Polar Blair's Den- X-Men: The Last Stand

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X-Men: The Last Stand
(2006 Film)

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All 3 films in one Blu-Ray set!

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006): It might seem strange to you, but before the first X-Men film of 2000, I was never at all an X-Men fan. I still am not fond of the comics or cartoons. True, some characters have always been cool, but I could never get into the stories. Then along came the live-action films which are not at all very faithful to their mediums of origin, but totally enthralling. Rarely does such a rehashing of superheroes turn out so favorable. As big of hits as 1, 2, and now 3 have become, it would look as if a lot of people agree with me.

    I am especially surprised with how important of role Storm has in this film. In the first two movies, she was basically a throw-away character. In THIS movie, Storm is the LEADER of the team and truthfully should have had higher billing than Patrick Stewart (Professor X). I say this not out of disrespect for Stewart, but for the fact that his Professor X character is "killed off" so early in the film that he should have been at least three or four on the list. Storm is the leader of the team, but Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is still the star. Wolverine plays a huge part in all of these films. In this movie, though, he's not finding his roots (for the first time), but instead is on a mission to save Jean Grey from herself.

    Jean Grey comes back from the dead. This time, her dual-personality of Phoenix takes over. She's a bad girl now with occasional good girl Jean moments. Magneto recruits her, but she turns out to be too powerful for even him to handle. Quite frankly, she is the most powerful mutant of all time.

    A mutant cure has been discovered, which would turn mutants to humans. Most mutants are apprehensive. Magneto and his followers are furious. Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) is turned human and abandoned by Magneto early in the film. On Magneto's immediate team this time around is Pyro, his lead man, played by Aaron Stanford. Vinnie Jones as the rampaging Juggernaut is easily the most interesting new villain. He's awesome! Jones has a history of playing bad guys, and almost all of them are funny. Juggernaut is his funniest bad guy role to date! And he looks a lot cooler than his comic book counterpart. Heeeeeeeere's Juggy! Callisto, played by Dania Ramirez, is the bad mutant woman of this flick and does really well.

    What I think is funny is that, so perfectly, every major X-Men hero has their own enemy. Wolverine has Juggernaut, Storm has Callisto, Iceman has Pyro, Professor X has Magneto...all but Beast, who has no major rivalry with anyone in particular except Magneto, who is an enemy to everyone. Kelsey Grammar as Beast is quite possibly one of the very best things this movie series has done! He's awesome! Funny, and although furry, is quite friendly-looking. It matches his character. When you think about it, Grammar is the only one who could've played this character. I've always been a bit surprised that Beast wasn't in the first two films. Beast brings the intelligence and levity to the series that it really needs from now on.

    So what should you expect in this movie? Here's a quick rundown:

Angel: Is introduced, but besides being a cool-looking and interesting character, serves little importance. Not yet a team member.
Arclight: She has two major scenes. In one, we get to see her use her powers in the climactic battle scene. In the other, she is killed by Phoenix's power. An extra villain.
Beast: Is introduced and is certainly one of the major heroes on the team.
Callisto: Gets a lot of screen time, but for some reason just doesn't stand out like Juggernaut or Pyro. You almost always see her with Magneto and she is primarily a nemesis for Storm.
Colossus: This cool character finally gets some decent screen time. However, he is still not a highly important character to the story. Maybe next film. It's good that they finally made him a member of the team.
Cyclops: You'll see very little of Cyclops. He's "killed" early in the movie.
Iceman: Plays a much bigger part than ever before since he is an immediate team member. This is the first time we ever get to see him turn completely to ice.
Jean Grey/Phoenix: Like Storm, has an unusually large part in this film and is as important as Magneto or Wolverine or Storm.
Jubilee: Three films in a row, and not even close to becoming a bigger character like she was in the comics or cartoons. Just a cameo. I'm surprised they haven't used her more. In the 90s she was such a heavily-marketed character. Now she's just so passe.
Juggernaut: Gets a ton of screen time and is a villain that you really enjoy seeing.
Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat: A cool character, and she is a team member now. I liked the actress a lot, but I somehow wish they would have given her more importance. She has a crush on Iceman that we see for a few moments in the film, and she's involved in the heavy action. I like that they started her off in this series as a teenager. Hopefully they will age her to a twenty-something sex siren like in the comics.
Leech: Is a very significant character to the plot of this movie.
Magneto: Is the major villain and, as always, is as vital to the film as Wolverine.
Multiple Man: Just an extra villain. Isn't a big part of the story.
Mystique: In the first two films she was such a major villainess. In this movie, she is turned human early on, dropped from Magneto's team, and we see little of her after that.
Nightcrawler: Is not seen or mentioned in any way in this film. I'm surprised they just dropped the character like that. Maybe his disappearance will be explained in the next film.
Professor X: You'll see little of Professor X. Quite surprisingly, he is "killed" early in the film. After the credits, you can see how he "came back" from the dead.
Psylocke: Like Jubilee or Siryn, I don't remember even seeing her in the movie. She doesn't have any standout moments. Not yet a team member.
Pyro: Has a great part in this film, bigger than before. He is all-the-way a villain this time around.
Quill: Extra villain. Interesting character and you remember him after you see him, but besides having quills stick out of his face, he doesn't do much.
Rogue: You'll see little of Rogue. She's pretty much gone for most of the film as she takes the mutant cure. Not a major player on the team.
Siryn: Like Jubilee, I don't even remember seeing her in the film the first time around. She doesn't really stand out. And I like the character. At least in the previous film we got to see her scream.
Storm: Has a significant amount of screen time and importance as the leader of the X-Men.
Wolverine: Primary character, once again.