Apparently all the X-Men movies needed was the vapidness of Brett Ratner. What's strangest about his replacing of Singer is the mutation being a metaphor for homosexuality. Singer used it as a metaphor (poorly) for race in the first one. I don't think there were any metaphors in the second one, but it works perfectly in this one--especially since the mutation can be hidden and so on. But Ratner doesn't harp on it, it's just a little detail.
Maybe it's Ratner's lack of harping--Dante Spinotti's cinematography and some great special effects sequences (the whole Golden Gate bridge scene is handled maybe better than any superhero movie moment since Superman)--but X-Men: The Last Stand is a lot of fun. It features some great character actors in bit roles--Michael Murphy, Bill Duke, Josef Sommer, Anthony Heald--finally casts some good actors in the supporting roles--Ben Foster and Kelsey Grammer. Grammer, under pounds of makeup, is great.
The regular cast is better this time too. Berry's not as annoying as usual, Hugh Jackman's fine, Patrick Stewart and James Marsden aren't in it enough to hurt much... Ian McKellan finally gets a director who understands encouraging his overacting is funny. And even though Aaron Stanford's a terrible actor, it's hard not to get a homoerotic vibe off he and McKellan's scenes together.
Anna Paquin's terrible, but no worse than usual. Ellen Page is pretty obnoxious. Famke Janssen's blank, but it's finally her role.
It's a good time.
CREDITS
Directed by Brett Ratner; written by Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn; director of photography, Dante Spinotti; edited by Mark Helfrich, Mark Goldblatt and Julia Wong; music by John Powell; production designer, Edward Verreaux; produced by Lauren Shuler Donner, Ralph Winter and Avi Arad; released by 20th Century Fox.
Starring Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Halle Berry (Storm), Patrick Stewart (Professor Charles Xavier), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Famke Janssen (Jean Grey), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Kelsey Grammer (Dr. Henry McCoy), James Marsden (Cyclops), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), Shawn Ashmore (Bobby Drake), Aaron Stanford (Pyro), Vinnie Jones (Juggernaut), Ben Foster (Warren Worthington III), Ellen Page (Kitty Pryde), Michael Murphy (Warren Worthington II), Shohreh Aghdashloo (Dr. Kavita Rao), Bill Duke (Trask) and Josef Sommer as the President.
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