X-Men: The Last Stand

X-Men: The Last Stand
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Brett Ratner
Produced by	Avi Arad Lauren Shuler Donner Ralph Winter
Written by	Simon Kinberg Zak Penn
Based on	Characters by Stan Lee Jack Kirby
Starring	Hugh Jackman Halle Berry Ian McKellen Famke Janssen Anna Paquin Kelsey Grammer James Marsden Rebecca Romijn Shawn Ashmore Aaron Stanford Vinnie Jones Patrick Stewart
Music by	John Powell
Cinematography	Dante Spinotti
Editing by	Mark Helfrich Mark Goldblatt Julia Wong
Studio	20th Century Fox Marvel Entertainment Ingenious Film Partners The Donners' Company
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	May 26, 2006 (2006-05-26)
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$210 million[1]
Box office	$459,359,555

X-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 superhero film and the third in the X-Men series. It was directed by Brett Ratner and stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones, Rebecca Romijn, and James Marsden. The film's script is loosely based on two X-Men comic book story arcs, "The Dark Phoenix Saga" by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne, and "Gifted" by writer Joss Whedon and artist John Cassaday, with a plot that revolves around a "mutant cure" that causes serious repercussions among mutants and humans, and on the mysterious resurrection of Jean Grey.

Filming started in August 2005, budgeted at $210 million, the most expensive film at the time of its release, and had extensive visual effects done by eleven different companies. X-Men: The Last Stand received mixed reviews from critics and fans, but grossed approximately $459 million worldwide, the seventh-highest grossing film of 2006 and the most financially successful of the series so far.

Plot

The film opens with two flashbacks, one twenty years before the film's events where Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto meet a young Jean Grey at her parents' house, and another ten years afterwards where young Warren Worthington III tries to cut off his wings.

In the present day, the pharmaceutical company Worthington Labs announces it has developed on their laboratory on Alcatraz Island an inoculation to suppress the X-gene that gives mutants their powers and makes them different from other humans, offering the "cure" to any mutant who wants it. While some mutants are interested in the cure, including the X-Men's Rogue, many others are horrified by the announcement. In response to the news, the X-Men's adversary, Magneto, raises an army, warning his followers that the "cure" will be forcefully used to exterminate the mutant race.

Cyclops, still depressed about the loss of Jean Grey, returns to Alkali Lake. Jean appears to Cyclops, but as the two kiss, Jean takes on a fearsome appearance. Psychically sensing trouble, Professor X sends Wolverine and Storm to investigate. When they arrive, the two X-Men encounter telekinetically floating rocks, Cyclops' glasses, and an unconscious Jean. Cyclops himself is nowhere to be found. Xavier explains that when Jean sacrificed herself, she unleashed the powerful alternate personality she calls "Phoenix". Wolverine is disgusted to learn that Xavier has kept Jean in check telepathically, but when Jean awakens, he realizes she is not the Jean Grey he knew. Jean pleads with Wolverine to kill her, but when he refuses, the Phoenix surfaces and knocks out Wolverine, before escaping to her childhood home.

Magneto, also aware that Jean is now a powerful mutant, meets Xavier at Jean's house. The two men vie for Jean's loyalty until the Phoenix resurfaces. She destroys her family's house, disintegrates Xavier, and leaves with Magneto. The X-Men regroup and decide to confront Magneto's army, who have crossed the Golden Gate Bridge that Magneto has diverted to attack the pharmaceutical company on Alcatraz. During the fight, Beast injects Magneto with the "cure", nullifying his mutant powers. Then the Phoenix begins to destroy everything around her. Wolverine tells Storm to evacuate everyone. He goes to face the Phoenix alone, his self-healing barely neutralizing her disintegration attack. Momentarily gaining control, Jean begs Wolverine to save her. Telling Jean he loves her, Wolverine kills her.

The school continues without Xavier, with Storm now as headmistress and Logan as a teacher; the President appoints Beast as ambassador to the United Nations; Rogue returns, telling Iceman she has taken the "cure." The depowered Magneto sits at a chessboard in a park and reaches out toward a metal chess piece that moves slightly, indicating that the mutant cure may be only temporary. Following the end credits, Dr. Moira MacTaggert checks on a comatose patient who greets her with Xavier's voice. Startled, she replies, "Charles?".

Cast

The X-Men

The X-Men are a special ops team from The Xavier Institute, charged with protecting both humans and mutants and trying to prevent a war between the two.

• Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine: A mutant with the power of regeneration, which allowed the painful implantation of an adamantium metal coating on his bones and metal claws that emerge from each hand.
• Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe / Storm: One of Xavier's original students, Storm can manipulate the weather around her with her mind.
• Sir Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier: The founder of the Xavier Institute, who has uncharted telepathic powers and is an authority on genetic mutation as well as an advocate of peaceful relations between human and mutant kind.
• Anna Paquin as Marie / Rogue: A teenage runaway mutant with the power of absorbing life force, who found a home at Xavier's school, where she fell in love with Bobby Drake.
• Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Henry "Hank" McCoy / Beast: A former student of Xavier's School who is now the Secretary of Mutant Affairs in the U.S. government. A brilliant scientist, Beast's mutation leads him to be covered in blue fur and have heightened strength and agility.
• James Marsden as Scott Summers / Cyclops: The X-Men's field leader, capable emitting powerful energy blasts from his eyes.
• Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Drake / Iceman: A young mutant who can create constructs of ice or blasts of cold.
• Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde / Shadowcat: She can "phase" through matter and walk through solid objects.
• Daniel Cudmore as Peter Rasputin / Colossus: He can transform his skin into an organic steel, granting superhuman strength and a resistance to damage and temperature.
• Ben Foster as Warren Worthington III / Angel: He has feathered wings which allow him to fly. Cayden Boyd plays Warren as a child.

The Brotherhood of Mutants

The Brotherhood is Magneto's personal strike force, whose goal is to ensure mutant supremacy.

• Sir Ian McKellen as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto: Leader and founder of The Brotherhood, Magneto is a Holocaust survivor who wages war against humanity in the name of mutant superiority, and has the power to manipulate any form of metal.
• Famke Janssen as Jean Grey / Phoenix: A former member of the X-Men who sacrificed herself to save her comrades, upon being resurrected Jean gives in to her alternate personality, the Phoenix, an aggressive Class 5 mutant who possesses limitless telepathic and telekinetic powers.
• Rebecca Romijn as Raven Darkholme / Mystique: Magneto's blue-skinned right-hand woman can shapeshift to match anyone's appearance and can fight with incredible agility and strength.
• Aaron Stanford as John Allerdyce / Pyro: Former Xavier Institute student with a grudge against Iceman, Pyro can manipulate fire, which he creates with a lighter on his wrist.
• Vinnie Jones as Cain Marko / Juggernaut: A criminal recruited by the Brotherhood in a prison truck, Juggernaut is incredibly strong, fast, and once he gains momentum, he becomes next to unstoppable.
• Eric Dane as James Madrox / Multiple Man: Multiple Man can split himself into multiple copies.

The Omegas

A group of mutant outcasts which exists as part of an underground network that stretches across the nation.

• Dania Ramirez as Callisto: The leader of the Omegas, who possesses superhuman speed, reflexes, agility and senses, and can also sense the presence and powers of other mutants based on their energy projection.
• Meiling Melançon as Psylocke: Psylocke has the ability to teleport herself through areas of shadow.
• Omahyra Mota as Arclight: Arclight can generate shockwaves of concussive force.
• Ken Leung as Kid Omega: A mutant who can eject spikes from his body, most notably his face.

Other characters

• Michael Murphy as Warren Worthington II: The head of Worthington Labs, the corporation developing the "cure", who expects to rid his son of his mutant abilities.
• Shohreh Aghdashloo as Dr. Kavita Rao: A scientist working at Worthington Labs on the mutant cure, which was created with the DNA of Leech.
• Josef Sommer as The President: The mutant-tolerating President of the United States.
• Bill Duke as Bolivar Trask: The head of the Department of Homeland Security, he aids the President during the Mutant War.
• Cameron Bright as Jimmy / Leech: A mutant boy which due to being able to neutralize the powers of nearby mutants, has his DNA used as basis for the "cure".
• Olivia Williams as Moira MacTaggert (uncredited): A doctor friend of Professor X, which is tending over a man born with no higher brain functions.

X-Men co-creator Stan Lee and writer Chris Claremont have cameos in the film's opening scene as neighbors in Jean Grey's old neighborhood. The sergeant directing defensive preparations before the Brotherhood assaults Alcatraz Island is played by R. Lee Ermey.

