|  By JAMES HARLEMAN
The
Greatest Sacrifice Will Be Made
When
a “cure” for the
mutant gene is announced by a corporation working with the government,
the militant Magneto rallies his mutant brotherhood for a decisive
strike against homo-sapien humanity. Charles Xavier and his school
of X-Men prepare to respond in kind… but the return of a
former teammate, thought to be dead, upsets everyone’s plans,
as the nearly limitless Jean Grey may pose the greatest threat
to mutants and humans alike. A heavy toll will be exacted, lives
will be lost, and the greatest sacrifice will be made as the X-Men
take The Last Stand.
The
shit hits the Fan
“Juggernaut shouldn’t have been affected by the boy at
all! His powers are mystically derived!” I nearly collapsed
from laughter and tumbled down the escalator as this nasally fan
whined in front of me. The inevitable geek-bleat had begun. Large
bellies had begun to ache. Okay, never mind the fact that I also
know that—technically—Cain Marco got his powers from
the gem of Cyttorak, or that technically he’s Xavier’s
step-brother. Never mind the fact that Jean’s Phoenix force
was not a split personality, but an alien entity she got while cavorting
through space. This is not the mixed-bag soap opera that is the endless
array of X-Men comic books, this is the end of the X-Men film trilogy,
and a nice end-cap to a thoroughly enjoyable series. As William Shatner
once said to the Trekkies… get a life. This is a fantastic
summer movie and a sensational conclusion to an exciting film series.
It’s certainly the most emotional of the films… but
to be fair, this quality hinges on relationships set in motion by
the previous installments, particularly the second film by director
Bryan Singer.
I’ve already seen X-fans griping about who dies in the film,
even though these characters and more have died—more than
once, and returned (more than once)—in the comic books. I’ve
heard critics complain that one of the heaviest plot points is
overturned by the ending… and yet that’s what comics
have done for decades. I’ve heard complaints about lack of
character development (because the first two had SO much apparently—remember
Toad and Sabretooth?) and, worst of all, complaints from lovers
of the first two films that they “got characters and their
powers wrong.” Reality check, you rabid X-philes: Spider-man
did not have organic web-shooters, Bruce Wayne was not trained
by R’as Al Ghul before he was Batman, and (closer to X-home)
Cyclops was not younger than Jean, Mystique wore clothes and not
funky latex, Wolverine was not infused with adamantium at Alkali
Lake, and Nightcrawler never had all those tattoos. Fans, you can’t
pick and choose where you bitch about your precious comic canon.
Getting angry because you didn’t get alien races, planets
blowing up, and giant evil robots in the world director Bryan Singer
interpreted for the big screen five years ago is just… silly.
Director Brett Ratner finishes the down-to-earth version of the
X-Men Singer started, and does so with grace and alacrity.
Ratner-fied Success
When Brett Ratner signed on for the third X-stallment, everyone
was worried. Franchises don’t do well when studios swap
directors. (Remember Joel Schumacher’s Batman films, anyone?
Neither do I.) Trilogies rarely hold together at all, especially
if they have Keanu Reeves. And Ratner… would Chris Tucker
or Jackie Chan be making an appearance? “X-Men: The Rush
Hour”; yes, I was worried. What’s amazing is how
Ratner shot this film with the first two features firmly in mind
stylistically. It blends well with Singer’s vision, and
there are amazing nuances in story and visual direction that
make the movie truly feel that it’s bringing the entire
saga full circle. While some pre-judgers seem to be calling for
Ratner’s head on a plate, I think he deserves a medal.
In fact, it brings to mind the original (read: only) Star Wars
trilogy. The first Star Wars film introduced us to a fantastic
world, the second focused more on character and added flesh to
cardboard cutouts, but left us with no climax; when the third
one came along, it finished things off with big explosions and
bombast. This is the formula of the X-franchise as well, and
it didn’t disappoint this comic-book reader. Also, see
it soon, as some of the narrative choices in this film truly
shocked me. Avoid spoilers.
Mutants: color, creed, or preference?
