X-Men 3: Last Stand (2006) -

"...terrifically entertaining.  Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
"Great action...The greatest X-Men movie yet...  Maxim
"...packs more action and razzle-dazzle visuals into its 104-minute running time than "Mission: Impossible III," "Poseidon" and "The Da Vinci Code" combined.  William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Editor's Note As the third installment of the X-Men series opens, the world has entered a relatively peaceful period for mutants. There's a mutant-tolerant president of the United States, a blue furry mutant named Beast (Kelsey Grammer) heading up the Department of Mutant Affairs, and Magneto's shape-shifting femme fatale, Mystique, has been captured. The tranquility is shattered by two events. Worthington Laboratories, using a powerful mutant boy, develops a serum that eliminates the "mutant X gene" permanently. This so-called "cure" quickly divides the mutant community; Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his school are willing to give the government the benefit of the doubt, but Magneto (Ian McKellen) and his mutant Brotherhood see the serum as a vile threat to their way of life. They form an army of mutants and march on the fortified Worthington Laboratory located on Alcatraz Island. A much more dire threat appears in the form of the resurrected super-mutant Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), who has succumbed to her cataclysmic Id identity known as The Phoenix. To face these menaces Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Storm (Halle Berry) and the younger members of the X-Men must leap into action, but they must do so without the guidance of Professor Xavier--in a showdown with the powers of The Phoenix, his mind-control powers proved insufficient. To his credit, new X-Men director Brett Ratner emulates the style and tone struck by Bryan Singer (director of the two previous films) by combining outrageous special effects and hyperkinetic action sequences with earnest soul-searching and mutant "issues" that are clearly meant to parallel the political hot-button topics of tolerance, prejudice, power, and responsibility.

	Anna Paquin
	Famke Janssen
	Halle Berry
	Hugh Jackman
	Ian McKellen
	James Marsden
	Kelsey Grammer
	Patrick Stewart
	Avi Arad - Producer
	Brett Ratner - Director
	Dante Spinotti - Cinematographer
	John Powell - Original Music By
	Mark Goldblatt, et. al. - Editor
	Simon Kinberg - Writer
	Stan Lee - Executive Producer
	Zak Penn - Writer

Los Angeles Times
"Political strides notwithstanding, the anxious standoff between humans and mutants has reached a crisis point, and the slow-building momentum of the last two installments finally reaches escape velocity..." 05/26/2006 p.E1

USA Today
"[T]he third X-Men film retains the franchise's kick-butt action, and it has a few emotionally resonant scenes....Director Brett Ratner has a way of blending special effects and action with drama..." 05/26/2006 p.5E

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "X3 is fast, furious....With plenty of shocks in store for trilogy stalwarts, it's a gift of a screenplay..." 06/01/2006 p.43

Sight and Sound
"[The film has] undeniably spectacular moments....Kelsey Grammar is ideally cast as Beast..." 07/01/2006 p.84

Ultimate DVD
3 stars out of 5 -- "As the opposing leaders of the Mutant culture, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen bring their usual gravitas....It is entertaining, has an air of finality, and it boasts some spectacular visuals." 07/01/2006 p.96

Premiere
"LAST STAND is a brisk dilution of the original comic-book 'Dark Phoenix' story line with mostly top-notch acting." 11/01/2006 p.95

Entertainment Weekly
"[B]ursting with high-end stars....A worthy addition to any X-library." 10/06/2006 p.55

ReelViews 8 of 10
For X-Men viewers, this is probably as straightforward as it gets: if you liked the first two, you're likely to appreciate the third. X-Men: The Last Stand isn't as taut or satisfying as X-Men 2, but it's better constructed and better paced than the original X-Men. The differences in quality between the three are minor, however; and, despite the change in directors (Brett Ratner replacing Bryan Singer, who bolted to helm Superman Returns), there seems to be a single vision. X-Men: The Last Stand is the first blockbuster of the 2006 summer season that hasn't caused me to shake my head with disappointment. It delivers pretty much what's expected. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
One of the distractions in all the "X-Men" movies is that the X-Men are always getting involved in local incidents that have little to do with the big picture. They demonstrate their powers during disagreements and courtships, neighborhood emergencies, psychological problems or while showing off...All the same, I enjoyed "X-Men: The Last Stand." I liked the action, I liked the absurdity, I liked the incongruous use and misuse of mutant powers, and I especially liked the way it introduces all of those political issues and lets them fight it out with the special effects. Magneto would say this is a test of survival of the fittest. Xavier would hope they could learn to live together. - Roger Ebert