May 31, 2026

X-Men: The Last Stand

X-Men: The Last Stand

Depp & Marsden Month concludes! Wayne Whited (a known Class 5 mutant) enters the Danger Room with Jeff to deconstruct the many issues with X-Men: The Last Stand. Jeff plunges Adamantium claws into the film's director, while Wayne offers a...

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Season 7
Depp & Marsden Month concludes!


Wayne Whited (a known Class 5 mutant) enters the Danger Room with Jeff to deconstruct the many issues with X-Men: The Last Stand. Jeff plunges Adamantium claws into the film's director, while Wayne offers a "soundtrack session" for John Powell's impressive score. When the time comes for their recommendation, who will you stand with?

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WEBVTT

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I mean, I'm not going to ask you who your

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favorite is. Instead, I'll ask which of the X Men

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has the coolest costume and or design.

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And the comics are from the film, because they all

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look the same in the film.

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Well, I'm talking. I'm talking comics. That's you know. I'm

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glad you said that. I'm glad you said that. But

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I'm talking comics. You know, animation, that kind of stuff.

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Okay, because comics, I can talk all you want about that.

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Well, here do you get I can get it problem.

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I'm definitely I'm gonna choose Photax because I just absolutely

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love our costume. I think it was one of the

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best designs. Okay, just make the film never using it.

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Well, yeah, I gotta say Colossus, Uh, you know, the

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resident strong man of the team. I like that the

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red and yellow colors of his uniform are kind of

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like a nod to his Russian heritage, his ability to

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change formed or into organic steel. It always made him

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look good in the comics or the cartoons, even in

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live action, if I'm being fair. Yeah, but I think

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one place where the design and cool costumes of the

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X Men has struggled is probably on the silver screen.

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And one film in particular served as a bit of

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a segue to improving this despite falling short of fan expectation.

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So let's talk about a film by a director that's

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no longer welcome in Hollywood, his two thousand and six

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entry in the X Men franchise X Men The Last Stand.

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Hello everybody, I'm Jeff Johnson and I'm Wayne Whited, and

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this is a film by podcast Wayne Star Trek. Fans

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who follow our phasers set the Stun series definitely know

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who you are. I know the new season of Strange

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New Worlds doesn't premiere until summertime. What do you guys?

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What are you guys keeping busy with?

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Right now? Well, right now, since this is the sixtieth

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anniversary of Star Trek, we are going back to the

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beginning and talking about the original series with Kirk, Spock

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and McCoy and the others. We've covered the pilot and

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the first three episodes, and we're going to continue until

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we get to the very end.

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You're gonna are you gonna do every episode? Is this?

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Every episode? Yep? All seventy nine of them?

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Oh wow, okay, so not like a starter Trek's because

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I love those You know that's got me into several

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of the Star Trek shows. But I'm a fa Wayne.

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You know, I'm a fan of the OG track. So

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if you're gonna do them all, I'm excited.

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Oh we're going to talk in depth with each one

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of them, go into behind the scenes to talk about

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the cast, the crew, everything.

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Well. Another thing I was excited for the trailer for

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X Men The Last Stand. I think twenty years ago.

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It looked incredible. I watched it. I watched it the

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other day. It still looks incredible. It's going to close

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out the trilogy. It makes a big promise, the war

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to end all wars, you know, Humankind. What do you think? Wayne?

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I was so excited for this film because the fact

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that the second one, X Men United, was so good.

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I thought it was the best, even better than the

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first one. So of course, and of course the rumors

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about what story they were going to be adapting. I

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was incredibly excited because it was my personal not only

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my personal favorite X Men story, but in my opinion,

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the greatest comic story ever told, and that was the

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Dark Phoenix saga.

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Absolutely, I know we're get into that before we do.

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There is one thing I want to address because right

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about now is where we like to do three things

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you may not know about this director in a quote.

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So at the opening of the show, I purposely didn't

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name the director of X Men. The last stand. I'm

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not going to share three fun things about this director.

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I'm not going to quote this director, and I'll tell

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our listeners why right now. The truth is, while doing research,

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I became aware of some truly disgusting behavior this man

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has committed outside of how he treated Elliott Page on

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the set of this film, which was confirmed by cast

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member Anna Paquin, and the claims of sexual assault made

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by actresses Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge. I'll simply say

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that if you choose to google this man's name, you'll

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read some disturbing things. You'll see multiple stories and articles

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citing phrases like me too. You'll discover allegations of sexual

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harassment and sexual assault made by at least six women,

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and you'll see photos of him posing with absolute scum

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like Roman Polanski and Jeffrey Epstein, men he considers close friends.

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So I just had I had to get that out

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of the way.

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Wayne.

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But on a happier note, I'll say, this director was

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effectively blacklisted from Hollywood in twenty seventeen and ultimately fled

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the United States. So good writtens, I say, as it's

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highly doubtful we'll ever discuss another film he directed. Now, Yeah,

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had to get that ugliness out of the way and

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onto something much cooler, the five word synopsis. Now, Wayne,

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you have not been on the show this season. You've

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been busy, you know. I mean you've been Phaser's set

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to stunt has just it's taken over and you we've

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been at all the comment have been busy. We've been

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at the cons. So I know this is your first

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time doing a five word synopsis. We're not doing the

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long drawn out explanations of what these movies are about. Now.

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I want to shout out, I'm gonna give you some

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help here, Wayne, or I should say some of our

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listeners are gonna give you some help. I want to

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shout out several of our listeners right now that support

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the show on Patreon. They're getting our episodes early, ad

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free and more often than not in extended editions, and

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several of them have recently had some awesome five word

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synopsies for films we've covered and I'll share them with you.

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So for our Pirates of the Caribbean dead Man's Chest episode,

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Steve Cooley gave us Jack runs from literally everything which

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I guess say I have. I cracked up laughing when

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I saw that one. I had a good one. That

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was a good one.

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Yeah.

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For our blow episode, Brad Moore offered leaving Mary Jane

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for Pablo. That is absolutely brilliant. Brad knocked it out

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of the park with that one. And for the along

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came a Spider episode which happened to be an exclusive

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video episode with Angela Norris on Patreon. James Buckley gave

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us detective and Psycho cross paths, and Wayne Bonus points

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to James because he happened to use the character's name

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in that five word synopsis. So wow, Wayne, I've given

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you some amazing examples from some of our our most

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awesome listeners. So if I ask you what is X

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Men the Last Stand all? About? What is in Wayne

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using exactly five words?

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Well, I mean this actually has a double meaning if

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you really think about it. But my five words are

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there are too many mutants, both both meaning, you know,

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it could be that's how the story. I mean that's

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part of the story, and it's exactly how I feel

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about the film.

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Okay, Wayne, you have you have just done an amazing

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job your first time out with the five words snapsis

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so you give us one. It's five words, so congratulations

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and double meaning because you're absolutely right, there are too

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many of me. Yeah, that totally works. I'm going to

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give you one. I think I think you and I

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are going to be simpatico here on how we feel

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about this movie overall. Most likely how about mutant here

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storyline doesn't work.

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I agree with that too.

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Now all right, well, I'll tell you what. Let's take

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a quick break, and when we get back, we're going

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to talk about three reasons this film wasn't a satisfying conclusion.

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Welcome back. We are talking about X Men, The Last Stand.

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It's celebrating its twentieth anniversary. The film absolutely looks great

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even now, but just doesn't hold up as far as

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the story goes. Wayne, I've got three things I want

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to talk about, three reasons why I feel this movie

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wasn't a satisfying conclusion to this trilogy that Brian Singer

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initially had set out to do when he gave us

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the first two movies. So number one, and if I'm wrong,

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you tell me, Wayne, but you know, chime in here.

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Number one. First reason, I think adapting two of the

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most famous X Men comic storylines and mashing them together

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was a huge mistake.

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I agree that that's my biggest problem with the film.