It’s no secret that mutants were a garish, comic book device
for dealing with racism. Creator Stan Lee even said as much. Not
only that, but Xavier and Erik “Magneto” Lensherr contrast
fairly well with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcom X. Charles
Xavier founded his school and seeks to promote peace through predominantly
non-violent methods; Magneto will secure mutant rights by any means
necessary. Anti-Semitism also plays a large part of the film, as
this discrimination has fueled Magneto’s cynicism toward
humanity (what he fails to fully digest is that he now views he
and mutantkind as a master race, just like the Nazis). More recently
the mutant metaphor has been expanded to include sexual preference
issues, but it could also be applied to simply holding religious
beliefs that are culturally unacceptable and being persecuted for
one’s faith.
In
this film, there is an opportunity to receive a cure for the
mutant gene. Ororo (Storm) protests that “There’s nothing
to cure, nothing’s wrong with any of us for that matter!” But
is this accurate? Are some mutations detrimental to others, or
even the person who has them? In the course of the film, two respectable
characters are confronted with the opportunity of the cure; one
will take it, but the other rejects it. What seems prevalent here
as the film’s theme is the ability to choose. What does this
say for the metaphors above? Changing skin pigmentation really
isn’t an option, but from an ethnic standpoint, it may be
giving up the cultural distinctives to fit in. When it comes to
sexual preference, however, an interesting dilemma emerges. There
are people who claim that through various means (often spiritual
and particulary Christian), they have rejected being attracted
to the same sex and enjoy heterosexual relationships. They are “cured.” This
is most often mocked and dismissed by mainstream culture… but
isn’t that the same intolerance the homosexual community
often charges religious groups with? What happened to that person’s “right
to choose”? It seems that steering with a cultural compass
only leads to more hypocrisy and intolerance.
Tough Choices
At the film’s opening, we find that when Xavier and Lensherr
(Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, lending these films a gravity
that simply would not exist otherwise) met a young Jean Grey and
realized her power was off the charts. Some difficult decisions
were made in regard to the girl’s mind, and Xavier reveals
those when Jean “returns from death.” Characters are
offered a chance to be cured of their mutagen. Jean must decide
what to do with her powers, and just whose side she is on, and
Logan must face the possibility that he needs to make the greatest
sacrifice of all. I didn’t feel as though any true savior
shone through in this film. It was very much the muddled, miry
world of hypocrisy and confusion that we wrestle with every day.
As a wise man once said in the book of Judges, “everyone
did what was right in their own eyes.” If you read the book
of Judges, you’ll see that most often that leads to pain,
suffering, violence, and death. Some people had good intentions,
others bad, but things rarely ended well. The same can be said
for this film, and pretty much the course of our daily lives.
Charles
Xavier exhibits a high morality and a view of life that recognizes
dignity and equality for all. However, even he reveals some choices
he’s made that even the loose
cannon Wolverine finds questionable. Erik refuses to seek peace
and assumes that the only choice is domination, yet we see in
an amazing scene that he has incredible respect for Charles.
Most of the characters yearn for peace and community and strive
for that goal, but it always seems out of reach. There is a hopelessness
that pervades X-Men: The Last Stand and the only thing that brings
any peace is a final, desperate act of true love and sacrifice.
By the end of the film, several heroes lie in the ground, with
no guarantee that the war is truly over.
The War
“Since the dawn of existence, there have always been moments
when the course of history shifted. Such a turning point is upon
us now.” This was the narration spoken by Patrick Stewart in
the trailer for this film, evoking something far deeper than the
content of the film itself. The storyteller and listener in all of
us yearns for this monumental scale of tale. Deep down, we know that
there are core, pivotal events upon which all of human history swings,
and that the narrative of existence we share as mankind has a beginning,
an end, and a fulcrum upon which the story swings and the true hero
is revealed… a hero who will bring true justice and true peace
once and for all.
Jean’s struggle is also particularly resonant in the film
as she struggles with dual identities. I think we often feel this
way, as our conscience pricks us and yet we act wickedly. Long
ago the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans that “I
do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do,
but what I hate I do. For I have the desire to do what is good,
but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want
to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” This
Jekyll and Hyde concept, this war within, is not unique to Jean’s
character or Paul. We know this war burns inside us, and—honestly—that
we are not capable of containing it ourselves; we need help, and
not the kind that just reads minds, fires eyebeams or sprouts knuckle-claws.
We need help from above.
X-Men: The Last Stand will solve your desire for a great weekend
flick. To cure the raging “phoenix” inside you? That
requires something more. |
