by Leona Ash

Created on: April 17, 2008

At long last, the war between the humans and the mutants will come to an end. Rounding up more mutants than before, X-Men: The Last Stand is the final instalment to this popular comic franchise, and possibly one of the best comic adaptations so far.

With a running time of only 104 minutes, it's not unusual for us to worry about a lack of storyline and character development, which is indeed the movie's biggest weakness. Director Brett Ratner, filling in the big shoes of Bryan Singer, compensates for the lack of depth with a salvo of action sequences.

Instead of a conspiracy-filled plot, Ratner opts for a simple and straightforward storyline and peppers it with continual action. The Last Stand continues where X2 left off, with Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) presumed dead at the beginning of the movie. But as we all know, she is resurrected as the Phoenix, with her previously unleashed powers unbridled now, thereby becoming a hazard to herself and those around her. Magneto (Ian McKellen) thinks of her as the perfect "weapon" against the government's plans to cure the mutants with a serum that can curb mutant instincts, for good. Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) , on the other hand, understands the danger that Jean will cause if not controlled, and tries to get her to control her powers. The pair's "fight" over her ends in a catastrophe, with some dire consequences. The two opposing factions settle on equally contrasting approaches on the supposed mutant cure, and a war between the two is inevitable, with a nail-biting climatic end.

One of the more dampening parts about the show is the lack of screen time for some of the characters. Even the more famous names from the previous movies have smaller parts, to make way for the introduction of new mutants, which include Callisto (Dania Ramirez), Beast (Kelsey Grammer) , Angel (Ben Foster), Juggernaut (Vinny Jones), Multiple Man (Eric Dane) and Arclight (Omahyra). While some of them receive some deserving screen time, others are just briefly featured. Angel, for instance, only received a total of five minutes screen time. What a waste of his spectacular wings, which never really reached their feathered glory; nonetheless, it was a magnificent sight when he first spread his wings, giving us a hint of what he's capable of.

The action sequences here are the best out of all the X-men movies, thanks to the stunning visual effects. From the stormy Alkali lake, to the mini showdown at the Grey house, to the giant upheaval of the imposing Golden Gate Bridge, the action gets progressively impressive throughout. The final face-off between the massive Brotherhood army and the tiny X-men group is a fitting end to the franchise, especially with a conflicted Jean demonstrating her prowess, annihilating everything in her path, creating a chaotic yet strangely stunning mess. Equally outstanding is the movie's sound track, with imposing pieces that match the climatic sequences, creating a heightened intense mood.

Famke Janssen and Ian Mckellen are standouts, which is not surprising, since the pair receive considerable screen time in this instalment. Jean's menacing and crazed look as Phoenix is well portrayed, as is Magneto's formidable presence. Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry also did commendable jobs on their characters.

Thankfully, the dialogue in The Last Stand is much better, although it could benefit from more refining. Overall, The Last Stand is entertaining, the only real gripe is, why is there no Gambit?

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