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But where the movie really wants to shock the audience is by "killing" Professor X and "removing" Magneto's powers. As I said earlier, Cyclops' death is a bit surprising, but the emotional impact is botched because of the pacing and execution (also, if you know the behind-the-scenes machinations, then you know he's being killed off not because it's best for the narrative, but because it's best for Marsden going off to shoot Superman Returns). Where The Last Stand goes from frustrating to infuriating is where it becomes smug about how daring it thinks it is. The movie doesn't take any chances, so it's not unsurprising that it retreads familiar ground. The Last Stand doesn't have a lot of action beyond a fight inside a house, Wolverine fighting no-name mutants in a forest, and the climactic battle at Alcatraz, which is really just a bigger version of the climax of X-Men: mutants vs. Even the plot and set pieces are similar to the first movie. The flash and style present in X2 was erased, and The Last Stand is more in line with the featureless X-Men. But X2 raised expectations, and in The Last Stand's attempt to pursue two potentially great plotlines, it reduces the impact of both.įox hired Ratner to get a competently made blockbuster, and that's all they got. If X2 didn't exist and this was the direct sequel to 2000's X-Men, it would be on par. Even with these issues, X-Men: The Last Stand isn't a disaster.
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Fox was going to move forward with or without him, and it was a bumpy road just to put someone in the director's chair let alone find a way to get the right script. When Singer decided to direct Superman Returns instead, he left a sequel in limbo. However, he hinted at a clear path forward, or at least enough of a hint that it allowed fans to imagine what could have been. Even if Bryan Singer had returned to direct the third X-Men movie, X2 would have been a tough act to follow.