X-Men 3: The Last Stand (2006) |
|
X-Men 3: The Last Stand (2006) |
|
|
| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Action |
Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-Documentaries-Brett Ratner's Prod Diary, Evol. Of A Trilogy Featurette-Documentaries-The Excitement Continues Featurette-X-Men Close Up Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Anatomy Of A Scene:Golden Gate Bridge Gallery-Previs Animatic Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Vignettes Featurette-Blogs-Prod.Teaser,Live From The Danger Room,Editing Magic Gallery- Character Stills Storyboards-Concept Art and Models Theatrical Trailer-A and B and Extended Versions Deleted Scenes-Features Web Links |
|
| Rating |
|
||
| Year Of Production | 2006 | ||
| Running Time | 99:50 (Case: 104) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper |
RSDL (61:42) Dual Disc Set |
Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Ads Then Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Brett Ratner |
|
Studio
Distributor |
 Twentieth Century Fox |
Starring |
Hugh Jackman Halle Berry Ian McKellen Famke Janssen Anna Paquin Kelsey Grammer |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | $32.95 | Music | John Powell |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (768Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) |
|
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.40:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
 |
||
| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles |
English for the Hearing Impaired English Audio Commentary |
Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | Yes | ||
| Action In or After Credits | Yes | ||
X-Men: The Last Stand is reputedly the last in the series. It is first and foremost an exciting action movie, but sadly, a good action spectacle often comes at a cost. The character development and genuine emotion of the previous two films has been replaced with explosions, and more explosions. Similar to the original Star Wars Trilogy, the X-Men Trilogy peaked with the second instalment, only to be followed by an entertaining but ultimately flawed finale. But on the other hand, unlike many blockbusters of 2006, this movie actually pretty much delivers what's promised in its trailer.
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the X-Men made their debut for Marvel Comics in 1963. The X-Men are a group of mutants who have gained individual superhuman powers - usually at puberty. Some scientists view the development of the x-factor-gene that caused this, and the resulting mutants, as a giant leap forward in human evolution. But on the other hand, many humans, and their Governments, develop a deep suspicion and even resentment toward this unusually powerful minority.
Naturally, some mutants use their powers, such as the ability to walk through walls, for evil or criminal purposes. But others, such as Professor Charles Xavier, founder of a school for gifted mutants, believe that mutant powers can be used for the good of all people - human and mutant. Professor Charles Xavier is also the founder of the X-Men Alliance, which is a band of superheroes acting for good. They continually battle Magneto's Brotherhood, a group of Mutants who see themselves as superior to humans, yet victimized by them.
A very successful comic series for Marvel from the very beginning, the X-Men have also appeared as an animated series on television, and after a number of false starts finally made it to the big screen in 2000. The commercially and critically successful film adaptation was followed by successful sequels in 2003 and 2006.
Bryan Singer, who directed the first two films, was originally announced as the director of X-Men: The Last Stand, but he later declined the opportunity to rather take on Superman Returns. After a few other people were approached by the producers, finally Brett Ratner took over as director just two weeks before the cameras were due to start rolling.
While some fans were disappointed, and even surprised, with Ratner's appointment, he has answered that criticism at the box office as X-Men: The Last Stand has become the most successful movie of the franchise, raking in over US$450 million.
Sadly, however, in X-Men: The Last Stand, Ratner has replaced a lot of the character development and genuine emotion of the previous two films with explosions and more mutants. It’s a shame as the movie's premise is great: A "cure" for the mutant gene has been developed - a drug that will instantly "suppress the mutant gene" permanently. This potentially offers mutants everywhere the chance to become "normal" again. A Californian drug company, led by Warren Worthington Jr. (Michael Murphy), and endorsed by the US Government, have developed this "cure" using the DNA of a mutant child whose mutant power is to rob other mutants of theirs. This "cure" naturally leads to a split within the mutant community, with many mutants offended and even threatened by the development. Indeed, the scenes outside the "cure centers" resemble the current protests outside abortion clinics in the US.
Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) is sceptical, but open to the idea of an "optional cure", especially as the US Government has become more inclusive and understanding of mutants since X2, even appointing a mutant, Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast (Kelsey Grammer) as the Secretary of the Department of Mutant Affairs. As Dr McCoy observes, many mutants would welcome being "normal", and fitting in with mainstream society. For example, Rogue (Anna Paquin) sees the "cure" as an opportunity to shed powers that have become an unwelcome burden.