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Okay, so for non comic book readers, let's call it

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so we've got the dark Phoenix saga and then we've

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got the mutant Cure story line. Yes, just pick a lane,

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because either one of these stories would have worked great

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on their own. And the fact that the fact, Wayne,

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the fact that we have less than two hours of film,

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I think it leaves major emotional beats with a real

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lack of development. That's my main problem. Jean Gray, becoming

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Phoenix is a major moment, and not just an X

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Men history, but in Marvel's history. Right this is? This

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is one of your favorite storylines of all time, right Wayne?

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It is? You know, I consider it the greatest comic

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story ever written, and for good reason. A lot of

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people think it's that way, and I was really looking

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forward to them at least doing a partial adaption of

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that story. It would have translated beautifully to screen, but

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cramming it with Gifted, which is the other story, was

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just too much. It was too much going on, and

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unfortunately the greater of the two stories, the Dark Phoenix

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sug I, kind of got pushed off to the side.

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Yeah. I feel like this, what what the film does

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is really half assed because Jean Gray she feels more

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like she's not Phoenix. She's not She's not Jean Gray.

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She's not Phoenix. She she kind of feels like Carrie

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taking revenge on her classmates, and there's no depth. There's

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no depth to her. Really. Yeah, and not only do

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they half asked the Phoenix story line, they get it wrong. Uh, Wayne,

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is it the Phoenix like a cosmic force?

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Yes, it's it's a cosmic force. That well, what the

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storyline was, And this goes back to X Men one hundred.

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They had just finished their fight with the Sentinels and

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were in space and they were trying to get back

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to Earth and they were the entire X Men was

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they were going to die. There was no way they

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were going to make it back, and the Phoenix force,

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this force out in the cosmos found Jean Gray hooked

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with her, you know, mentally hooked with her, realized her

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her the inspiration, and merged together. At least that's what

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we thought at that time. Merged together gave the powers

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of the Phoenix to Jean Gray so that she could

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save them. But as we learned later on, as the

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years went by, the power started to become too great.

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It's too much power for one person to handle. And

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that's where the Dark Phoenix and the Dark Phoenix saga began.

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The whole split personality concept they're doing in the movie.

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It just doesn't work, you know, it's almost like she's

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possessed and I don't like it.

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Well, that's probably the only part that they got rather

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kind of accurate to the comic. The comics storyline and

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the reason why she became Dark Phoenix is so much better,

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but it at least matches a little bit. They're missing

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a major element of it.

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But you know, well, okay, second thing, major characters whose

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story arcs have developed for two films are taken away

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from us in the laziest way possible. Yeah, to make

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room for many nameless, faceless characters that we just don't

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care about. Now, let me let me run down. Let

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me run them down here, cyclops very abruptly killed off

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and pretty much off screen, like we can't even give

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him a proper sendoff, Professor X, what are we midway

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through the film? Like we're an hour, not even an

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hour into it?

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Yeah, it was about the halfway.

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He's he's obliterated. Mystique who we get a good start,

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like she's prominently featured in the trailer. We the good

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start with her character, and then that's okay, we just

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shoot her with a dart. She's now, she's supermodel Rebecca

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Remain and she's off. She's done. Yep, she's out. She's

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out of the movie. And then Rogue, you know, Rogue

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who is say what you will? I love Rogue in

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the X Men ninety seven animated series. I think we

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all do. Uh Anna Paquin. I always liked her performance,

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but she chooses the cure, you know, and then she's

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gone for pretty much the entire movie until the very

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end when she comes back and she's like, oh, hey,

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I took the care. I can touch you now, Bobby.

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It just and I kind of feel like that flies

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in the face of the whole accepting us for who

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we are, you know, like Stormy Eman says, like there's

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no we don't need a cure because there's nothing wrong

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with us. And then meanwhile, aside from Juggernaut, who is

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it admittedly fun to watch, the rest of Magneto's army

241
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are a bunch of tattooed hobo goths living out intense

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in the woods. I don't care about any of them.

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Wayne, Well, that, yeah, that's the problem with this film.

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And you know, every one of those characters, every one

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of those nameless people, and you know are from the comics.

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But none of the characters get any enough screen time.

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There's too many of them. And unfortunately, when you have

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such a huge cast, so many characters get thrown off

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to the site or even forgotten. And that's what happened

250
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with this It's a waste of so much great talent.

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It's so much great storylines, but the talent, I mean, why,

252
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you know, why would you bring this van Ky Janssen

253
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is the worst. She's such a fantastic she's probably the

254
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best Gene Gray I've seen, and she's wasted in this film.

255
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She's so wasted.

256
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Well and look like I said, you know, at the beginning,

257
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kind of talking about how this film maybe is a

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segue towards improving the costume and the look the design

259
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of the X Men. I get it. In two thousand,

260
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we didn't know like is it okay to you know,

261
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we're trying to go for like a more realistic vibe.

262
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Is it okay to do this? No, let's just put

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them on black leather, you know, And it's boring looking.

264
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But at least with this movie, we're seeing Bobby Drake

265
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take on the form of ice Man. We're seeing like

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the Juggernaut kind of has like a Juggernaut look to him.

267
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You know, some people are starting to it a little

268
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bit closer to comic book accuracy.

269
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Yeah, and I understand why they didn't. You know, we

270
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didn't want to see him in tights. You know, that

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was their big reason. You know, well, we can't have

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them in tight Well, we didn't want to see him

273
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in that. We know that's not going to work.

274
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I just don't want to watch them in regular clothes,

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like like pyro is just like you know him and

276
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a lot of these these nameless faces. Man, And it's like, okay, well,

277
00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:26.840
just give him a gift card, a hot topic, let

278
00:16:26.919 --> 00:16:29.799
him go and get some clothes, and then we'll be fine.

279
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We'll see that and that's that's what we get. I

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don't like.

281
00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:35.279
You know, the producers thought that we wouldn't be able

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to accept the bright colors and the you know, costumes

283
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that look like they're comic forms. We all know that's

284
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that's incorrect. Now, yeah, because you know, look look at

285
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you know, Deadpool and Wolverine. You know, all these years

286
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of Hugh Jackman being in black leather. You put him

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in a costume that's similar to his uh comic form,

288
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and everybody goes crazy. You know, we love it. It

289
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looks fantastic. So you can do that with the rest

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this movie.

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Uh, not too many years after this movie, we get

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the Wolverine you know where where he's like it's uh,

293
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it's it, you know, in continuity, it takes place after

294
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the last stand remember that eastrig at the end where

295
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he's getting on the plane and he opens the case

296
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and there's the Wolverine the mask, and we lost we

297
00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:20.559
lost our damn minds because we're like, wait, are we

298
00:17:20.680 --> 00:17:25.359
gonna get this? We want we wanted we wanted that. Yeah,

299
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all right.

300
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Uh.

301
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Third thing that that makes this movie lack in satisfaction,

302
00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:37.000
the shift in tone from the first two movies is

303
00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:42.680
very apparent. Yeah, so, Brian Singer had intended to direct

304
00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:45.720
all three of the films in this trilogy. And despite

305
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X two being lauded as one of the best superhero

306
00:17:48.079 --> 00:17:51.720
films to date, Wayne, you said it, it was so, it's incredible.

307
00:17:51.839 --> 00:17:53.920
It is such a good film, one of the get

308
00:17:54.039 --> 00:17:55.400
I think it's one of the best superhero movies of

309
00:17:55.440 --> 00:17:58.880
all time. And despite that, progress on the last Stand

310
00:17:59.079 --> 00:18:02.839
moved at a very slow pace, and the Fox executives

311
00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:07.279
were at odds with Singers vision, like they're having creative differences.

312
00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:09.440
We make that joke all the time on this show,

313
00:18:09.480 --> 00:18:13.440
like creative differences. But the guy has given you back

314
00:18:13.480 --> 00:18:15.079
to back home runs with the X Men.

315
00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:17.839
Yeah, get out of his way.

