don't have the chops to continue the series.

But what a ride it has been, with brawn and brains sharing nearly equal billing and unusually compelling characters for such circumstances. The trilogy suggests we're all mutants in some fashion, or can learn to sympathize with those who are.

X-Men: The Last Stand is a promising way to start the summer movie season.

Steve Persall can be reached at (727) 893-8365 or persall@sptimes.com.

X-Men: The Last Stand

Grade: B+

Director: Brett Ratner

Cast: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Paquin, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Vinnie Jones, Shawn Ashmore, Ben Foster, Michael Murphy, Aaron Stanford

Screenplay: Simon Kinberg, Zak Penn, based on the Marvel Comics characters

Rating: PG-13; violence, sensuality, brief profanity

Running time: 104 min.

[Last modified May 24, 2006, 09:48:57]