However, Xavier's long-time nemesis, Magneto (Ian McKellen), sees the cure as a weapon to exterminate mutants, in that it destroys what makes them special. Magneto sets out to stop this latest government initiative with his usual lack of subtlety.
The X-Men movies have always dabbled in social issues. The mutants represent the next stage of human evolution ("homo sapiens superior"), a point that raises all sorts of uncomfortable issues, such as genetic manipulation and racial superiority.
Furthermore, the openly gay Singer seemed to accentuate the homoerotic elements of the X-Men story. Indeed, one could often replace the term “mutant” with “gay”. Or perhaps that undertone was always there? After all, the mutant teenagers discover that they are "mutants" during puberty, as their sexuality develops. They then face alienation, and often run away from home to be with others like them. The allegory was no more obvious than in X2, when a desperate mother asks her son: "Have you ever tried … not being a mutant?"
That said, I think it's fair to say that the X-Men's legacy was its embrace of all forms of alienation.
However, in the third film instalment, these weighty issues are largely rushed through in favour of the bigger stunt and SFX set-pieces, which culminates in a climactic battle between the X-Men Alliance and the Brotherhood of Mutants. Ratner has built a reputation in Hollywood on stunt-filled, over-the-top action sequences, such as in the Rush Hour movies, and he does not disappoint.
Apart from the "cure" issue, the film's other storyline is a loose re-telling of the seminal "Dark Phoenix" saga, in which Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) returns from the bottom of Alkalai Lake as a quick-tempered super-powerful mutant with a problem controlling her awesome powers. The now evil Jean/Phoenix joins up with Magneto's Brotherhood as they march on the source of the "mutant cure" - a boy (Cameron Bright), heavily guarded by the US Government in Alcatraz, San Francisco.
Sadly, Ratner ignores the opportunity to explore Jean's resurrection and corruption, rather focusing entirely on setting up the mutants for the climatic battle.
In this final instalment, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Storm (Halle Berry) again take centre stage, but writers Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn also introduce a few new and interesting mutant characters, including the aforementioned Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast, Warren Worthington III/Angel (Ben Foster), and Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones). But sadly, only Dr. McCoy gets any reasonable screen time or attempt at character development. To make way for all the new faces, and lengthy action set pieces, some familiar characters, including Cyclops (James Marsden), Rogue (Anna Paquin), Mystique (Rebecca Romijn), and even Xavier are absent for much of the film.
Indeed, there's a lot going on in this film, and considering the relatively short running time perhaps the attempt at telling the "Dark Phoenix" saga should have been dropped and left for a film of its own. The movie often has a cramped, rushed feeling. The convoluted stories and relationships are not given time to breathe, as a relentless momentum propels everything forward. There is often a disorganized feel to the narrative, which forgets and then remembers subplots at random; and the script is built on a story with no compunction about removing veteran characters, while introducing an array of new ones.
Visual effects supervisor John Bruno and stunt coordinators Wade Eastwood and Mike Mitchell provide us some of the most exciting scenes of any of the X-Men films; while Dante Spinotti's fluid cinematography gives the film a very polished appearance. Indeed, there are some great action sequences and impressive special effects here, such as a lengthy flashback where new CGI technology has made Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen appear 20 years younger. And of course there is also the eye-popping CGI and green-screen-heavy set-piece with the Golden Gate Bridge.
Although X-Men: The Last Stand has a few emotional moments that build on the first two story lines, ultimately the film lacks any real emotional resonance. For example, several major characters die, yet there seems to be no great impact on the other characters, let alone the audience.
The transfer is close to perfect, and looked awesome on both my widescreen television and when I viewed it with a DLP (projector).
The PAL transfer is presented its original widescreen aspect ratio of 2.40:1. It is 16x9 Enhanced.
The sharpness of the picture is excellent. For example, consider the school grounds at 11:50 and 48:38. The black level is perfect, with true deep blacks. The shadow detail is also excellent - for example, consider the scene in the dimly lit exterior of the church at night at 17:09 or the dark forest at 66:09
The colour is magnificent, with a rich palette of perfectly-saturated colours to suit the film's moods, and accurate flesh tones.
