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in: Films, Brett Ratner/Director, Lauren Shuler Donner/Producer,
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X-Men: The Last Stand

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Quote1 Whose side will you be on? Quote2

Appearances

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

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Races and Species:

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Plot

A pharmaceutical company announces that it has developed an inoculation to suppress the X-gene that gives mutants their powers and makes them different from 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 eradicate all mutant powers.

Cyclops, haunted by the memory of the dead Jean Grey, returns to the place where Jean had sacrificed herself to save the X-Men. Jean appears to Cyclops, and as the two kiss, Jean changes and appears to kill Cyclops. Sensing trouble, Professor Charles Xavier sends Wolverine and Storm to investigate. When they arrive, the two X-Men encounter telekinetically floating rocks, Cyclops' glasses, and an unconscious Jean.

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 telekinetically slams Wolverine into a wall. She then escapes 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, unleashing her power. She destroys her family's house, disintegrates Xavier, and leaves with Magneto.

Following the loss of Xavier, the X-Men regroup and confront Magneto's army, which is attacking the pharmaceutical company. During the fight, Beast injects Magneto with the cure, nullifying his mutant powers. After the battle, the Phoenix emerges and begins to destroy everything around her. Momentarily gaining control, Jean begs Wolverine to save her. Telling Jean he loves her, Wolverine reluctantly kills her with his claws.

Despite the X-Men's losses, life goes on. Magneto, now an ordinary man, sits at a chessboard and reaches out toward a metal chess piece that trembles slightly, hinting that the cure may not be as permanent as thought. Following the end credits, Dr. Moira MacTaggert checks on a comatose patient, P. Xavier, Charles' brother. He calls out to her with Charles's voice. Startled, she replies, "Charles?"

Cast

Additionally, Adrian Hough and Desiree Zurowski portray Mr. Grey and Mrs. Grey, respectively. Chris Claremont and Stan Lee make cameo appearances. Cameron Bright portrays Leech / Jimmy. Connor Widdows, Kea Wong, Shauna Kain, and Luke Phol appear as Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters students Jones, Jubilee / Jubilation Lee, Siryn / Theresa Cassidy, and Flea, respectively. Lloyd Adams, Meiling Melançon, Omahyra Mota, Clayton Watmough, and Ken Leung portray Omegas Lizard Man, Psylocke, Arclight, Glob Herman, and Kid Omega, respectively. Phat is portrayed by Via Saleuma and Richard Yee. R. Lee Ermey makes an appearance as a sergeant on Alcatraz Island. Lance Gibson appears as Spike. Olivia Williams makes an uncredited appearance as Dr. Moira MacTaggert.

Notes

  • The film was originally scheduled for a May 5, 2006 release, but was pushed back to May 26 of the same year due to production delays.
  • The film began filming in August 2005 and ended in January 2006.

Trivia

  • Many of the cast members from the previous two X-Men films returned, the major exceptions being Alan Cumming, who portrayed Nightcrawler / Kurt Wagner and Kelly Hu, who portrayed Deathstrike / Yuriko Oyama, from X2. Both of whom signed two-film contracts. However, Hu's character was killed by Wolverine in the previous film and Alan Cumming was reportedly uncomfortable with the long hours he had to take with the Nightcrawler makeup. The part for Nightcrawler was so minimal in the third film that he felt it was not worth it to go through the long and costly makeup process when he was barely in the film, and the character was cut.[3] He did agree, however, to do voice work for the character for the video game based on the film. James Marsden did appear in the film as Cyclops / Scott Summers, despite reported scheduling conflicts with Superman Returns.
  • Halle Berry stated during interviews for X2 that she would not return as Storm in the third film unless the character had a significant presence comparable to the comic-book version. Brett Ratner also felt Storm required a larger role and there was little difficulty reaching an agreement.[4]
  • Filmmakers considered using the Beast character since the first X-Men movie, but budget constraints ruled him out; however, Steve Bacic is identified as Hank McCoy when he appears on a television screen in a cameo role in X2.
  • The events of this movie occur in 2006.[5]

Gallery[]

Alternate Posters[]

Comparison with the comics

X-Men: The Last Stand draws much of its plot and characters from the source comic books; however, while some of the X-Men characters and details remain similar, a number of comic book elements are altered for the adaptation.

