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By Dawn Januszkiewicz The final movie in this comic book inspired trilogy packs in a lot more action and mutant skill than the previous two. This story closed with a typical cliff hanger, where the final few moments suggest the story may continue, but let's face it, that all depends on fan base approval and as we learned from Batman, less is more. In The Last Stand, we find out how large the mutant community is and meet a subculture - rebellious, punk mutants, otherwise known as the Brotherhood, led by Magneto. Outside of the rebellion we see some mutants who do seek out the offered "cure" and fade into a mediocre life. Good-bye superpowers; hello office job! In this movie, much like the first two movies preceding it, the humans are trying to end mutant life. The mutants don't have one human ally until the end. The larger cast added an extra element of amusement and a threshold for nifty computer generated scenes. In some cases the CGI bravado was a touch over the top and made my eyes roll once (during the much needed relocation of the Golden Gate Bridge). Jane Grey came back as the Phoenix, the highly anticipated plot twist of the entire movie and it was worth the wait. Exciting and beautiful, she was mostly devil but occasionally the old Jane Grey would shine through. On those occasions she walked a fine line of good and evil. Jane wasn't the only gray character, we also viewed Xavier and Magneto with mixed emotions. As evil as Magneto was, he still fought for mutant rights, he just poorly acts on his good intentions. Xavier had oppressed Grey without her knowing, for her own good, but denied her the opportunity to know the extent of her potential. The most consistent annoyance in this movie is the very tidy use of irony and metaphor. Scott was consumed by his love for Jane, later consumed quite literally. Wolverine moved on after Grey's death and he allowed mutant life to move on after the Phoenix's tyranny. The president wanted his mutant son to be normal and it was his son's mutant skill that saved his life. It made every twist predictable, except the Golden Gate Bridge, which was a surprise. The conflict of the movie was easily established: to be cured of being a mutant or not be cured. As offensive as it is to have your mutation considered a disease, some mutants did opt for the normalcy and in some cases the mutant skill really was a royal pain. The real issue was forced conformity, which had played out and justified the mutant rebellion. We spend the remainder of the movie waiting to see what the Phoenix will do next. Most of the seasoned mutants appear to have emotionally grown. Wolverine and Storm matured, both taking on new responsibilities. Magneto reached a breaking point and in a small way acknowledged his evils and Mystique really found herself. The Last Stand was transparent. It was an action-packed, paper-thin conclusion to one hell of a good story. It wasn't a waste though; it was an amusing movie. Then again, can we blame them for the movie's pitfalls? The final movie in a trilogy usually creates a resounding conclusion and is often accompanied with disappointment. In fact, I can't remember a single case where the final movie in a trilogy was satisfying since The Empire Strikes Back. |
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