...ultimately a logical, though not completely dreadful, end to the trilogy.
The action also delivers on the popcorn movie front, offering up some nice moments and clever nods to X-Men comic lore. Magneto´s rescuing of Mystique (Rebecca Romjin) is great, visceral fun as is Wolverine´s fight with some of the Morlocks in the Brootherhood´s woodland base camp. Plus fans get to experience the delight at watching a fastball special come to life (Colossus tossing Wolverine at a target), Bobby (Shawn Ashmore) ´Icing´ up in his battle against Pyro (Aaron Stanford), and a nicely realized chase between Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones) and Kitty Pride. It´s these moments that elevate the film from being a completely bland experience.
Video
As with a few recent Fox screeners, the video for "X-Men: The Last Stand" is severely pixilated. Presented in a 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, the viewing experience here is okay (at best), with most of the action scenes becoming marred by the aforementioned pixilation. Colors are good throughout, but overall the image is deplorable. I'm certain this is only for the screener copy and not the final product.
Audio
At least they got the sound right, presenting the film in Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, DTS 6.1 ES, Spanish Dolby Surround and French Dolby Surround. The 5.1 is an overall fine, solid mix but it´s the 6.1 that delivers the goods. It´s the kind of mix that makes you want to crank the volume up high. Dialogue is sharp and clear, with music and ambient sounds wonderfully filling out the surrounds. The mix is really put to the test (and passes with flying colors) during the fight scenes. The sound becomes virtually all encompassing (as needed) and pushes limits of the soundtrack.
Extras
The extras boast two commentaries and a handful of deleted/extended scenes. The audio commentaries cover a lot of the same ground. The first is with Ratner, Penn and Kinberg who seem to be in a more lighthearted mood when discussing the film, gushing over how great this actor is, or how great shooting on that day was. For the most part, it´s a super saturated self-aggrandizing commentary but there are some nods to the difficulty in writing the film, even before Ratner arrived to take the helm. Disappointing is there isn´t all that much insight into the behind the scenes making of the film. The second commentary features Avi Arad, and producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter, who also discuss how great this actor is, how great things went during filming. They give no insight into Singer leaving the project, their need to rush it into production, Matthew Vaughn leaving the project, the arrival of Ratner, none of this is even remotely touched upon. Most of it is really superfluous banter, on both commentary tracks.
The deleted scenes run about 10 minutes and contain mostly extended scenes, some of them during the fight sequences, which are actually a little better than the ones in the film. The scenes can be viewed with a play all option or each on their own. Optional commentary by Ratner, Penn and Kinberg is also available, which is essentially an extension of their chatting in the feature commentary.
The disc also contains trailers of "X3", "24", three trailers for other Fox Marvel films ("Elektra", "Fantastic Four", "Daredevil"). A trailer for "A Night at the Museum" and an animatic from "The Simpsons Movie" are also included.
Film Value
To say the least, "X-Men: The Last Stand" is ultimately a logical, though not completely dreadful, end to the trilogy. The film isn´t as bad as it could have been, but it also isn´t as good as it you´d hope it might be. It´s and effective film on a completely visceral level, heightening the action quotient, and ramping up the gee-whiz factor for X-Men fans by including some great nods to the comic mythology. It´s fun but it´s disappointing.
Video
As with a few recent Fox screeners, the video for "X-Men: The Last Stand" is severely pixilated. Presented in a 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, the viewing experience here is okay (at best), with most of the action scenes becoming marred by the aforementioned pixilation. Colors are good throughout, but overall the image is deplorable. I'm certain this is only for the screener copy and not the final product.
Audio
At least they got the sound right, presenting the film in Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, DTS 6.1 ES, Spanish Dolby Surround and French Dolby Surround. The 5.1 is an overall fine, solid mix but it´s the 6.1 that delivers the goods. It´s the kind of mix that makes you want to crank the volume up high. Dialogue is sharp and clear, with music and ambient sounds wonderfully filling out the surrounds. The mix is really put to the test (and passes with flying colors) during the fight scenes. The sound becomes virtually all encompassing (as needed) and pushes limits of the soundtrack.
Extras
The extras boast two commentaries and a handful of deleted/extended scenes. The audio commentaries cover a lot of the same ground. The first is with Ratner, Penn and Kinberg who seem to be in a more lighthearted mood when discussing the film, gushing over how great this actor is, or how great shooting on that day was. For the most part, it´s a super saturated self-aggrandizing commentary but there are some nods to the difficulty in writing the film, even before Ratner arrived to take the helm. Disappointing is there isn´t all that much insight into the behind the scenes making of the film. The second commentary features Avi Arad, and producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter, who also discuss how great this actor is, how great things went during filming. They give no insight into Singer leaving the project, their need to rush it into production, Matthew Vaughn leaving the project, the arrival of Ratner, none of this is even remotely touched upon. Most of it is really superfluous banter, on both commentary tracks.
The deleted scenes run about 10 minutes and contain mostly extended scenes, some of them during the fight sequences, which are actually a little better than the ones in the film. The scenes can be viewed with a play all option or each on their own. Optional commentary by Ratner, Penn and Kinberg is also available, which is essentially an extension of their chatting in the feature commentary.
The disc also contains trailers of "X3", "24", three trailers for other Fox Marvel films ("Elektra", "Fantastic Four", "Daredevil"). A trailer for "A Night at the Museum" and an animatic from "The Simpsons Movie" are also included.
Film Value
To say the least, "X-Men: The Last Stand" is ultimately a logical, though not completely dreadful, end to the trilogy. The film isn´t as bad as it could have been, but it also isn´t as good as it you´d hope it might be. It´s and effective film on a completely visceral level, heightening the action quotient, and ramping up the gee-whiz factor for X-Men fans by including some great nods to the comic mythology. It´s fun but it´s disappointing.
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