Movie: Six years ago, director Bryan Singer's big-screen adaptation of the popular "X-Men" helped comic book adaptations not only bring in big bucks at the box office, but also helped boost their image considerably. After he could even increase this success three years later with the second part, it seemed to be already decided that Singer would also direct the third film. But still in pre-production, the director took his hat to resurrect "Superman" for the rival studio Warner and thus fulfill another childhood dream. Singer took much of the creative team, including screenwriters and composer John Ottman, with him right away, which set back production on the third "X-Men" film considerably. Now Matthew Vaughn ("Layer Cake") was supposed to get the sheep in the dry, but a few weeks before shooting started he threw in the towel too - allegedly because he wouldn't be able to deliver a decent film in the time he had.
And so the directing duties were eventually handed over to Brett Ratner ("Rush Hour", "Red Dragon"), who was able to guarantee the studio that he would be able to complete the film on schedule, even without much prep time. Unfortunately, there is a strong sense in the effects spectacle that it was just a routine job for the director. This one was executed neatly, but without the necessary passion, which was definitely noticeable in Singer. The story of the film is quite interesting: a scientist, whose son is a mutant himself, has developed a drug that suppresses the X-gene responsible for the mutations and thus allows the mutants to live a normal life. For supervillain Magneto (Ian McKellen), this news is a welcome occasion to join his minions in the all-important battle between good and evil. And as if that weren't bad enough for his former companion and current nemesis Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), who was thought dead, also suddenly reappears and seems to have become the biggest threat to mutants and humans alike.
Unfortunately, Ratner gets too little out of the story's good beginnings. The newly introduced characters in particular, including the fan-favorite Dr. Henry McCoy (Kelsey "Frasier" Grammer), better known as Beast, remain so superficial that the audience cares little for their fate. And the Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones), also a fan favorite, just seems silly. The conflicts established in the first two films are rarely built upon, rather the familiar is repeated in a new form, which also prevents the characters introduced earlier from developing noticeably. This is especially noticeable with Halle Berry, who again acts very woodenly in the third part. In addition, the production allows itself a few annoyingly sloppy mistakes, which are also due to the enormous time pressure under which the production was. For example, one of the film's key scenes begins on San Francisco's famous Golden Gate Bridge in brilliant sunshine. A few moments later, after a cut, it's suddenly inky black night - a rather abrupt change that probably wouldn't be entirely logical even in the world of mutants.
The fact that John Ottman, who scored the first two films, has been replaced by composer John Powell also stands out rather negatively. Powell's score is much more intrusive and ordinary than Ottman's work. The fact that the special effects were produced by several different companies is also very apparent in places. But to reassure, it should be said that most viewers don't really notice, say, the score at all, and a few disappointing green screen effects are forgivable even for many fans. And for all the justified criticism, there's no denying that some of the effects scenes are truly breathtaking and manage to give the film a thoroughly acceptable entertainment value. So the "X-Men" in their third adventure are admittedly only good mediocrity and the reference to a possible fourth part (be sure to stay seated until after the credits!) doesn't necessarily give hope for improvement. But fans of the first two films will still find enough good points in the "last resistance" to justify a visit to the cinema!
picture: Content-wise, the film may have some major flaws, but technically, the film is absolutely worth watching. Vivid colors, a good to very good level of sharpness and decent contrasts make the DVD's picture a real treat. A few minor flaws in the sharpness of detail are not really detrimental negative aspects in the overall very clean picture! Very good!
Sound: Here it crashes and rattles violently! Bass and spaciousness can be heard in the very dynamic sound in almost flawless perfection. Without question the very great strength of the film! Very good!
Extras: Here, too, the Special Edition double DVD proves to be a prime example of a successful DVD conversion. On the first DVD the viewer has the choice between two different menu pages, which also offer different bonus material. If one decides for the "Bruderschaft", then one gets as extras an audio commentary of the producer team Avi Arad, Ralph Winter and Lauren Shuler Donner, as well as twelve cut and alternative scenes - optionally with audio commentary - offered. If, on the other hand, one chooses the "resistance", the film can be viewed with a commentary by director Brett Ratner and writers Zak Penn and Simon Kinberg. In addition, there are 14 more cut or alternate scenes here. However, it is also possible to switch from "Brotherhood" to "Resistance" (u.U.) within the menus. Another little tip: in the menu of the cut scenes there is a little Easter Egg in both cases!
The first DVD otherwise still offers a short preview of the first feature film of the "Simpsons". One scene is presented here in storyboard form. The rest of the extras, which again deal with the X-Men, are housed on the second disc. Here we go with three documentaries worth watching. "Brett Ratner's video diary" (approx. 47 min.) observes the director and his team on the shoot, covering all the interesting aspects from location scouting to set construction to filming in a fairly entertaining and commercial-free manner. Watching Rattner attempt to drive Xavier's wheelchair or act as a Wolverine lookalike is pretty fun! A very watchable, totally commercial-free extra.
Continue with "X-Men: Evolution of a Trilogy". In this 43-minute documentary, the cast and producers of the films go into detail about the various characters in the comics and movies, the differences, developments and meanings. If you haven't seen an X-Men documentary on the DVDs of the first two films yet, this is a pretty comprehensive look at the most popular mutants in movie history. Everyone else doesn't really get much new information. "X3: The Fascination Continues" (approx. 20 min.) then deals exclusively with the making of the third part again and is more of a standard making of, with lots of interviews, film clips, behind the scenes footage and plenty of pats on the back.
In addition to these documentaries, there are also two featurettes. The first is an interactive featurette where viewers can access text info and short clips about each of the X-Men. The second, in just under 12 minutes, details the making of the Golden Gate scene in its various stages of development. But that's not all. 25 minutes of Previz Animatics (computer animated storyboards), seven short vignettes about weapons, effects, connections of the three parts and other topics (altogether approx. 26 minutes), as well as four blogs (approx. 14 minutes), in which among other things also the guest appearance of X-Men creator Stan Lee is dealt with, round off together with three trailers the video bonus material. In addition, there are galleries with character photos, storyboards, models and designs. All in all, a more than bulging, very entertaining bonus package.
Conclusion: Those who were looking forward to the depth of content and character of the first two X-Men films will certainly be disappointed with the third mutant adventure. However, those who place less value on plot and are looking for action will be well served here. The DVD conversion is exemplary, especially with the double DVD: technically almost perfect, the two discs offer many interesting extras that can definitely make up for the weaknesses of the film. Absolutely recommendable!
Original title: X-Men: The Last Stand
Director: Brett Ratner
Number of discs: 2
Languages: German (Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: German, English, Turkish
Image Format: 16:9 (2.40:1)
Extras: audio commentaries, cut scenes, alternate endings, documentaries, featurettes, trailers, image galleries, blogs, Easter Eggs
FSK: age 12+
length: approx. 99 min.
Regional code: 2