316
00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:19.799
Just just sign the check and get out of his way,

317
00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:23.519
because meanwhile, Warner Brothers is doing their best to win

318
00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:27.799
him over to revive Superman, which happens to be his

319
00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:32.599
favorite character someone you know, some property that he adores.

320
00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:36.759
He considers it his dream job. Listeners, if you haven't

321
00:18:36.759 --> 00:18:39.799
done so yet, go back to last week's episode where

322
00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:43.000
John Reid of the thirty somethingter Movie podcast joined me

323
00:18:43.559 --> 00:18:47.000
for our supersized Superman Returns episode. That was a lot

324
00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:49.480
of fun. John, if you're listening, thank you, thank you

325
00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:55.559
again for that great Oh thanks Wayne Singers departure, though,

326
00:18:56.359 --> 00:19:00.519
directly results in a decrease in character driven story and

327
00:19:00.680 --> 00:19:05.759
exploration and complex themes in favor of a big CGI spectacle.

328
00:19:05.880 --> 00:19:09.400
You know, hey, why is why is Phoenix willingly becoming

329
00:19:09.559 --> 00:19:13.039
a stooge for the Brotherhood? Who cares? Magneto is ripping

330
00:19:13.079 --> 00:19:15.160
the Golden gate Bridge into pieces and he's riding it

331
00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:22.200
to Alcatraz? Wait? What what you know? Just well, the

332
00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:25.079
first two films I think do a great job of

333
00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:30.680
exploring themes of prejudice and acceptance, identity, fear of being

334
00:19:30.839 --> 00:19:34.960
seen as different. This third film abandons all that in

335
00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:39.480
favor of like epic disaster on what it's what's almost

336
00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:43.319
an Irwin Allen scale. That's That's where I'm at with it.

337
00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:49.279
Yeah, I mean they're trying. I can see what they're

338
00:19:49.279 --> 00:19:52.880
trying to do. But and this happens so many times

339
00:19:52.880 --> 00:19:55.640
with films. There's too many cooks in the kitchen with this.

340
00:19:56.559 --> 00:19:59.480
You know, you got the studio trying to pull the strings,

341
00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:01.519
you got the producers trying to pull the strings, you

342
00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:03.920
got the director wanting to do what he wanted to do.

343
00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:06.720
And you know it, just when you have that many

344
00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:09.880
people trying to put their own input into a film,

345
00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:12.039
it becomes a mess. And that's what this film is.

346
00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:16.920
It's a mess. Well you got yeah, writer, Yeah, I

347
00:20:16.920 --> 00:20:20.039
mean they this film could have been saved. There are

348
00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:22.680
bits of it, elements you know, they're coming from source

349
00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:26.839
material that's absolutely incredible. So this could have been saved.

350
00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:29.000
But the problem is too many people had different ideas

351
00:20:29.400 --> 00:20:32.319
and this is an amalgamation of everyone's ideas and it

352
00:20:32.440 --> 00:20:33.519
just don't work when you try that.

353
00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:36.000
I mean, I'm not even gonna not like Simon Kinberg,

354
00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:40.279
you know who he's he's writing. I'm not gonna knock him,

355
00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:42.720
because no, he's a good writer, he's a great he's

356
00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:45.319
a good script writer. But even he's like, what are

357
00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:50.160
we doing here, Like, give it another forty minutes, let's

358
00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:53.200
flesh it out, let's let's do something right. I know,

359
00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:55.200
I know, I'm you know, I kind of went on

360
00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:57.200
a rant there. I know. Normally we'd be talking about

361
00:20:57.279 --> 00:21:00.279
the cast and we'd be talking about you know, behind

362
00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:03.640
the scenes stuff. But I just I watched this movie

363
00:21:03.960 --> 00:21:07.440
and don't get me wrong, I'm I'm glad that we're

364
00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:10.319
talking about it, and I'm happy that we're covernant. It's it's like,

365
00:21:10.599 --> 00:21:12.359
you know, like this is this is we're kind of

366
00:21:12.359 --> 00:21:14.920
closing out the month of the dep in Marsden month,

367
00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:19.039
and you know, last week we're talking Superman Returns, which

368
00:21:19.240 --> 00:21:22.079
happened to have James Marsden in it. This week we're

369
00:21:22.079 --> 00:21:24.359
talking about X Men The Last Dam which happens to

370
00:21:24.359 --> 00:21:27.119
have James Marsden in it. You know, the guys in

371
00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:31.079
two of the biggest superhero franchises of all time in

372
00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:34.279
the same summer of the same year. So it's it's

373
00:21:34.319 --> 00:21:37.039
fun to kind of kind of link that together like that.

374
00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:40.400
But I don't know, now I got that out of

375
00:21:40.440 --> 00:21:42.799
the way way and I'm you know, I thank you

376
00:21:42.839 --> 00:21:45.519
for letting me, letting me rant a.

377
00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:48.559
Little bit there. I agree with you. It's you know,

378
00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:53.880
had this been made maybe ten years fifteen years later,

379
00:21:54.359 --> 00:21:56.480
I think it could have turned out to be probably

380
00:21:56.480 --> 00:21:59.599
a lot better. There wouldn't have been so much studio involvement,

381
00:22:00.039 --> 00:22:03.160
I believe, and we may have gotten a lot better

382
00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:08.000
story than been a few more rewrites. But basically, what

383
00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:10.240
I think they could should have done, the most important

384
00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:13.559
thing is they could have made arrangements, you know, to

385
00:22:13.559 --> 00:22:15.759
to if Brian Singer. If they were having problems with

386
00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:18.920
Brian Singer, they could have allowed him to direct this film.

387
00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:22.440
You know, the dates change. If they were having problems

388
00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:28.960
with with uh psych Clops Marson, they could have made

389
00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:30.799
arrangements for him to do both films that you could

390
00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:33.119
have this could have been delayed. And if delaying it

391
00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:36.160
six months meant we had a better story, then they

392
00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:36.880
should have done that.

393
00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:42.440
Hey, Ultimately, they let they let Singer leave and he

394
00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:44.799
takes some of the creative talent with him, you know,

395
00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:47.480
he takes some of he takes his writers, and then

396
00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:50.079
all of a sudden, scheduling issues start happening. Some of

397
00:22:50.119 --> 00:22:53.279
the actors are like, I'm not available, and then we're

398
00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:57.359
gonna those some pos in at the last second to like,

399
00:22:57.599 --> 00:23:01.880
you know, sit in the director's chair. Uh yeah, all right,

400
00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:04.079
I'll tell you what. We're gonna take a break, and

401
00:23:04.119 --> 00:23:06.799
then when we get back, we're gonna talk about a scene,

402
00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:12.440
talk about a couple of scenes. Maybe all right, it's

403
00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:16.279
time to talk about the scene. So Wayne, again, things

404
00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:18.880
are a little different this season. So we're gonna we're

405
00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:20.359
gonna talk about a scene. We're not talking about the

406
00:23:20.359 --> 00:23:23.200
pivotal moment, unless you happen to choose the pivotal moment.

407
00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:27.000
But the scene you want to talk about before we

408
00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:29.720
talk about it, tell me why you're choosing it? Is it?

409
00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:32.000
Is it because of a strong performance? Is it? Is

410
00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:36.680
it the cinematography? Is it something you think pissed Amber

411
00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:38.920
Lewis off? What? Why are we talking about the scene

412
00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:39.680
that you want to talk about?

413
00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:42.799
Wayne, Well, I mean, thinking of all the scenes, and

414
00:23:43.119 --> 00:23:46.079
there are some pretty good scenes in here, it's just

415
00:23:46.319 --> 00:23:48.519
the whole thing together is kind of a mess. But

416
00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:53.039
the scene where they go to the Grays House to

417
00:23:53.079 --> 00:23:55.400
find Gene this, of course is a scene where she

418
00:23:55.559 --> 00:23:59.839
kills Professor X. But that is probably the closest to

419
00:23:59.880 --> 00:24:03.200
the original Dark Phoenix story without the death that they

420
00:24:03.279 --> 00:24:06.480
ever got to the original, you know, to the story

421
00:24:06.519 --> 00:24:10.440
in this film. And I really do like that scene

422
00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:13.640
minus the death. I like the scene and I like

423
00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:14.519
the way it's done.

