Starring Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Kelsey Grammar, Famke Janssen, Vinnie Jones, Ben Foster
Written By: Zak Penn and Simon Kinberg
Directed By: Brett Ratner
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Buy on Amazon.com link

One of 2006’s most successful films, X-men: The Last Stand is now available on DVD for all fans to enjoy. Starring Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, and Halle Berry as Storm, Professor Xavier’s band of mutants are back to fight another day. This time, all lines are drawn and the mutants must choose sides; Mutants or Non-Mutants. A powerful new cure is about to be released to every mutant and the X-men must go out and protect their fellow men as well as those that are endanger from Magneto (McKellen) and his mutant brotherhood. With loads of action and comic geekdom for all, X-men is always an entertaining good time.

A cure has been discovered that can take away Mutants powers for good. Some see this as a miracle where some see this as a misfortune. It remains to be seen which one the mutants from Charles Xavier’s school is for. Plenty of mutants have seen their talents as a gift, where some see themselves as freaks of nature. Xavier has other things to worry about at the time being as well. A signal from Alkalide Lake where Jean Grey fell surfaces through the mind of Xavier and danger looms. Apparently, Jean Grey is not dead and surfaces from the bottom of the lake with a mystical aura about her. What we find out is that Jean has an inner demon or alternative personality, Dark Phoenix, which is quite destructive and powerful. Professor X has been aware of this from the beginning as well as Magneto. Both of which recruited Jean some twenty years ago. Jean becomes more of a problem for all and Magneto plans to use her to his advantage in destroying The Cure at Alcatraz Island. Standing in there way is the X-Men and they have a few new faces as well. Beast, played by Kelsey Grammar, is a great addition to the X-men. Extremely intelligent, stealth like quickness, strength and yeah looks like a Blue Furby. I thought Grammar was the perfect choice for Beast. A thespian like voice, along with the look of the character also fit the political mold Beast and his real name Dr. Hank McCoy embodies. Besides Beast, the X-Men see promotions with Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) Colossus (Daniel Cudmore) and Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page.) It was awesome to see these characters build and grow up as well as joining in on the action with the other members. What was disappointing about the additions to the cast were Angel primarily, played by Ben Foster. Here is a kid who grows up with angel like wings growing out of his shoulder blades and feels like he is a freak. It doesn’t help much that his father has instilled that behavior in him and is the creator of The Cure. What should have been a major character with plenty of plot revolving around this character, the storyline is very under used and a waste of time frankly.

While the action sequences were awesome, the film lacked in significant character development and a sturdy plot. Fans of the comics are familiar with the basic characters and their back histories. Not everyone has read the comics and know what’s going on, a little more development would have been nice to see, along the lines of the previous two X-Men films, directed by Bryan Singer. While I don’t think Brett Ratner, the new director is at fault, I think the writers could have developed a stronger story with a better foundation for character development. Ratner only came into the project prior to pre-production and didn’t have enough time to really take charge of the story.

The overall quality of the movie looked great, especially the colors around Jean Grey, Beast, and Magneto. The sound was excellent and really stood out with outstanding clarity. Extras were minuscule featuring only commentary tracks by the director, producer, writers, and executive producers. Deleted and extended scenes were short and didn’t really add much to overall film. Other than that, the extras included a brief look at the new Simpsons Film coming out next summer and Night at the Museum trailers.

X-Men: The Last Stand is entertaining to watch but didn’t really satisfy as far as standing next to the previous two X-Men movies. Provided fan favorite characters like Beast, Iceman and Colossus but really didn’t provide as much as I would have liked to see. Wolverine is always great and it will be awesome to see his own film just about him down the road. I hope this isn’t the end for the X-men films as there are so many stories to tell regarding one of the most popular comic books ever.

Features:
-Full-Length Audio Commentary by Director Brett Ratner and and Screenwriters Simon Kinberg & Zak Penn.
-Producer Commentary by Avi Arad, Lauren Shulder Donner and Ralph Winter
-Deleted & Extended Scenes and 3 Alternate Endings with Optional Audio Commentary
-All-New Exclusive Custom Comic Book Written by Stan Lee

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 6.1 CC
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 CC
SPANISH: Dolby Digital Surround
FRENCH: Dolby Digital Surround

Video:
-Widescreen 2.35:1 Color (Anamorphic)

Subtitles:
English, Spanish

Favorite Scenes: Danger Room Session, Battle at Jean Grey’s house, Wolverine in the Woods, Alcatraz Island
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 104 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: