X-Men: The Last Stand (Ratner, 2006)

I grew up on the X-Men comics and cartoon series. I know every character, their powers and who they had an affair with in The Amazing X-Men #13 (okay ... I'm not THAT big of a geek). Joking aside, though, I had relatively high hopes for "X-Men: The Last Stand," the third and presumably final chapter in the X-Men film trilogy (though the post-credits scene says otherwise). I had expectations for this film, because it contained, in my opinion, several of the most important plotlines in the X-Men universe.

The Dark Phoenix saga, in which Jean Grey (played in the films by Famke Jannsen) returns from the dead only to wreak havoc on her former friends (and, in the comics, destroy an entire planet). It also tries to work with the story of "the Cure," a recent plotline by Joss Whedon of "Firefly" fame. And then there's the Iceman/Rogue/Shadowcat love triangle, the Danger Room and even the Sentinels crammed in there.

My opinion? Newcomer Brett Ratner (the man responsible for "Rush Hour") tried too hard. He clumsily attempts to jam everything into a tiny, 104-minute movie and it doesn't work as well as it should. The film is short, quick and slightly disappointing. The actors have little room to stretch their abilities, and even the action seems rushed.

However, I enjoyed "The Last Stand" quite a bit. Why? Because it, to me, paid homage to the comics as much as it possibly could. We see Collusus hurl Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) through the air in a move known to fans as the "fastball special." We see Kelsey Grammar kick butt and take names later as Beast. We finally see Iceman become the Iceman we know and love -- frosted over and freezingly cool. We see the extent of Phoenix's powers, and the results are breathtaking. We see Woverine's Adamantium skeleton as Phoenix literally shreds the flesh off his bones with her immense power.

The film, for me, had me geeking out more than the previous two. Though the first and second are vastly better-made films, "The Last Stand" has a little something special going for it. Fans of the movies won't be dissapointed, fans of the comics will gripe, but admit that there were some arguably cool moments (Wolverine vs. Juggernaut, Magneto moving the Golden Gate bridge).

Horrendous acting aside (Juggernaut, honestly ...), the film is a worthy conclusion to the trilogy. It's an honest, albeit clumsy, attempt at wrapping the series up.

And yes, the chess piece moves.

The Final Verdict: 6/10