424
00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:17.599
Okay, So, I mean there's a lot happening here. We've

425
00:24:17.640 --> 00:24:22.319
got got some pretty good cinematography. Oh it is I

426
00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:25.920
think the score. I know we're I know we are

427
00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:28.480
going to talk about the score of this film here

428
00:24:28.519 --> 00:24:31.039
in a minute. I hope so because you're Wayne Whiteen,

429
00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:33.680
like if we don't have a soundtrack session, you know,

430
00:24:35.400 --> 00:24:38.599
but the music, the music's really intense. The c G

431
00:24:38.759 --> 00:24:42.559
I is is looking spectacular. There's a lot of tension.

432
00:24:44.119 --> 00:24:46.200
Let's walk walk me through this scene though, Like what

433
00:24:46.359 --> 00:24:49.279
you know what about it that it really stands out

434
00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:49.480
to you?

435
00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:53.400
Well, if you did bring up the cinematography, and you

436
00:24:53.440 --> 00:24:58.599
know the cinematographer and his film was Dante's Spinatti. I've

437
00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:00.839
always liked his work. He's on a lot of this

438
00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:03.400
director's films, but he's also done some really goods and

439
00:25:03.400 --> 00:25:05.880
he did a film from back in the nineties that

440
00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:08.519
I absolutely loved. You might be surprised that I really

441
00:25:08.599 --> 00:25:11.200
liked this one, but La Confidential I thought was an

442
00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:14.880
absolutely phenomenal film. I only went to the theater to

443
00:25:14.920 --> 00:25:17.680
see that because a Goldsmith's score, But I just fell

444
00:25:17.720 --> 00:25:20.720
in love with that film and it's beautifully shot and

445
00:25:20.759 --> 00:25:22.799
he brings a lot of the talent that he did

446
00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:26.400
on that film to this film. And you really see

447
00:25:26.440 --> 00:25:30.960
that in this in this scene. His camera angles, his movements,

448
00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:33.279
everything there are just absolutely beautiful.

449
00:25:34.119 --> 00:25:39.359
Wayne, I cannot agree more with you, but I'm gonna

450
00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:42.480
I'm gonna call it. I'm gonna warn you you may

451
00:25:43.240 --> 00:25:47.599
have inadvertently just given yourself more work to do. And

452
00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:55.079
here's why. Here's why. A couple couple episodes ago, we

453
00:25:55.079 --> 00:25:58.319
we mentioned LA Confidential and it was kind of in

454
00:25:58.359 --> 00:26:02.519
the kind of like offhand and kind of challenged our

455
00:26:02.559 --> 00:26:05.799
Patreon supporters and was like, oh, well, you know what,

456
00:26:05.960 --> 00:26:07.680
we'd talk about that one if you wanted to hear

457
00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:14.960
about it. And several Patreon subscribers were like, yep, bring

458
00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:16.400
on l A Confidential, So.

459
00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:18.640
Oh, I'd be willing to talk about it.

460
00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:20.759
I love that. That's good because now that they're hearing

461
00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:22.519
you talk, now that you've been brought it up, you

462
00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:26.440
know anyone that may have forgot because hey, look, Patreon family,

463
00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:29.119
we are going to get to it. But now that

464
00:26:29.160 --> 00:26:34.680
Wayne has dropped the LA Confidential title again, I guess

465
00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:37.000
we'll we'll have to move that up in the lineup

466
00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:40.839
and get that one out here sooner than later. And

467
00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:43.680
I'm okay with that, Wayne, I love I love LA Confidential.

468
00:26:43.720 --> 00:26:46.920
But but back to X Men, the Last Stand, Yeah,

469
00:26:47.720 --> 00:26:51.200
I don't know if it pissed Amber Lewis off, but

470
00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:55.480
it should have. It definitely pissed me off you you

471
00:26:55.480 --> 00:26:57.680
you mentioned a scene that that's seen the death of

472
00:26:58.039 --> 00:27:01.559
the supposed death of Professor X. Can we talk about

473
00:27:01.559 --> 00:27:06.480
the the Birth of Phoenix, which which happens to be

474
00:27:06.519 --> 00:27:08.880
the death of Cyclops for a minute.

475
00:27:09.480 --> 00:27:14.119
Yeah, I mean the scene is it's a beautiful scene

476
00:27:14.119 --> 00:27:18.799
once again. Yeah, it's beautifully shot. The visual effects are outstanding.

477
00:27:19.640 --> 00:27:24.359
It's kind of similar to what was in the comics

478
00:27:24.400 --> 00:27:28.160
in a very twisted way. But then you got his

479
00:27:28.359 --> 00:27:32.480
death and that just like destroys the scene for me.

480
00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:37.559
Okay, So it's great seeing Marson's getting a chance to

481
00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:43.559
kind of delve into some emotional pain, some trauma. He

482
00:27:43.680 --> 00:27:45.359
is at the beginning of this movie. He's mourning the

483
00:27:45.400 --> 00:27:49.640
loss of Jean Gray. He is not himself, doesn't care

484
00:27:49.640 --> 00:27:55.079
about teaching at the school. He's not really stepping into

485
00:27:55.119 --> 00:28:01.960
the leadership role that Charles Xavier had had assigned him. Yeah,

486
00:28:02.799 --> 00:28:06.519
and you know, he goes back to was Alkali Lake

487
00:28:07.599 --> 00:28:11.039
the you know, the scene, the heartbreaking scene, the climactic

488
00:28:11.079 --> 00:28:14.400
moment of X two X Men of United, and I

489
00:28:14.440 --> 00:28:16.480
don't know, it just feels like, you know, like you said,

490
00:28:16.519 --> 00:28:20.000
like it's it's reminiscent of the comic. But all of

491
00:28:20.039 --> 00:28:23.480
a sudden he just you know, he gives a laser

492
00:28:23.480 --> 00:28:26.720
blast of the water and then boom jeans.

493
00:28:26.759 --> 00:28:29.720
But it doesn't it doesn't make any sense. No, it's

494
00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:34.000
just I mean, why did I I understood what they're

495
00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:35.759
trying to go at, but it's not working. It just

496
00:28:35.799 --> 00:28:39.440
doesn't work. It doesn't come across on screen. You know

497
00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:42.799
why she killed him? You know the whole thing they're

498
00:28:42.799 --> 00:28:47.720
trying to They're trying to avoid the cosmic entity possession

499
00:28:47.920 --> 00:28:51.759
and could make it some sort of like multiple personality

500
00:28:51.799 --> 00:28:55.119
thing in her head. I don't like that. That really

501
00:28:55.160 --> 00:28:57.960
sours this film for me that they did that. But

502
00:28:58.039 --> 00:29:01.400
still even with the multiple personality, think why why did

503
00:29:01.440 --> 00:29:02.000
she kills.

504
00:29:02.119 --> 00:29:05.039
Why do you have to just just straight up murder

505
00:29:05.079 --> 00:29:09.720
him immediately right? You know? And again I'm not trying

506
00:29:09.759 --> 00:29:12.920
to pick it apart, but can I get can I

507
00:29:12.920 --> 00:29:18.319
get something a little more concrete as to how she's

508
00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:24.440
back or you know, why him going months later to

509
00:29:24.559 --> 00:29:27.559
that to that to that location and hitting it with

510
00:29:27.559 --> 00:29:30.920
an optic blast like stirs the water and like creates

511
00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:34.200
it like her return, like it's the last like you know,

512
00:29:35.319 --> 00:29:39.119
think about that, think about you know what what probably

513
00:29:39.160 --> 00:29:41.680
is the shittiest movie. In the Star Wars saga, you know,

514
00:29:41.720 --> 00:29:47.279
the last Jedi, we get somehow Palpatine has returned. Yeah,

515
00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:49.759
or maybe maybe it wasn't that one. I don't know.

