X-Men: The Last Stand (also marketed as X3: The Last Stand, or X-Men 3) is a 2006 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the X-Men. It is the sequel to X2 (2003), the third installment in the X-Men film series, and the final film in the original X-Men trilogy. Directed by Brett Ratner and written by Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn, the film features an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Kelsey Grammer, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones, and Patrick Stewart. It is based on two X-Men comic book story arcs, "Gifted" and "The Dark Phoenix Saga", with a plot that revolves around a "mutant cure" that causes serious repercussions among mutants and humans, and on the resurrection of Jean Grey who unleashes a dark force.
Bryan Singer, who had directed the two previous films, X-Men and X2, decided to leave the sequel to work on Superman Returns (2006). X2 composer and editor John Ottman and X2 writers Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty also left to work on Superman Returns, as did James Marsden, who had very limited screen time in The Last Stand before his character was killed off due to his departure from the film. Singer had not even defined the storyline for a third film. Matthew Vaughn, who co-wrote the script (though uncredited) and was initially hired as the new director, left due to personal and professional issues, and was replaced by Ratner. Filming took place from August 2005 to January 2006 with a budget of $210million, and was consequently the most expensive film ever made at the time of its release. It had extensive visual effects created by 11 different companies.
X-Men: The Last Stand premiered on May 24, 2006, in the Out of Competition section at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, and was released theatrically in the United States on May 26 by 20th Century Fox. It grossed approximately $460 million worldwide, becoming the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2006; it was at the time the highest-grossing film in the series and after 2018 stood as the fourth-highest-grossing film of the franchise. It received mixed reviews from critics and was deemed inferior to its predecessors though the performances, the visual effects, and the action sequences were praised. A standalone sequel, The Wolverine, was released in 2013; it was followed by X-Men: Days of Future Past in 2014.
Plot
In past, Charles Xavier and Magneto meet young Jean Grey at her parents' house to invite her to join their school, the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. Industrialist Warren Worthington II discovers his son is a mutant, as the latter tries to cut off his wings.
In the present, Worthington Labs announces an inoculation to suppress the X-gene that gives mutants their abilities and offers the "cure" to any mutant who wants it. The cure interests some mutants, such as Rogue, who cannot touch anyone without harming them, while others are wary of it. Magneto re-establishes his Brotherhood of Mutants with those who oppose the cure, warning it will be weaponized to exterminate the mutant race. With help from Pyro, Callisto, and several other mutants, Magneto attacks a mobile prison. He frees Mystique, Multiple Man, and Juggernaut. Mystique shields Magneto from a cure dart and loses her mutant abilities, so he abandons her.
Cyclops, still distraught over the loss of Jean, drives to her resting location at Alkali Lake. Jean suddenly appears to Cyclops, but kills him as they kiss. Sensing trouble, Xavier sends Logan and Storm to investigate. When they arrive, they find only telekinetically floating rocks, Cyclops' glasses, and an unconscious Jean.
At the X-Mansion, Xavier explains that when Jean sacrificed herself to save them, she also freed the "Phoenix", a dark alternate personality with godlike destructive potential which Xavier had telepathically repressed. Logan is disgusted to learn of this psychic tampering with Jean's mind, but once she awakens, he discovers that she killed Cyclops and is not the woman he once knew. The Phoenix emerges, knocks out Logan, destroys Scott's glasses and escapes to her childhood home. Learning of Jean's return, Magneto and the Brotherhood arrive at the house simultaneously as the X-Men, with Magneto and Xavier both vying for Jean's loyalty until the Phoenix resurfaces. She destroys the house and disintegrates Xavier, then leaves with Magneto.
A depowered Mystique gives up Magneto's base in the woods to the FBI, who raid it. However, the detected human heat signatures in the camp are Multiple Man and his copies. Magneto and the Brotherhood attack Alcatraz to kill a young mutant named Jimmy, whose genome is used to create the cure. They overwhelm the military troops until the remaining X-Men arrive to confront them. During the fight, Kitty Pryde saves Jimmy from Juggernaut, Iceman subdues Pyro, and Logan distracts Magneto for Hank McCoy to inject him with the cure, nullifying his powers. The Phoenix awakens and begins destroying anyone within range of her powers. Logan realizes that only he can stop the Phoenix due to his healing factor and adamantium skeleton. When Logan approaches her, Jean momentarily gains control and begs him to save her. Heartbroken, Logan fatally stabs Jean, and she dies in his arms.
Sometime later, mutant rights are finally obtained, and Xavier's school still operates with Storm as headmistress. The President of the United States appoints McCoy as ambassador to the United Nations. Rogue, having taken the cure, rekindles her relationship with Iceman. Meanwhile, Magneto sits at a chessboard in San Francisco, seemingly human and weak, and as he gestures toward a metal chess piece, it wobbles slightly.
As a “post credits scene,” Dr. Moira MacTaggert checks in on the comatose patient shown in an earlier scene. She is startled when he greets her with Xavier's voice.
Cast Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine:A Canadian mutant born with hyper-acute, animal-like senses, claws on his hands, and an accelerated healing factor that made it possible to implant a coating of the indestructible metal alloy adamantium on his skeleton. Jackman was pleased to see that the script allowed Wolverine to expand his character choices, as, instead of questioning whether he would remain a loner or join the X-Men, Logan is now asked if he will play a leadership role in the X-Men. Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe / Storm:A mutant, who is one of Xavier's earlier students and the leader of the X-Men in Cyclops' absence. Storm is a woman with the ability to manipulate the weather. Berry had stated during interviews for X2 that she would not return unless the character had a significant presence comparable to the comic book version, leading to a larger role in The Last Stands script. Berry declared that her ethnicity made the actress identify with the cure plot: "When I was a child, I felt that if only I could change myself, my life would be better. As I've gotten older, I've come to terms with what utter nonsense that is." The character was given a more modern haircut, and costume designer Judianna Makovsky opted to give Storm more black clothes, a color she only wore in the leather costume for previous films, to make her "tougher and sexier"."Clothing vs. Costume". X-Men: The Last Stand DVD, 2006, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Ian McKellen as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto:Leader and founder of the Brotherhood, Magneto is a mutant Holocaust survivor who wages war against humanity in the name of mutant superiority. He can control and manipulate metal, making him one of the most powerful mutants. Well known for his homosexuality, McKellen found a parallel of the cure with many prejudices: "It's abhorrent to me, as it would be if a person said I need curing of my sexuality, or if someone said that black people could take a pill that would 'cure' them of being black." McKellen's shooting schedule had to accommodate his work in both The Da Vinci Code (2006) and the London theater, going as far as filming the actor in England to later superimpose into the Vancouver plates. Famke Janssen as Jean Grey / Phoenix:A mutant former member of the X-Men, a Class 5 mutant who possesses potentially limitless telepathic and telekinetic powers. The X-Men learn that she has survived the flooding dam from the previous film, but when the rest of the team finds her, Grey has given in completely to the aggressive alternate personality of her powers, the Phoenix. Her mutant powers rival those of Xavier. The writers described the multiple personalities as "an Oedipal drama played out", where the Phoenix was "someone embodying [a] Greek goddess", while Jean Grey kept the character as "a human, grounded in Freudian terms, a victim, a schizophrenic. To mark the change of Jean Grey into Phoenix, her wardrobe focused on red colors, and everyday fabric in contrast to the leather costumes of the X-Men. Digital make-up also made Jean's face darker, with her skin showing some veins and her eyes turning black, signifying the Phoenix personality of her powers. Haley Ramm plays a young Jean Grey. Anna Paquin as Anna Marie/Rogue:A young mutant woman whose power causes her to temporarily take on the powers of anyone she touches, leaving her victims (mutant or human) unconscious; Rogue's lack of control over her power causes a great deal of strain on her relationship with Iceman. Paquin declared that while Rogue did not have "a large physical component in this movie", the "adult decisions" the character was forced to make allowed for more intensity on the emotional side. Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Henry "Hank" McCoy / Beast: A mutant former student of Xavier's School who is now a member of the U.S. Cabinet as the Secretary of Mutant Affairs, Beast is a brilliant scientist and statesman. He is covered in blue fur and has heightened strength, reflexes, and agility, as well as pointed fangs and a lion-like roar. Grammer's make-up took three hours to apply. It involved applying latex prosthetics before painting his eye area and lips blue, applying various hair pieces and wigs, and a muscle suit covered with a hand-punched fur suit. Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier:A mutant with uncharted telepathic powers, and founder of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Xavier is an authority on genetic mutation and an advocate of peaceful relations between humans and the mutant kind. Stewart signed to the film without knowing Xavier would die, and not meeting original director Matthew Vaughn – both would meet in Manchester, where Stewart was filming Eleventh Hour (2006), but eventually Brett Ratner called to introduce himself as the new director. Rebecca Romijn as Raven Darkholme / Mystique:A blue-skinned mutant who possesses the ability to shape-shift to mimic anyone's appearance, as well as fight with incredible agility, reflexes, and strength. She is also a woman of few words. She jumps in front of the cure darts intended for Magneto and, after she loses her mutant abilities as a result, Magneto abandons her. Romijn described this story as "a traumatic experience" for Mystique, given that the previous movies implied that she and Magneto had "a deep-seated bond", and becoming "a frail mortal would be her worst nightmare".