There are a LOT of X-Men movies. In fact, our very own Alexandra Ramos ranked all of the live-action movies that have been released thus far.
And guess what! Toward the bottom of that list was X-Men: The Last Stand, which honestly, didn't surprise me. I remember when the movie first came out back in 2006, and man, was it reviled. I’m talking The Phantom Menace, reviled. After all these years, time has not been kind to it, as it’s probably even more hated now than it was back then.
But, do you know what? I kind of love this movie. Now, keep in mind, I also love Batman & Robin, but I love that movie because it’s so bad. However, I actually don’t think X-Men: The Last Stand is bad at all. In fact, I think it’s pretty good. Here’s why!
This Is Not Saying Much, But I Think This Movie Handled The Dark Phoenix Story Better Than Any Other Live Action X-Men Movie
Did you ever watch 2019’s Dark Phoenix (which we didn’t give a favorable review to)? Now that’s a mediocre movie. The plotting was weak (especially toward the end), the acting felt lifeless, and the whole time, you just had this feeling that there was a better story in there somewhere.
Most would disagree with me, but I actually think that the better Phoenix story is in X-Men: The Last Stand, which was also, strangely enough, written by the same screenwriter, Simon Kinberg (as well as Zak Penn, who didn’t work on Dark Phoenix).
My reasoning for this is because the Dark Phoenix story found in X-Men: The Last Stand feels more like an X-Men movie, while Dark Phoenix feels more like a Jean Grey movie, featuring the X-Men. I’ll explain. You see, The Last Stand actually pulls from two X-Men stories, “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” and “Gifted.”
It’s really the melding of these two stories that makes me appreciate the Dark Phoenix aspect of The Last Stand, as both narrative threads come to a head toward the end, making a great climax that brings it all together.
Meanwhile, Dark Phoenix, which is much closer to the original story, focused a bit too much on the Phoenix aspect, which ultimately somehow makes it the weaker of the two. Plus, well, Dark Phoenix doesn’t have Wolverine in it, which I’ll get into next.
I Like How Wolverine Takes On More Of A Leadership Role In This One
Before we got the abysmal, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the decent The Wolverine, and then the utterly fantastic Logan (which always deserves a rewatch), we had The Last Stand. Now, while the first two Bryan Singer X-Men movies were definitely a showcase for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, the third movie, directed by Brett Ratner, is pretty much the Wolverine movie, through and through.
What I mean by that is, while the whole film features all of the major X-Men, Wolverine truly feels like the protagonist this time around. Especially when it comes to his relationship with Jean Grey. I mean, the leader of the X-Men, Cyclops, literally dies in this film (Death by kiss!), and afterward, Wolverine picks up the slack as the next leader in line.
If you don’t believe me, then who’s the one who ultimately ends Jean’s life before the true power of the Phoenix can be unleashed? Yep, it’s Wolverine. And I like this, because like a vast majority of people, Wolverine is my favorite X-Man, and to see him taking up the reins as the next-leader-in-line really makes this movie all the more badass for me.
The Action Sequences Are Some Of My Favorites In The Franchise
Look, nothing, and I mean nothing, will be better than the Nightcrawler White House scene from X2: X-Men United (Except, perhaps, the Quicksilver action scenes in the later X-Men movies).
But, what about that awesome display of Magneto’s power when he severs the Golden Gate Bridge in X-Men: The Last Stand? Or what about when Juggernaut (more on him soon) is chasing Kitty Pryde through walls? Or what about that tense moment when Magneto senses Wolverine’s adamantium and tosses him around like a puppet?
I mean, come on now. Say what you will about this movie, but the action scenes are legit!
I Love The Juggernaut Moments In This Film
Now, here’s what’s funny. I’m well aware that the Juggernaut, played by Vinnie Jones (who himself calls the role “disappointing"), really doesn’t even need to be in this movie at all. I mean, his role is so miniscule, that it’s easy to forget that he’s even here.
But, for every second that he is in the movie, I love it. Sure, the costume looks pretty bad in comparison to what he’s supposed to look like in the comics, and we genuinely don’t get much of the character other than him running through walls, but as I mentioned earlier, that is one of my favorite scenes in the entire movie, and one that I think about quite often.
Not only that, but if you can actually remember as far back as 2006, the catchphrase, “I’m the Juggernaut, bitch!” is one of the earliest examples that I can think of when a movie actually referenced an internet meme.
For those who don’t remember, back in the EARLY YouTube days, there was a video that took scenes from the X-Men cartoon from the ‘90s and dubbed over them with profanity-laden dialogue. And in that video was the famous line (as well as many other famous lines that I can’t mention here), that’s featured in this movie. Hearing Vinnie Jones say it back then blew my mind, and I still love it (and his character), even today.
I Even Love That Cliffhanger Post-Credit Scene That Went Nowhere
Okay, so this one really pisses me off, but since everybody apparently hates this movie, the later X-Men films, like X-Men: Days of Future’s Past, pretty much erased the events of The Last Stand out of existence, which really sucks, since The Last Stand probably has my favorite post-credits scene EVER.
In the movie, Professor X “dies,” which is a pivotal moment. But, in the post-credit scene, we see Dr. Moira MacTaggert visiting a comatose patient, only to hear Patrick Stewart’s voice saying, “Hello, Moira,” and then, cut to black.
I’ll tell you, when I saw that scene in theaters, I got GOOSEBUMPS. The idea that Professor X transferred his consciousness to another body is one of the coolest ideas ever (if not just directly stolen from Scanners), and the fact that we got literally no follow up to it at all still boils my blood. Seriously, this movie wasn’t SO BAD that Fox had to completely erase its legacy. That’s messed up!
But, I digress. The cliffhanger is really cool, and it just adds to why I love this movie so much. It’s a really cool twist!
That said, what do you think? Do you also love X-Men: The Last Stand like I do? For more news on all things X-Men-related, be sure to swing around here often!