516
00:29:50.079 --> 00:29:54.519
The sequel trilogy is trash, but it it's like, what

517
00:29:54.559 --> 00:29:56.319
do you mean, what do you mean somehow he returned.

518
00:29:56.359 --> 00:29:58.319
It's like it's like somehow Phoenix returned.

519
00:29:58.759 --> 00:30:02.119
Yeah, there's no explanation, no, no, no explanation that I'll

520
00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:07.079
accept in this film. She's just seriously, she just we're

521
00:30:07.079 --> 00:30:10.039
supposed to expect to accept that and now and now

522
00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:13.200
she's evil. You know, she's fighting her own mental Why White,

523
00:30:13.200 --> 00:30:13.920
why are you doing this?

524
00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:15.319
Just everybody story?

525
00:30:15.880 --> 00:30:19.160
And she's back home, you know, just just give us

526
00:30:19.200 --> 00:30:20.160
the original story.

527
00:30:20.160 --> 00:30:24.400
Professor sedated her, you know, like, hey wait, someone got her.

528
00:30:24.920 --> 00:30:26.599
You know, we got her on the operating table. She's

529
00:30:26.640 --> 00:30:31.279
in her sports broader, her short shorts. She's subdued, she's

530
00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:35.359
she's catatonic. We we're building mental barriers in her brain.

531
00:30:35.400 --> 00:30:35.680
Again.

532
00:30:36.680 --> 00:30:40.599
Ah, that's awful. It pissed me off. It's just the

533
00:30:40.640 --> 00:30:43.960
fact that they just lazily explain how she's back, and

534
00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:47.759
then on top of that, you you kill Cyclops basically

535
00:30:47.799 --> 00:30:48.319
off screen.

536
00:30:48.920 --> 00:30:50.640
Yeah, waste of a character.

537
00:30:50.720 --> 00:30:52.559
Waste, waste of a character. This is the leader.

538
00:30:53.559 --> 00:30:53.759
Yeah.

539
00:30:53.920 --> 00:30:56.680
Absolutely, I don't want to. I don't want to be

540
00:30:56.759 --> 00:31:01.200
completely dark like Dark Phoenix. I'll can we I'll say.

541
00:31:01.319 --> 00:31:01.480
Let me.

542
00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:03.640
Let me talk about three SAT three scenes I want

543
00:31:03.640 --> 00:31:06.759
to highlight real quick, just noteworthy. First off, the d

544
00:31:06.920 --> 00:31:10.279
aging on Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen during the opening

545
00:31:10.319 --> 00:31:11.599
scene in nineteen eighty six.

546
00:31:11.880 --> 00:31:13.000
Oh that was that was well done.

547
00:31:13.440 --> 00:31:16.799
Looks really good for twenty twenty six, and downright amazing

548
00:31:16.799 --> 00:31:17.720
for two thousand and six.

549
00:31:17.880 --> 00:31:19.079
Yeah, yeah, I was.

550
00:31:19.160 --> 00:31:21.359
I was like, even watching it recently, I was like, wow,

551
00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:22.880
they I mean, they really knew what they were doing

552
00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:28.039
back then. Wahene, How excited were you to see the

553
00:31:28.119 --> 00:31:32.920
Danger Room in live action? We have waited forever hoping

554
00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:33.599
that we'd see that.

555
00:31:34.160 --> 00:31:36.160
Yeah, I mean it was a It's a great opening,

556
00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:38.359
and they were kind of giving us a little bit

557
00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:42.559
of the scenario from Days of Future Past, and I

558
00:31:42.599 --> 00:31:44.000
love that, I find, you know, finally we get to

559
00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:46.920
see a proper sentinel, We get to see some some

560
00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:50.480
proper action that matched the comics. I I that's in

561
00:31:50.519 --> 00:31:53.440
my opinion, actually, that's my favorite scene of the film.

562
00:31:53.640 --> 00:31:58.920
The comic book nearded me when when we get the uh,

563
00:31:58.960 --> 00:32:02.839
the Colossus Wolverine fastball, I'm like.

564
00:32:02.920 --> 00:32:04.920
Yes, we've been waiting for that.

565
00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:08.039
We've been waiting for that. So definitely a fun scene.

566
00:32:08.160 --> 00:32:12.920
Love that scene and then mystiques breakout. I don't care.

567
00:32:12.960 --> 00:32:16.279
It's always fun watching Magneto flip squad cars and eighteen

568
00:32:16.319 --> 00:32:20.000
wheelers off the road. Yeah, that's that whole scene is

569
00:32:20.039 --> 00:32:21.400
just a fun time. And you know, we get like

570
00:32:21.400 --> 00:32:29.359
the introduction of Juggernaut and you know, some other nameless masses.

571
00:32:29.400 --> 00:32:32.799
But I don't know. I like I said, I there's

572
00:32:32.839 --> 00:32:34.279
a lot of good things going on in this movie,

573
00:32:34.279 --> 00:32:36.359
so I didn't want to I didn't want to be

574
00:32:36.400 --> 00:32:37.240
completely negative.

575
00:32:37.319 --> 00:32:39.400
Oh he's right. I mean there are some good stuff

576
00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:42.880
and bits if we tear it apart, you know, seen

577
00:32:42.960 --> 00:32:45.000
by scene, there are some really really good things. I

578
00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:46.599
will admit there are parts of it I.

579
00:32:46.519 --> 00:32:49.920
Do like, Yeah, there's a lot I really love. But

580
00:32:51.160 --> 00:32:53.400
I think I think more than anything, I'm just I

581
00:32:53.519 --> 00:32:55.160
just it could have been so much more. And I

582
00:32:55.160 --> 00:32:57.720
think that's why I kind of took the the tone

583
00:32:58.039 --> 00:33:00.839
that I that I've taken on this episode with it.

584
00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:05.240
But let's talk numbers. Wayne released on May twenty six,

585
00:33:05.960 --> 00:33:09.559
two thousand and six, with an official runtime of one

586
00:33:09.599 --> 00:33:13.240
hour forty four minutes. Yeah, Wayne, Wayne, do you remember

587
00:33:13.640 --> 00:33:16.119
the days when a superhero film was anything less than

588
00:33:16.160 --> 00:33:17.119
two and a half hours.

589
00:33:17.920 --> 00:33:20.720
It's it was a long time ago. It feels like

590
00:33:20.720 --> 00:33:22.200
a completely different life's time.

591
00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:26.440
There's there's rumors right now Avengers Doomsday. They're saying like

592
00:33:26.599 --> 00:33:27.960
three hours, twenty minutes.

593
00:33:28.480 --> 00:33:31.240
Yeah, right now. Yeah. I don't have any problem with

594
00:33:31.359 --> 00:33:32.160
longer films.

595
00:33:32.160 --> 00:33:32.799
I don't need to.

596
00:33:33.359 --> 00:33:35.279
You know, Shorter films are kind of nice too.

597
00:33:36.039 --> 00:33:37.880
I just like when I when I cued this up,

598
00:33:37.920 --> 00:33:40.519
I was like, wait, an hour and forty four minutes.

599
00:33:41.519 --> 00:33:44.599
That can't be right, you know. Okay, well you know that.

600
00:33:44.720 --> 00:33:47.039
Yeah, And I think that also is a little bit

601
00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:48.720
of a problem. You know, when you're talking about Avengers

602
00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:50.880
dooms Day, there are a lot of characters going to

603
00:33:50.920 --> 00:33:52.920
be in that film and they're going to need the

604
00:33:52.960 --> 00:33:54.759
extra time. Well, there are a lot of characters in

605
00:33:54.799 --> 00:33:56.400
this film, and they didn't have that extra time. They

606
00:33:56.400 --> 00:33:59.039
probably didn't use They definitely could have used it, because,

607
00:34:00.359 --> 00:34:03.759
like I said, there was a lot of wasted characters here.

