What follows is a straight out battle between the two factions of mutants. After the first two films this appears to be a more straightforward actioner, the original director Bryan Singer wanted to direct ‘Superman Returns’ and has been replaced by Brett Ratner. The approach now adopted here seems to be more emphasis on action and is far less cerebral. There are no real themes explored, it’s as simple as this: the good guys want to stop the bad guys. There is no character development although new characters such as Beast (played by Kelsey Grammer), Kitty Pride, Colossus, Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones) and Multiple Man are introduced. But the action is so fast that any chance for anyone else to establish themselves in the series is lost in the mayhem.
The special effects and the sight of seeing so many mutants battle it out is entertaining but gone are the subtlety and atmosphere of the previous entries. Its as if the studio has had a meeting and said ‘You know what? Lets just let them loose on each other and see what happens.’ This is great news for kids who will love the action but for adult fans of the first two films this one is surprisingly lacking in soul. ‘X – Men: The Last Stand’ has succumbed to the lowest common denominator, entertainment for entertainments sake. No new ideas or themes to explore, just the shock of important characters being killed or changed back to normal and lots of gee whiz bang set pieces. There are genuine consequences here and I advise you to stay to the end of the credits for the ‘twist’ ending (about the only subtle thing in the whole film). It is enjoyable and perhaps I’m asking too much for a film about mutants with special powers to be deep, but after the first two films set the bar this one seems to just fall short of that standard whilst providing decent but not ground-breaking entertainment.