X-Men: The Last Stand picks up exactly where the last film left off. Jean Gray, played by Famke Janssen, is dead following a confrontation in a remote military base. This leaves Cyclops, played by James Marsden, distraught and unsure if he can continue leading the team of mutants. To the delight of many fans, Wolverine is back, with Hugh Jackman delivering a performance well worthy of the series he helped form. Also returning are Patrick Stewart as Professor X and Ian McKellen as the anti-hero Magneto. New to the films are the heroes Angel and the Beast. These characters help to add a dynamic to the X-men, with Kelsey Grammar delivering a stellar performance as the Beast.
The main conflict throughout the film is the development of a new drug that ‘cures' mutants, causing them to lose all of their unique abilities and allowing them to be completely human. While this is a breath of fresh air for some mutants, such as the young Rogue who wants to be able to touch others, other mutants that are led by Magneto feel that there is no need for a cure, and that they, in fact, are the cure for humanity. This ignites a war over the philosophy of whether or not the drug should be an option for mutants. It is a rather deep underlying theme for a film that you would expect less from. Action-packed, the film weighs in at under 2 hours, which may be one of its few short-comings. There's barely any slow parts to the film, and you are instead barraged by scene-after-scene of high intensity. There's a lot going on in this film; the filmmakers could've easily stretched it into a 3 hour epic. A standout performance is given by McKellan, since through his acting you can truly see the struggle that the villain faces, showing that Magneto's ideals truly do have some consideration underneath them. While the movie isn't perfect, its as close to perfect as you can hope for from a series that only seems to get better each and every film.