608
00:34:04.200 --> 00:34:07.119
And I think probably other than Jean Gray, The one

609
00:34:07.279 --> 00:34:09.599
character that I was really excited to see that I

610
00:34:09.639 --> 00:34:12.559
feel was very wasted in this film was Angel Warren

611
00:34:12.639 --> 00:34:16.000
Bob So. I was really excited about his appearance in

612
00:34:16.039 --> 00:34:18.440
this film because he was like the one major X

613
00:34:18.519 --> 00:34:21.400
Men that had been missing so far, and Beasts as well.

614
00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:23.760
Don't forget me, we got to bring that one up.

615
00:34:23.800 --> 00:34:27.119
We'll talk about that. But I was really excited about Angel,

616
00:34:27.280 --> 00:34:29.239
and I feel she he was wasted. But if they

617
00:34:29.280 --> 00:34:32.840
had an extra fifteen to twenty minutes more on his story,

618
00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:34.079
I would have been very very happy.

619
00:34:34.800 --> 00:34:38.960
Yeah, to finally see Angel on the big screen. I

620
00:34:38.960 --> 00:34:41.280
mean he's one of the og X Men, right, Yeah,

621
00:34:41.360 --> 00:34:43.559
we have all five of them now, we got all Yeah,

622
00:34:43.639 --> 00:34:47.599
they're all there. Love seeing love seeing him. It's just

623
00:34:48.360 --> 00:34:50.519
but he's also it's like three scenes total.

624
00:34:50.920 --> 00:34:53.480
Yeah, that's it. That's my problem. I mean, great character,

625
00:34:53.719 --> 00:34:56.199
very important X Men, and we rarely ever see him.

626
00:34:57.239 --> 00:35:01.760
Yeah, his dad who is U? He's like a politician, yeah,

627
00:35:02.440 --> 00:35:05.079
I'm like a businessman yeah, or a businessman. Yeah. He

628
00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:08.480
created the cure or his company created the cure.

629
00:35:08.679 --> 00:35:09.400
Yeah.

630
00:35:09.480 --> 00:35:11.840
I know him as the mayor of Gotham City from Batman.

631
00:35:12.639 --> 00:35:13.119
That's right.

632
00:35:13.519 --> 00:35:14.440
Yeah, I forgot about that.

633
00:35:16.119 --> 00:35:18.239
Yeah, we could have used a lot more Ben Foster,

634
00:35:18.480 --> 00:35:21.639
who young and upcoming at this point in his career.

635
00:35:22.559 --> 00:35:24.760
Really yeah, he looks great as Angel would have been.

636
00:35:24.800 --> 00:35:29.519
Would have been nice to develop him. Kelsey Grammer playing Beast.

637
00:35:29.880 --> 00:35:31.920
Oh yeah, he's fantastic.

638
00:35:32.519 --> 00:35:37.320
Kelsey Grammar playing Fraser Crane in blue fur and makeup,

639
00:35:38.159 --> 00:35:41.239
because he is basically Fraser and I, you know, I

640
00:35:41.280 --> 00:35:43.119
love it. I absolutely love what he's doing in.

641
00:35:43.039 --> 00:35:46.960
This That's perfect casting. That's that's perfect. Yes, he's he's

642
00:35:47.239 --> 00:35:49.760
he's When I remember, I remember back when they first

643
00:35:49.760 --> 00:35:51.480
announced that he was going to play the Beast, I'm like,

644
00:35:51.599 --> 00:35:53.760
oh gosh, that's probably that he made me even more

645
00:35:53.760 --> 00:35:57.159
excited for the film because that's perfect casting. And he's great.

646
00:35:57.199 --> 00:35:59.679
He's he is one of the best elements that came

647
00:35:59.679 --> 00:36:00.480
out of the film.

648
00:36:00.960 --> 00:36:04.960
Yeah, he is. When you think about the representation of

649
00:36:05.039 --> 00:36:09.360
Beast in the the ninety The X Men ninety seven cartoon,

650
00:36:10.679 --> 00:36:12.880
if you go back and watch that and then you say, hey,

651
00:36:13.480 --> 00:36:16.280
what about the guy that plays Fraser Crane, there is

652
00:36:16.400 --> 00:36:20.360
no better cast. That's perfect casting. And I love that

653
00:36:20.400 --> 00:36:22.440
we're still seeing him to this day. He's playing Beast,

654
00:36:22.519 --> 00:36:25.400
you know, he's he's in Doomsday.

655
00:36:25.599 --> 00:36:27.239
So yes, a.

656
00:36:27.159 --> 00:36:30.679
Lot of fun there. Back to the number zero. On

657
00:36:30.760 --> 00:36:33.119
a budget of two hundred and ten million, it went

658
00:36:33.159 --> 00:36:35.760
on to gross a yeah it is for night for

659
00:36:36.119 --> 00:36:38.360
two thousand and six, that's a lot. But it did

660
00:36:39.159 --> 00:36:42.039
gross a worldwide total of four hundred and sixty million,

661
00:36:42.760 --> 00:36:46.400
so at the time it was the highest grossing entry

662
00:36:46.440 --> 00:36:49.519
in the X Men franchise until Days of Future Pass,

663
00:36:49.599 --> 00:36:52.599
which I think is like eight years later. Maybe, Yeah,

664
00:36:52.599 --> 00:36:56.639
that's right. It's fifty six percent fresh on rotten tomatoes,

665
00:36:57.239 --> 00:37:00.840
which I'm not surprised about. I AMDB rating of six

666
00:37:00.880 --> 00:37:04.159
point six out of ten, not surprised.

667
00:37:04.000 --> 00:37:07.000
Little high maybe from maybe a little high.

668
00:37:07.079 --> 00:37:11.039
Fifty eight out of one hundred on Metacritic. Now here's

669
00:37:11.079 --> 00:37:15.679
the surprise, Wyane Cinema score average and this is yeah,

670
00:37:15.679 --> 00:37:17.840
I remember, this is this is the audience being pulled

671
00:37:18.639 --> 00:37:19.239
a minus.

672
00:37:20.159 --> 00:37:22.559
Oh no, what audience are they pulling?

673
00:37:22.719 --> 00:37:25.719
This is? You know, Wayne, Well, I'll ask you like

674
00:37:25.800 --> 00:37:28.000
you you went to the theater in two thousand and six.

675
00:37:28.159 --> 00:37:29.880
You rushed to the theater to see X Men the

676
00:37:29.920 --> 00:37:33.280
Last Stand? Did you leave disappointed or were you like

677
00:37:33.559 --> 00:37:38.000
were you just caught up in the You did leave nought.

678
00:37:38.400 --> 00:37:41.519
I left like I left the last Jedi. I was

679
00:37:41.639 --> 00:37:45.840
extremely disappointed because I when they built this up, I

680
00:37:45.920 --> 00:37:48.800
had so much great expectation, which was probably the mistake

681
00:37:48.920 --> 00:37:52.519
right there, and they didn't fulfill any of those expectations

682
00:37:52.519 --> 00:37:55.880
with the exception of The Beast. Okay, No, I was

683
00:37:55.920 --> 00:37:57.960
extremely disappointed in this film, especially since I knew it

684
00:37:57.960 --> 00:37:59.880
was probably going to be the last one I would

685
00:37:59.880 --> 00:38:00.280
have time.

686
00:38:00.519 --> 00:38:02.960
I would have I would have thought, young Wayne is

687
00:38:03.039 --> 00:38:06.199
leaving the theater going, well, I got Beast, I got

688
00:38:06.239 --> 00:38:09.800
the danger Room, I got I got Angel.