The film's plot concerning the emergence of the Phoenix draws from Chris Claremont's 1980 "Dark Phoenix Saga" in The Uncanny X-Men. Whereas in the film, the Phoenix is Jean Grey's evil "split personality", in the comics, the Phoenix is a fiery, Phoenix-like alien entity and force of nature that bonds with Jean. The cure for mutant powers can be seen in Joss Whedon's 2004 "Gifted" story arc in Astonishing X-Men.

X-Men: The Last Stand is the first, and so far only, X-Men film to feature the five original X-Men -- Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, and Jean Grey on the team; however, the characters' backstories and positions within the team are altered. Other characters are translated even more loosely. Many of the Brotherhood shown in the film, for instance, including Spike, Psylocke and Multiple Man, are not Brotherhood villains in the comics. The mutant named Kid Omega resembles a character named Quill in the comics, rather than the hyper-intelligent comic book Kid. In the film, Psylocke has a red dagger tattooed above her left eye, and she is able to hide in shadows; this is a reference to a period during which Psylocke was connected to a substance called the "Crimson Dawn", which gives her powers beyond her innate mutant abilities of telepathy and telekinesis that manifests as a psionic knife/katana. Brotherhood member Callisto is depicted with superhuman speed and the ability to sense mutants' power levels. In the comics, Callisto is the leader of the Morlocks and has neither ability, instead, possessing acute senses. In the comics, Juggernaut is Xavier's human step-brother who acquires power when he finds a mystical stone; in X-Men: The Last Stand, however, Juggernaut is a mutant, and there is no mention of a relationship with the professor. Whereas he is usually gruff and violent in the comics, his line "Don't you know who I am? I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!" alludes not to the comics, but to a video (The Juggernaut Bitch!!) in which the video's creators talk over footage from X-Men: The Animated Series.

Familiar details from the X-Men mythos permeate the film. The X-Men are shown training in the trademark Danger Room, a training complex within the X-Mansion. A giant, mutant-hunting Sentinel robot appears as a hologram inside the Danger Room. The fastball special, in which Colossus throws Wolverine toward an opponent, appears in the film twice, the targets being Magneto and a Sentinel. Beast's line "Oh my stars and garters!" appears frequently in the comics. One of the president's advisers is named Trask, an allusion to Bolivar Trask, creator of the Sentinels. Kitty Pryde's run through the pharmaceutical complex while being chased by the Juggernaut mirrors the character's similar fight against an alien in Uncanny X-Men #143. Finally, Wolverine's killing Jean bears some similarity when he killed his love Mariko Yashida at her request to spare her a painful death from poison (see Wolverine (Vol. 2) #57), as well as in New X-Men, in which he kills Jean to spare her from a more agonizing death burning up in the Sun.

Adaptations[]

Novelization[]

The novelization of the film, written by comic book writer Chris Claremont, was released on May 16, 2006.[6] The novelization of the movie differs significantly from the film.

Difference between Movie and Novelization
In the novel, young Jean Grey discovers her powers after an accident that takes her best friend's life. Angel officially joins the X-Men and travels with them to Alcatraz Island instead of going on his own. Storm spares Callisto's life, which is more in line with Professor Xavier's views on violence. Rogue decides to keep her powers in the end, and Beast stays at the school as a teacher. Iceman takes an unconscious Pyro away from Alcatraz. The attack on Alcatraz is referred to as M-Day, a reference to the "Decimation of mutantkind" storyline in the comic books. Moira MacTaggert visits Magneto in the park, presumably offering an antidote to the cure, which he refuses because as the book says: "He couldn't go back. That path had brought nothing but grief, to those he cared for, those who trusted him, to himself. This was better." This suggests that in the novel Magneto turns over a new leaf before discovering a slight return of his powers. Unlike the film, the novel does not allude to Xavier's resurrection.

See Also

Links and References

References

  1. ↑ Rogue appears in Days of Future Past only in the Rogue Cut.
  2. ↑ Scott Bowles (May 24, 2005) Franchise's fans reverse stand on new director usatoday.com USA Today. Retrieved on 5 June 2006.
  3. ↑ Kristen Abernathy (November 21, 2020) X-Men 3: Why Nightcrawler Didn't Return For The Last Stand screenrant.com Screen Rant. Retrieved on 14 March 2023.
  4. ↑ Daniel Robert Epstein (May 24, 2006) Halle Berry of X-Men: The Last Stand ugo.com UGO. Retrieved on 6 June 2006.
  5. ↑ X-Men: 25 Moments. Retrieved on 12 April 2014.
  6. ↑ Claremont, Chris X-Men: The Last Stand Del Rey.
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