The Last Stand

X-Men the last stand opened in local theaters today, 2 days before the US release! And as I've said before, I really had to see it on the first day. It had such a great sense of urgency. hehe. We got seats on the last screening though (11PM!) because a lot of over eager moviegoers already hoarded seats for the earlier screenings. I know, look who's talking. hehe. I guess I'm just bitter they beat me to the earlier screenings. LOL.

With the great deal of anticipation that I had for this movie, I was ready to praise this movie to high heavens even before I've actually seen it. I guess what happened was the classic case of having too much expectations...

First of all, I still loved the movie. It's a great addition to the franchise. I still recommend it. It's just that... X2 seemed to be better. The third x-men movie seemed to be at par with the first. The story seemed to be of epic proportions: a cure for mutancy, which can greatly alter the course of history (at least in the x-men universe). It was one of the greatest stories in the x-men comics, and it's a shame that they had to fit it in less than two hours. That storyline deserved more screen time! Add the phoenix saga, which is an epic story in itself--- it seemed like a sin to devote very little screen time for both stories.

That's one of the few things I didn't like about the film. Why did they have to make The Last Stand the last X-men movie, when there's clearly a huge existing fan base? They could have filmed the phoenix saga first, then the mutant cure for a fourth movie. As a result, with everything crammed in less than two hours, there's not much room for character development. And the story seemed rushed. You'd expect more time showing what the mutants felt when given a chance for a "cure". That's why I expect that this movie will receive a lot of bad reviews from critics--- they're looking for character development and all that fluff after all. That's one of the things that separated the X-men movies from other superhero movies, which were mostly all effects and no heart. We had Bryan Singer to thank for that.

and this might be nitpicking... but with the way the story progressed, I seemed to be rooting more for magneto's brood during the final confrontation instead of the x-men. I understood their cause. Shouldn't I be rooting for the x-men, since they're supposed to be the heroes in this movie? or was it just me?

Still, there are really good moments that make you stare in awe. Like when ______ died (I don't want to be a spoiler, since I hate reading spoilers myself. hehe). Even better when _______ died! like---WOW! let me say it again----WOWOWOW!!! what an incredibly intense sequence! (but wait, he didn't really die. Wait until after the credits and you'll see what I mean. There's another short scene!). And that final scene wherein they made the phoenix angry! woo-hoo! wished she destroyed a whole lot more though... maybe the whole San Francisco area. hehe.

But with so many characters dying, it seemed that they really closed the book on the x-men franchise---- maybe. If this movie makes a lot of money, I think they will make another one. Maybe X-men: the new breed or something. It's just that with they way they did the third x-men movie, it would seem difficult for them to create some sort of continuity between this movie and a possible fourth. It's a shame, really. There's so much more stories in the X-men universe to explore.

The x-men franchise will forever be etched in film history, because there always seemed to be a deeper story underneath. There's always symbolisms, and these are still present in The Last Stand. Above all, beneath all those bells and whistles, beneath all those effects, there lies social relevance, in the guise of a summer popcorn movie. You can replace the mutants with any group in the minority, those who have experienced discrimination and persecution--- be it religious sects (being a moslem in a catholic nation), homosexuals, those branded as nerds or geeks in school, those who are disabled, those with diseases such as aids, etc. Many people can relate to these movies, and the impact has been tremendous. This just shows that you don't need to wrap messages such as this in an oscar nominated snorefest, they can be showcased in a film that ordinary folks find interesting.

By the way, Famke Janssen (Jean Grey) looks so hot in this movie! She looked old in the first two movies, and the guy playing cyclops looked really young, which made her look even older. and I didn't find her hot at all. But in X3--- WOW! maybe it's the long red hair... or maybe because she's evil this time. We all know that evil, bitchy girls seem more attractive at times. ;) hey, i thought she was hot as a crazy lunatic wife in "The House on Haunted Hill". (which, by the way, would have been a good horror movie if not for the extremely horrible climax near the ending)


Oh yeah, I've seen Over The Hedge yesterday. And I was right, it really is a very funny movie! Thry should put it in the Funny Hall of Fame, if there ever was one. hehe. Even with all the cute characters, I guarantee it's not just for kids. Hey, even Maxim Magazine highly recommends it... and they thought The Da Vinci Code sucked bigtime. Sometimes, I trust their reviewers more than critics, because their reviewers are common people like you and me, as opposed to artsy fartsy critics who think their level of judgment is way above everyone else's.

I'm getting really off topic here.... hehe.