689
00:38:10.760 --> 00:38:12.920
Yeah, and those parts are nice, but it's those are

690
00:38:12.960 --> 00:38:15.280
only little bits. I really when I when it comes

691
00:38:15.320 --> 00:38:17.360
to a film, I really look at the script. The

692
00:38:17.360 --> 00:38:21.119
script is ninety percent of the of the film to me,

693
00:38:21.679 --> 00:38:25.280
and it's not there. It's just not there. When I

694
00:38:25.280 --> 00:38:26.639
can walk out of that and said, oh I could

695
00:38:26.639 --> 00:38:28.719
have done a better job right than that, then yeah,

696
00:38:28.760 --> 00:38:29.760
there's there's issues.

697
00:38:30.760 --> 00:38:33.559
Wayne. What do you What do you think Ebert and

698
00:38:33.679 --> 00:38:35.239
Roper thought of this one?

699
00:38:36.039 --> 00:38:38.360
If you had to guess, Oh, if I had to guess,

700
00:38:38.400 --> 00:38:39.639
I'd probably stay where they were.

701
00:38:39.679 --> 00:38:47.760
They were split two thumbs up. Really surprisingly Roger Ebert, Yeah,

702
00:38:47.840 --> 00:38:50.599
I'm gonna quote him. See, I'll give you I'll quote somebody,

703
00:38:50.880 --> 00:38:52.400
you know. Since I'm not gonna quote the director, I

704
00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:57.440
will quote Ebert. Ebert said, I liked the action. I

705
00:38:57.599 --> 00:39:02.400
liked the absurdity. I liked the incongruous use and misuse

706
00:39:02.440 --> 00:39:05.559
of mutant powers. And I especially like the way it

707
00:39:05.599 --> 00:39:09.159
introduces all those political issues and lets him fight it

708
00:39:09.199 --> 00:39:15.920
out with the special effects. Hmm. Interesting take it is.

709
00:39:15.960 --> 00:39:18.760
I'm really surprised that, because there's a lot of films

710
00:39:18.760 --> 00:39:20.639
that I thought were fantastic that he did not like.

711
00:39:22.679 --> 00:39:25.760
I'm surprised, but you know, hey, you know everyone every

712
00:39:26.400 --> 00:39:29.360
I will never say that a person shouldn't like a film.

713
00:39:29.519 --> 00:39:32.800
I'll give my opinion, but you know everybody has their

714
00:39:32.840 --> 00:39:35.880
their favorites and and and their likes and their dislikes.

715
00:39:35.880 --> 00:39:39.199
So if you like this film, please you know, rave

716
00:39:39.239 --> 00:39:41.840
about it. You know where I know we're tearing it down,

717
00:39:41.880 --> 00:39:45.000
but but you know, I'm not going to critique anyone first.

718
00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:49.480
I'm listen. I'm I'm just I'm I'm I'm I'm giving

719
00:39:49.519 --> 00:39:53.360
it some tough love, that's all. And that you know.

720
00:39:53.719 --> 00:39:58.400
It's currently available on UH on Dizzy Plus to go

721
00:39:58.440 --> 00:40:02.400
to the Marvel tile, it's under the Mutant Legacy timeline.

722
00:40:02.599 --> 00:40:05.719
It's It's also available as part of several X Men

723
00:40:05.760 --> 00:40:08.599
box sets. I've got the I've got the X Men

724
00:40:08.639 --> 00:40:10.800
and the Wolverine collection. But I'm guessing there's a newer

725
00:40:10.960 --> 00:40:12.840
complete set that has every film in it.

726
00:40:14.039 --> 00:40:16.079
Oh, I think there probably is or one coming, at

727
00:40:16.119 --> 00:40:17.079
least one coming.

728
00:40:17.159 --> 00:40:19.400
Yeah, there needs to be like one big box set.

729
00:40:19.559 --> 00:40:23.119
But Wayne, you know, you said it right there. You know,

730
00:40:23.760 --> 00:40:26.559
if people like it, shout it out, like, would you

731
00:40:26.639 --> 00:40:28.960
recommend X Men the last stand?

732
00:40:29.440 --> 00:40:32.119
I would recommend it if you were wanting to watch

733
00:40:32.599 --> 00:40:35.920
the three of them together. I would not skip the

734
00:40:35.920 --> 00:40:39.079
first two if you were like doing an X Men marathon.

735
00:40:39.360 --> 00:40:41.039
This isn't one that I would say, oh, just skip

736
00:40:41.079 --> 00:40:44.480
this one, you know. But you know, this isn't like

737
00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:46.880
you know, some of the I have said that on

738
00:40:46.960 --> 00:40:49.719
other things. I definitely say you should watch it, just

739
00:40:49.719 --> 00:40:52.400
just to finish out this trilogy and to make a

740
00:40:52.440 --> 00:40:54.280
little bit of sense of the films that were coming after,

741
00:40:54.360 --> 00:40:56.880
because I don't think you can skip this and then

742
00:40:57.920 --> 00:40:59.800
kind of you know, kind of understand a little bit

743
00:40:59.840 --> 00:41:02.599
of of the characterizations from like Days of Future Past.

744
00:41:03.960 --> 00:41:06.880
So don't don't skip it. But if your listen, if

745
00:41:06.880 --> 00:41:09.280
you never seen any other X Men films and you're

746
00:41:09.320 --> 00:41:11.599
wanting to just watch one of them, then don't start

747
00:41:11.599 --> 00:41:13.519
with this one. Start with start with the K one.

748
00:41:13.920 --> 00:41:16.119
Yeah, you gotta start with them, all right, I got

749
00:41:16.440 --> 00:41:20.800
I gotta be honest. After this recent rewatch, I'm kind

750
00:41:20.800 --> 00:41:24.920
of agreen with Ebert and Rupert, I will recommend it it.

751
00:41:25.920 --> 00:41:28.679
The more I watched it, the more we've talked about

752
00:41:28.679 --> 00:41:31.760
this hour, I feel like they kind of captured the

753
00:41:31.800 --> 00:41:34.920
spirit of the uh not to go back to it again,

754
00:41:35.880 --> 00:41:38.000
but the spirit of the X Men ninety seven cartoon.

755
00:41:38.039 --> 00:41:40.679
And maybe it's on my mind because I know season

756
00:41:40.679 --> 00:41:43.199
two is is hidden in July.

757
00:41:44.480 --> 00:41:46.880
Yes it is. I'm looking forward to that. I just

758
00:41:46.880 --> 00:41:48.119
watched me today.

759
00:41:47.960 --> 00:41:51.119
Me too. I love that trailer. But you know, while

760
00:41:51.159 --> 00:41:54.639
this movie it doesn't deliver on the trailer's promise of

761
00:41:54.679 --> 00:41:58.079
a war to end all wars, it does have some

762
00:41:58.119 --> 00:42:05.039
extraordinary action sequences, and outside of a couple of disappointments,

763
00:42:05.079 --> 00:42:09.239
it's got some pretty impressive performances. Say what you will,

764
00:42:09.559 --> 00:42:12.559
Hugh Jackman, He's coming into his own at this point

765
00:42:12.599 --> 00:42:16.000
as Wolverine. I know some people were like, you know,

766
00:42:16.039 --> 00:42:18.039
what I want an X Men movie and an ensemble

767
00:42:18.079 --> 00:42:22.079
and he's kind of taken over, but yeah, it's kind

768
00:42:22.079 --> 00:42:23.920
of yeah, he did in the comic, you know, so

769
00:42:24.039 --> 00:42:26.920
we're we're not too far off. But I'm gonna recommend it,

770
00:42:26.920 --> 00:42:28.519
I say, I say check it out.

