The ’X’ exit

• Review - X-Men: The Last Stand

"The biggest idea, for us, was setting up . . . the idea that in ’X-Men,’ the war is coming. ’X-Men 2,’ the war has begun. And in ’X-Men 3’: This is the war." — Dan Harris, one of the writers of "X2," in an interview in the June issue of In Focus magazine. Like director Bryan Singer, Harris ditched the "X-Men" franchise to try his hand at "Superman Returns."

Like most of the geek-speaking world, I was appalled when I heard that director Brett Ratner ("Rush Hour," "Rush Hour 2," the upcoming "Rush Hour 3") would be taking the reins of the "X-Men" series.

Flame on: I didn’t hate "Red Dragon," and I actually find Ratner’s give-up-your-dreams-and-breed pamphlet "The Family Man" kind of sweet. But in every other respect, I considered this particular filmmaker-for-hire way too relaxed to tackle what Ian McKellen has rightly called "the most important of all the superhero franchises." Departed director Bryan Singer had this crazy idea to portray superpowered mutants as serious and occasionally subtle human beings. This stands in sharp contrast to Ratner, who directed "After the Sunset" like he was working on his tan.

So imagine my surprise when "X-Men: The Last Stand," the purported final film in the series, is actually fast-moving, funny, bolstered by a few provocative ideas and blessed with a couple of set pieces that are beautifully staged and even slightly eerie. The movie’s not perfect or subtle, and it takes a few dips into bombast, illogic and cheese. But it’s hardly the disaster fans were dreading. In fact, in many respects it’s a pretty decent, tragic ending to the series.

The filmmakers interweave two stories from the comics, one old, one new. From Joss Whedon’s "Astonishing X-Men," they cadge the idea of a pharmaceutical company developing a "mutant cure." (And by the way, wouldn’t Whedon have been the perfect director for this?) I loved the way different mutants reacted to the "cure," depending on how much they enjoyed their powers. Rogue (Anna Paquin) thinks it might allow her to finally touch her boyfriend Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) without killing him. Storm (Halle Berry, in a blandly expanded role) doesn’t think mutants need curing. Blue-furred politico Beast (Kelsey Grammer, an inspired bit of casting) tries to straddle the issue. And arch-villain Magneto (McKellen) worries (correctly) that it will be weaponized.

As Magneto goes all bin Laden and organizes a terrorist army to destroy the "cure," Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) pops out of her watery grave with a bad dye-job, worse impulse control and long-repressed apocalyptic powers. (See the comic at left for a description of how "Last Stand" adapts the classic "Dark Phoenix" saga from the books.) Soon, she’s working out daddy issues on Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and hanging out with the bad guys — and the movie starts piling up bodies, betrayals and "cures" with a surprising (and studio-mandated, I’m told) ruthlessness.

I keep reading Internet posts where fans compare "Last Stand" to "Return of the Jedi," and that sounds about right: Both movies trade the sad poetry of their second installments for action bombast, sillier costumes, soap-opera silliness, honking music and a far less subtle handling of theme and character — but it still sort of works, if you can squint past the Ewok moments.

Where Singer always handled emotion and logic better than action, Ratner (working from a script by Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn) has pretty much the opposite problem. He crams the movie with mayhem, most of it involving Wolverine (Hugh Jackman, hairier than ever). By the time Magneto is literally floating the Golden Gate Bridge across the bay so he and his Goth cronies can stage a Helm’s-Deep siege of the pharmaceutical company, you’ve sort of surrendered yourself to the thing. (It’s only later that you wonder why a pharmaceutical company is on Alcatraz Island, or why certain characters hold off using their powers like they’re waiting in the wings at a talent show.)

Still, when the movie works, it really works. Two scenes where Xavier and Magneto visit Jean’s "Poltergeist"-like childhood home — once before and once after the old men’s falling-out — are among the best in the series. Jean’s cosmic rages have a low-calorie "Akira" creep factor.

"Hard Candy’s" Ellen Page is a welcome addition to the X-roster, but McKellen carries the film on his arched eyebrow. The pacing’s brisk enough to paper over the rough patches. There are a couple of betrayals that hurt. And the debates about the merits of the "cure" have a ham-fisted heft.

"Last Stand" won’t haunt you like the best moments of Singer’s films, and it’s simpler-minded, but you shouldn’t be too insulted.

If you stay after the end credits, there’s a silly little bonus scene.