X-Men: The Last Stand on Fox Tonight



A couple of hours ago Fox showed an extended trailer for X-Men: The Last Stand. Later tonight it should be up here, I'm not sure why. Despite the widespread internet fanboy wisdom that that the movie will have to suck because Brett Ratner is directing it, all the trailers have looked good, and so did this one. I've long maintained that with a movie like X-Men: The Last Stand the only thing that really matters is the script. The actors know the characters already and the world has been established, so long as the script provides an interesting story and good character moments all the director has to do is handle the technical stuff. Practically any competent director would do.


"Oh, excuse me. Had the burritos at lunch."

The plot appears to be an amalgam of the mutant cure from Joss Whedon's first Astonishing X-Men storyline, the Dark Phoenix saga from the Claremont/Byrne era from Uncanny X-Men, and perhaps some of Grant Morrison's Planet X arc from New X-Men. Even in the short seven minute clip we saw tonight there were some good ideas. I really liked how the X-Man shown thinking about taking the cure was Rogue, as opposed to Beast from the comic book. Rogue's inability to touch anyone makes for a much more believable reason to want to be cured, and I'll take it as a good sign that the scriptwriters have improved on Joss Whedon's ideas. The dialogue featured was all pretty good, especially a speech Magneto gives to convert mutants over to his way of thinking. I'm a little less clear on how they'll incorporate Dark Phoenix into a 2-hour movie.


If you eat Boo Berry for enough years it's just the milk that changes color...

Kelsey Grammar is playing Beast, and he looks really good. He does look stiff and uncomfortable in the scene where we first meet him (included in the footage aired tonight), but it becomes obvious this is because he's wearing a business suit as a requirement for his job with government. Nice touch.

I like that Kitty Pryde will be a much more prominent character, probably as a romantic rival to Rogue. Quick, let's start a pool on what codename they'll give her for the movie! I call Shadowcat. I'm amused that it looks like Kitty gets to take on Juggernaut by herself, and wins.


"Do you know what happens to a Oscar Winner who makes Catwoman? The same thing that happens to anybody else."

The one weak link in the movie looks to be, again, for the third freakin' time, Hale Berry. I like Berry in other movies, but she really needs to stay away from comic book characters. I'm not even sure why the producers even kept her on. Do they really think that she brings that much box office with her, even after Catwoman (2004)?

Posted: Thu - May 11, 2006 at      

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