Development

Bryan Singer, the director of the first two X-Men films, left the project in July 2004 in favor of developing Superman Returns.^[2] He was joined by X2 screenwriters Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty, as well as John Ottman, composer and editor of the film. Though Singer, Harris and Dougherty did not produce a completed script, Singer revealed that at the time of his departure they had partially written a story treatment focusing on Jean Grey's resurrection,^[3] which would also introduce the villain Emma Frost, a role intended for Sigourney Weaver, Gambit, a role intended for Keanu Reeves, and The Hellfire Club.^[4] Frost was an empath manipulating Jean's emotions in the treatment, and like the finished film Magneto desires to control her. Overwhelmed by her powers, Jean kills herself, but Jean's spirit survives and becomes a god-like creature, which Dougherty compared to the star child in A Space Odyssey.^[5]

New contracts for returning cast members were made, as the actors had signed for only two films.^[6] Hugh Jackman's contract included the approval of director,^[7] initially offering the position to Darren Aronofsky, with whom he had just finished filming on The Fountain.^[8] Joss Whedon, whose comic book "Gifted" having been integrated in the script's plot, turned down the offer because he was working on a Wonder Woman film.^[9] Rob Bowman^[10] and Alex Proyas^[11] were also rumored, though Proyas personally turned it down, citing feuds with Fox president Thomas Rothman on I, Robot.^[12] Zack Snyder was also approached, but he was already committed to 300.^[13] In February 2005, with still no director hired, Fox announced a May 5, 2006 release date, with filming to start in July 2005.^[14] They later pushed the release date three weeks for Memorial Day weekend, and signed Matthew Vaughn to direct in March 2005.^[15] Vaughn cast Kelsey Grammer as Beast and Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut, but family issues led him to withdraw before filming began.^[16][17] Vaughn was also cautious of Fox wanting to rush production. "I didn't have the time to make the movie that I wanted to make. I had a vision for how it should be," Vaughn reflected in a 2007 interview, "and I wanted to make sure I was making a film as good as X-Men 2, and I knew there was no way it could be."^[18]

Brett Ratner, who was previously considered as the director for X-Men in 1996, replaced Vaughn during pre-production.^[17] On June 13, 2005, a review of an incomplete early draft of the screenplay posted by Drew McWeeny from Ain't It Cool News sparked controversy from fans, due to certain main characters' storylines;^[19] however, that was the very first of over two dozen drafts of the script. Most notably the Golden Gate Bridge sequence was originally in the middle of the film, but Ratner decided it would create a more dramatic climax if moved to the end,^[20] which was originally to take place in Washington, D.C.^[21] Mutants were initially held on Alcatraz as prisoners, but Ratner changed the bridge escape in the middle to highlight the Dark Phoenix rising scene in the climax.^[22][23] He also expanded Halle Berry's role as Storm. The actress stated during interviews for X2 that she would not return unless the character had a significant presence comparable to the comic book version.^[24] Maggie Grace was considered for Kitty Pryde^[17] before Ratner cast Ellen Page. He was impressed with her performance in Hard Candy and did not require an audition.^[25]

Writing

Simon Kinberg was hired as writer for X-Men 3 in August 2004, and was joined by Zak Penn in January 2005. Kinberg wanted "The Dark Phoenix Saga" to be the emotional plot of the film, while "Gifted" would serve as the political focus.^[26] Killing Cyclops was Fox's decision, based on the availability of actor James Marsden, who was cast in Singer's Superman Returns. The studio considered killing him off-screen with a dialogue reference, but Kinberg and Penn insisted that Jean kill him, emphasizing their relationship. Xavier's death was intended to match the impact of Spock's demise in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, as Fox felt the script called for a dramatic turning point. Kinberg and Penn were originally cautious but grew to like the idea of killing off Xavier. They decided to write a post-credits scene suggesting the character's return for a sequel.^[27]

As the studio was simultaneously developing X-Men Origins: Wolverine, limitations were set on which mutants could be used for cameo appearances in X-Men 3 in an attempt to avoid risking character development for Wolverine.^[28] Gambit initially appeared in the Battle of Alcatraz climax with the X-Men, but the writers did not want to introduce a fan favorite character and "not be able to do him justice." Kinberg reasoned "there just wasn't enough space."^[26] Alan Cumming had been uncomfortable with the long hours he had to take with the prosthetic makeup as Nightcrawler in X2 but still planned to return for the sequel. The part for Nightcrawler was so minimal, however, that the studio felt it was not worthwhile to go through the long and costly makeup process, and the character was cut.^[29] Kinberg felt that "there wasn't much left to do with the character. It also felt like he might tread a little bit on the terrain of Beast; in terms of similarities in the characters and their political standpoints in terms of dealing with their mutancy." Nightcrawler's absence was later explained in the tie-in video game.^[26]

