Superhero Media: X-Men The Last Stand

In an act of contrary thinking not seen since, let's be honest, probably only a month or two on this blog, I want to ask, is X-Men The Last Stand really all that bad? Yes, it's not as good as X-Men 2, but The Last Stand is still, what, the fourth or fifth rated film in the series, if you don't count the Deadpool films? The loss of Bryan Singer as director was a blow to the series, though we got Superman Returns out of it, and it turns out Singer is a massive creep, so maybe not the worst outcome. Following on directly from the previous film, Mystique has been captured by someone (the government? It's all pretty vague), Cyclops is falling apart from grief and Kelsey Grammer is playing Hank McCoy and that's awesome. The main issue with The Last Stand is the two conflicting plot-lines, being the "Mutant Cure" and Dark Phoenix, both of which are interesting and have good moments, but neither gets the time it deserves to develop. 

The conflict between mutants being able to stop being mutants and "mutant" being an identity for many is really interesting, but with Rogue being the only mutant with powers that affect her quality of life. Had there been some characters with more physically obvious mutations, like Beak, Ugly Steve or Glob Herman, an actual debate could be had and there would be some nuance to proceedings. Instead, Rogue gets the cure, because she really needs to, let's be honest, and Iceman forgives her as they can finally be together; it's a nice moment and a good end for Rogue's arc in the films. Meanwhile, the Brotherhood has expanded to include Arclight, Callisto and Quill, who are obscure enough I actually had to look them up, and also Multiple Man and Juggernaut, and I kind of like Vinnie Jones' take on the character, as goofy as it is. With the "government" (maybe the NSA or the military? None of this is clear) putting the cure into weapons really quickly, the Brotherhood elect to assault Alcatraz, leading to one of the best sequences in the series, where Magneto finally gets to show off just how powerful he is, by moving the Golden Gate bridge. 

The Phoenix arc of the film is often highlighted as the major failing, and I cannot really disagree, as it feels rushed and lacks any real emotional depth. I feel that splitting "Dark Phoenix" into a fourth film, though starting it in The Last Stand still, would have given the story time to breathe, as Jean herself only really gets three scenes to do anything with everything else going on. Also, the choice of Jean's powers being represented as pulling things apart into ash/dust rather than burning away with "Phoenix Flames" just seems like a silly choice by the design team. Yes, the film is already too CGI heavy, but a last-minute drop of the full fire-bird Phoenix effect would have been as big a fanboy punch as the Fastball Special, Sentinel attack and Iceman "Icing Up" were; I remember cheering in the cinema when Bobby finally went full Iceman, and I wasn't the only one. The Last Stand was better than I remembered it being, when all is said and done, and I will probably go back to it again sooner than I may have because of that. If you're still convinced that this film "ruined the series", maybe give it another go and try not to be mad that it's not X-Men 2 this time.