While there is some film grain noticeable at times, there are no problems with MPEG or film artefacts.
However, sadly film-to-video artefacts appear in the form of a slight shimmer at times, such as the aliasing on the car grille at 0:51 and on the building at 29:59. This aliasing is really the only fault to complain about. At times there did appear to be some edge enhancement, but there is extensive use of green screen shooting throughout, so it could be due to this.
English for the Hearing Impaired and English Audio Commentary subtitles are present. They are both accurate.
This is a dual-layer disc, with the layer change placed at 61:42. The feature is divided into 24 chapters.
| Sharpness |  |
| Shadow Detail | |
| Colour | |
| Grain/Pixelization |  |
| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
| Film Artefacts | |
| Overall | |
As with the other two X-Men films, the movie boasts a wonderful sound design and the DVD's audio is excellent.
Originally released theatrically in Dolby Digital, dts, and SDDS surround audio, there are three audio options on this DVD: English Dolby Digital 5.1 EX (448Kb/s), English dts 5.1 ES (768Kb/s), and English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s).
While the dts track has been encoded at the inferior 768Kb/s, happily the Dolby Digital 5.1 track is EX encoded, and has been encoded at the superior 448Kb/s (as opposed to 384Kb/s). Indeed this is an excellent Dolby Digital 5.1 EX track. While many films benefit from the addition of a dts track, this is not one of them. Both audio options are excellent in their clarity, range, and depth. Apart from volume, I could not pick a difference between the two tracks.
The dialogue quality and audio sync are excellent throughout.
The musical score is credited to John Powell, and the film features a traditional orchestral music score which underpins the action very well.
The surround presence and activity is wonderful, but not quite the bombardment we were treated to with the original X-Men. The rear speakers are used effectively to help carry the score and provide a lot of ambience. There are a number of rear directional effects, which includes panning between speakers during the battle sequences. There are also some nice touches of more subtle ambience, such as the crowds in the city at 29:45 and 58:44.
The subwoofer is also utilised very effectively throughout, and the LFE track is used well from the rumble of jet engines to the many explosions throughout.
| Dialogue | |
| Audio Sync | |
| Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
| Surround Channel Use | |
| Subwoofer | |
| Overall | |
There are plenty of extras spread across two discs.
The menus are animated with audio. There are two themed menus, so you can choose between the Alliance or Brotherhood.
Disc One
Trailers
Following the forced, overly loud, and very annoying anti-piracy commercial, there are forced trailers (that can be skipped) for:
Audio Commentary
Producers Avi Arad, Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter provide a joint screen-specific commentary in which they discuss everything from the film's locations, SFX, actors, and crew through to the production design and costumes. Their commentary understandably focuses more on the technical aspects of the production rather than the story.
Easter Egg
A chatty and screen specific joint audio commentary with director Brett Ratner and writers Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn.
Deleted Scenes (9:24)
13 deleted and alternate scenes including an alternative ending. These can be viewed with an optional Director and Writers' commentary.
Web Link
A link to www.foxmovies.com.au.
Disc Two
All of these featurettes are presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced with Dolby Digital Stereo unless noted otherwise.
Documentaries
Featurettes
Previz Animatics (24:41)
13 scenes are presented as computer-based animated storyboards with dialogue.
Vignettes (25:58)
Seven short featurettes focusing on specific areas of the film and its production:
Blogs (14:15)
Galleries
Character photographic stills and conceptual art, storyboards, and models.
Theatrical Trailers
Three X-Men: The Last Stand trailers, all presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, non-16x9 enhanced with Dolby Stereo audio.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
X-Men: The Last Stand has not yet been released in either R1 and R4, so based on current specs:
The Region 4 DVD misses out on:
The Region 1 DVD misses out on:
I'm assuming a bonus disc of extras will be announced for R1, and I will update this section then.
An exciting blend of eye-popping special effects and stunt-filled action sequences, but don't expect much depth or subtlety.
The video quality is excellent.
The audio quality is also excellent.
The extras are plentiful, and genuine.
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Extras | |
| Plot | |
| Overall | |
| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Pioneer DV-535, using S-Video output |
| Display | Grundig Elegance 82-2101 (82cm, 16x9). Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Sony STR DE-545 |
| Speakers | Sony SS-V315 x5; Sony SA-WMS315 subwoofer |