Filming

X-Men: The Last Stand began shooting in August 2005 and ended in January 2006. Much of the film was shot at Vancouver Film Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.^[29] Locations included the Hatley Park National Historic Site and Royal Roads University, which doubled for the X-Mansion.^[30] According to associate producer Dave Gordon, "This is the biggest production ever filmed in Canada. It used to be X2, now it's X3."^[29] The $210 million budget also made The Last Stand the most expensive film to be made at the time.^[1][7][31] The film's record would be first broken by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest's $225 million budget.^[32] Fox Filmed Entertainment co-chairmen Thomas Rothman and Jim Gianopulos debated whether Rogue should give Iceman a passionate kiss at the film's end or simply hold his hand. The two executives screened The Last Stand for their daughters as well as the studio's female marketing executives, and the hand holding prevailed. Gianopulos stated that the kissing "was all about sex, and we didn't want that."^[33]

Visual effects

Eleven companies were hired for the visual effects,^[34] which started in April 2005, before the director had even been announced. Special effects supervisor John Bruno estimates one sixth of the effects budget was spent on the Golden Gate Bridge scene, which employed both computer-generated imagery and a miniature of the bridge.^[1] Another notable effect was "digital skin-grafting", which rejuvenated the faces of senior actors Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen by complex keyframing, though CGI was not used.^[35]

The film has extensive wirework, where many of the actors performed some of their own stunts. The whirlwind wire-stunt performed by Halle Berry during one fight scene reportedly caused Berry to become sick.

Music

X-Men: The Last Stand: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Film score by John Powell
Released	May 23, 2006
Genre	Soundtracks Film scores
Length	60:26
Label	Varèse Sarabande
Producer	John Powell
Marvel Comics film series soundtrack chronology
Fantastic 4: The Album (2005) X-Men: The Last Stand: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2006) Music from and Inspired by Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[36]
Score Reviews	[37]
Tracksounds	[38]

Ratner invited John Powell to write the music for being a fan of Powell's work in The Bourne Identity. Powell included references to the score from the previous two films - "it all had to be in the same family, and the same language" - and used lyrics from Benjamin Britten's Requiem Mass for the choir parts.^[39] A soundtrack album was released on May 23, 2006 by Varèse Sarabande.

1. "20 Years Ago" (1:10)
2. "Bathroom Titles" (1:09)
3. "The Church of Magneto, Raven is My Slave Name" (2:40)
4. "Meet Leech, Then off to the Lake" (2:37)
5. "Whirlpool of Love" (2:04)
6. "Examining Jean" (1:12)
7. "Dark Phoenix" (1:28)
8. "Angel's Cure" (2:34)
9. "Jean and Logan" (1:39)
10. "Dark Phoenix Awakes" (1:45)
11. "Rejection is Never Easy" (1:09)
12. "Magneto Plots" (2:05)
13. "Entering the House" (1:18)
14. "Dark Phoenix's Tragedy" (3:18)
15. "Farewell to X" (0:30)
16. "The Funeral" (2:52)
17. "Skating on the Pond" (1:12)
18. "Cure Wars" (2:57)
19. "Fight in the Woods" (3:06)
20. "St. Lupus Day" (3:03)
21. "Building Bridges" (1:16)
22. "Shock and No Oars" (1:15)
23. "Attack on Alcatraz" (4:36)
24. "Massacre" (0:31)
25. "The Battle of the Cure" (4:21)
26. "Phoenix Rises" (4:21)
27. "The Last Stand" (5:29)

Marketing

20th Century Fox launched the film's official website in October 2005.^[40] The teaser trailer release with King Kong the following December^[41] was done in conjunction with the studio releasing the film's first official screen shots of the film to USA Today.^[42] Diamond Select Toys created a toy line, scanning the actors from the film with likenesses for the first time in the trilogy.^[43] Additional product tie-ins came with Harley-Davidson^[44] and 7-Eleven.^[45] A seven-minute sneak peek aired on Fox Broadcasting two weeks before the film's theatrical release.^[46] Del Rey Books published a novelization of the film, written by comic book writer Chris Claremont,^[47] while Newmarket Press published The Art of X-Men: The Last Stand: From Concept to Feature Film.^[48] Activision released X-Men: The Official Game, co-written by screenwriter Zak Penn and Claremont, bridging the events between X2.^[49] Actor Hugh Jackman showed clips at the ShoWest tradeshow exhibition in March 2006, after accepting the Award for Male Star of the Year.^[50] Fox also premiered X-Men: The Last Stand as an out-of-competition event at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.^[51]

Reception

Critical response

"X-Men: The Last Stand" received mixed reception. Based on 228 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, 57% of the critics enjoyed X-Men: The Last Stand with an average score of 5.9/10. The film was more balanced with the 42 reviews in the websites "Top Critics" poll, receiving a 52% approval rating and a 5.6/10 score.^[52] By comparison, Metacritic calculated an average score of 58/100, based on 38 reviews.^[53]

Ebert and Roeper gave the film a "two thumbs up" rating, with Ebert stating "I liked the action, I liked the absurdity, I liked the incongruous use and misuse of mutant powers, and I especially liked the way it introduces all of those political issues and lets them fight it out with the special effects."^[54] Some film critics did however consider the third film to be of lesser quality than the previous two. Justin Chang from Variety said the film is "a wham-bam sequel noticeably lacking in the pop gravitas, moody atmospherics and emotional weight that made the first two Marvel comicbook adaptations so rousingly successful."^[55] Frank Lovece of Film Journal International said, "A risk-taking script with genuine consequences elevates this ... above the lackluster direction of Brett Ratner, whose competent mechanics move the story efficiently but with very little soul."^[56] Matthew Vaughn, who was attached as director for the film before dropping out, criticized Ratner's direction: "I could have done something with far more emotion and heart. I'm probably going to be told off for saying that, but I genuinely believe it."^[18]

Box office

X-Men: The Last Stand was released in the United States on May 26, 2006 in 3,690 theaters, earning $102,750,665 in its opening weekend,^[57] which was a new Memorial day weekend record.^[58] The film's release was also a new single-day record for Friday openings.^[59] The opening weekend gross was surpassed six weeks later with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, making The Last Stand's opening the second-highest of 2006.^[60] The film also opened on 95 international markets that same weekend, opening at number one in 26 of them and grossing $76.1 million overall, but suffered from competition with The Da Vinci Code, which retained the top spot in most countries, and beat The Last Stand in international gross that weekend with $91 million.^[61][62] The film's second weekend devolved 67 percent to $34 million, which was the steepest post-Memorial Day opening drop on record.^[63] X-Men: The Last Stand eventually grossed $234,362,462 in domestic totals and $224,997,093 in foreign countries, coming to a worldwide total of $459,359,555,^[57] the fourth-highest in domestic grosses^[60] and seventh-highest worldwide for 2006.^[64] X-Men: The Last Stand is also the highest-grossing film in the franchise.^[65]

Accolades

At the 2007 Saturn Awards, Famke Janssen won the Best Supporting Actress award for her portrayal of Jean Grey.^[66] Also impressed with Janssen's performance were Total Film, who said, "playing the super-freaky mind-control goddess like GoldenEye’s Xenia Onatopp’s all-powerful psycho sister, her scenes – particularly that one with the house – crackle with energy and tragedy. If only the rest of X3 had followed suit."^[67] Halle Berry received a People's Choice Award for "Favorite Female Action Star" for her role as Storm. During her acceptance speech, she asked all fans who wanted to see an "X-Men 4" to write letters to producer Tom Rothman asking for another movie.^[68]

Home media

The film was released on October 3, 2006 in single-disc DVD format,^[69] as well as a two-disc collector's edition^[70] and a trilogy box set with the previous two films.^[71] The single-disc came with three alternative endings, each with optional commentary by director Brett Ratner; 10 deleted scenes; audio commentaries from Ratner, the writers and the producers; and two hidden Easter eggs. The collector's edition came with an exclusive 100-page commemorative comic book with an all-new story written by X-Men co-creator Stan Lee, his first original Marvel comic book in five years.^[69] The DVD sold 2.6 million units in its first day, exceeding Fox's expectations,^[72] but errors were reported. About 60% of the DVDs currently in circulation have errors in them. Some DVDs come with only 10 deleted scenes while others come with 21, amongst other errors.^[73] X-Men: The Last Stand sold an additional 2.4 million units in its first week,^[74] and was released on Blu-ray Disc the following November.^[75]

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External links

• Official website
• X-Men: The Last Stand at the Internet Movie Database
• X-Men: The Last Stand at AllRovi
• X-Men: The Last Stand at Rotten Tomatoes
• X-Men: The Last Stand at Metacritic
• X-Men: The Last Stand at Box Office Mojo
• X-Men at Marvel.com