771
00:42:29.039 --> 00:42:31.880
You have to understand where I'm coming from because I

772
00:42:31.920 --> 00:42:34.039
have a lot of bias against this film, and it's

773
00:42:34.039 --> 00:42:36.239
the reason is and a lot of people will know

774
00:42:36.280 --> 00:42:39.000
me for a Star Trek, but long before Star Trek

775
00:42:39.039 --> 00:42:41.400
came around, I was a comic lover. I've been collecting

776
00:42:41.760 --> 00:42:46.079
since I was like five years old, and first issue

777
00:42:46.119 --> 00:42:48.320
was Star Wars. Issue one was my very first comic book,

778
00:42:48.679 --> 00:42:52.960
but my very first superhero comic book. The very the

779
00:42:53.079 --> 00:42:55.760
first one that I ever owned was X Men one

780
00:42:55.960 --> 00:42:57.679
thirty six and that was the second to the last

781
00:42:57.719 --> 00:43:00.519
issue of the Dark Phoenix Saga, my first experience with

782
00:43:00.559 --> 00:43:02.840
any supers other than the super Friends on TV.

783
00:43:03.400 --> 00:43:03.840
Wow.

784
00:43:04.119 --> 00:43:05.880
I kind of fell in love with the X Men,

785
00:43:05.920 --> 00:43:07.760
and I followed the X Men through the eighties and

786
00:43:07.800 --> 00:43:09.440
through the nineties. I kind of fell out of love

787
00:43:09.480 --> 00:43:11.639
in the two thousands, but I've come back to it,

788
00:43:12.199 --> 00:43:13.960
so you know, I have a lot of this This

789
00:43:14.079 --> 00:43:17.519
seventies and eighties where I just love those stories. So

790
00:43:17.559 --> 00:43:19.559
when I saw this film was being made, I had

791
00:43:19.639 --> 00:43:22.559
such high hopes that this was going to match my

792
00:43:22.760 --> 00:43:26.760
love bring back my love for the X Men that

793
00:43:26.840 --> 00:43:28.760
I had from back in the seventies and the eighties

794
00:43:28.760 --> 00:43:31.360
when I was reading it, and it unfortunately it did not.

795
00:43:32.199 --> 00:43:34.800
All Right, well, I'll tell you what we're gonna We're

796
00:43:34.800 --> 00:43:37.280
not gonna end on on a sour note. We're gonna

797
00:43:37.360 --> 00:43:41.199
end on a on a good note. We uh me.

798
00:43:41.840 --> 00:43:45.599
I think the listeners, Wayne, we have been starving all

799
00:43:45.639 --> 00:43:52.079
season long for a Wayne Whited soundtrack session. Can we

800
00:43:52.119 --> 00:43:56.000
talk about the score of this film because I happen

801
00:43:56.079 --> 00:43:56.559
to like it?

802
00:43:57.320 --> 00:44:00.920
Yes, I think it's probably it's definitely my favorite part

803
00:44:00.920 --> 00:44:02.039
of the film.

804
00:44:02.079 --> 00:44:06.039
Well, am I am? I? Am? I? Am I crazy?

805
00:44:06.400 --> 00:44:10.000
Or do I really like it? Because it there's more?

806
00:44:10.039 --> 00:44:16.000
I listened to the entire score yesterday and am I wrong?

807
00:44:16.079 --> 00:44:19.199
Or does it kind of feel like a like a

808
00:44:19.320 --> 00:44:21.159
like a Tim Burton Batman film?

809
00:44:21.199 --> 00:44:21.800
Like it almost?

810
00:44:22.280 --> 00:44:24.239
It feels kind of like it belongs here? Wayne can

811
00:44:24.360 --> 00:44:26.639
tell us about this composer, tell us about this score.

812
00:44:50.599 --> 00:44:53.639
John Powell's score to X Men. The Last Stand is

813
00:44:54.000 --> 00:44:57.440
in my opinion, one of the most ambitious and exciting

814
00:44:57.719 --> 00:45:02.440
entries in the composer's blockbus to filmography. Tasked with taking

815
00:45:02.440 --> 00:45:06.280
over a franchise previously defined by Michael Kaman and John Ottman,

816
00:45:06.840 --> 00:45:10.199
pou chose not to mimic his predecessors or use their themes,

817
00:45:10.519 --> 00:45:13.679
but rather to entirely redefine the identity of the X

818
00:45:13.719 --> 00:45:18.440
Men films with his own unique signature sound, Introducing a sweeping,

819
00:45:18.679 --> 00:45:21.320
brass heavy main theme that captures the field of the

820
00:45:21.400 --> 00:45:25.800
mutant hero's comic adventures. He masterfully balances the film's brand

821
00:45:25.840 --> 00:45:29.559
political themes with a sense of tragedy, signaling right from

822
00:45:29.559 --> 00:45:32.119
the opening moments of the film that this chapter of

823
00:45:32.159 --> 00:45:36.679
the saga can carry severe consequences. John Powell is no

824
00:45:36.760 --> 00:45:39.000
stranger to action films. When he accepted the job for

825
00:45:39.039 --> 00:45:40.960
The X Men The Last Standard back in two thousand

826
00:45:41.000 --> 00:45:44.559
and six, he had delivered some memorable and exciting music

827
00:45:44.559 --> 00:45:47.719
for the film's face off Agent Cody Banks and Both

828
00:45:47.840 --> 00:45:51.039
Born Identities and its sequel of The Born Supremacy. But

829
00:45:51.119 --> 00:45:53.440
with X Men, it allowed him to delve deeper into

830
00:45:53.480 --> 00:45:57.880
his ability to capture emotional feeling along with the exciting thrills.

831
00:45:58.360 --> 00:46:02.920
Where the score truly triumphs is Impow's trademark propulsive action writing,

832
00:46:03.360 --> 00:46:06.920
which remains some of the finest of its era. Cues

833
00:46:07.079 --> 00:46:10.400
like The Battle of the Cure and Whirlpoor Showcase hit

834
00:46:10.440 --> 00:46:15.400
an incredible layering of dense percussion, aggressive brash and an

835
00:46:15.440 --> 00:46:21.559
ominous swelling choir, Palell manages to orchestrate chaos with absolute precision,

836
00:46:22.360 --> 00:46:26.800
utilizing complex rhythmic structures that inject the film's climax and

837
00:46:26.840 --> 00:46:30.920
an infectious, forward moving adrenaline. It is a masterclass of

838
00:46:30.920 --> 00:46:35.280
how to elevate standard superhero action films into a chaotic,

839
00:46:35.679 --> 00:46:41.119
operatic spectacle. Equally compelling is the scores emotional core, primarily

840
00:46:41.199 --> 00:46:44.880
driven by the thematic material for Gene Gray's transformation into

841
00:46:44.920 --> 00:46:48.599
the Phoenix. In tracks such as The Phoenix Rises and

842
00:46:48.719 --> 00:46:53.719
Dark Phoenix's Tragedy, Powell opts to hotly beautiful tragic motifs

843
00:46:54.079 --> 00:46:57.880
that avoid the cliches of the standard comic book villain theme.

844
00:46:58.679 --> 00:47:04.320
By blending fragile dreams with sudden, overwhelming orchestral crescendos. The

845
00:47:04.400 --> 00:47:10.440
music perfectly mirrors Gene's internal psychological breakdown, ensuring that her

846
00:47:10.519 --> 00:47:16.360
destructive power feels deeply sorrowful rather than just monsters now.

847
00:47:16.400 --> 00:47:18.199
Two highlights of the score from me would be the

848
00:47:18.239 --> 00:47:21.960
cue Dark Phoenix's Tragedy. As I mentioned before, it's an

849
00:47:21.960 --> 00:47:25.360
incredibly powerful piece of music that starts out frantic but

850
00:47:25.440 --> 00:47:29.000
begins to build into a massive, sweeping statement of the

851
00:47:29.039 --> 00:47:32.920
central Phoenix theme that Pal had created. He's done some

852
00:47:33.119 --> 00:47:35.920
powerful pieces of music in his career, but this is

853
00:47:35.960 --> 00:47:39.760
definitely moving beyond the normal from him. Second, I have

854
00:47:39.840 --> 00:47:43.280
to mention the cue Attack on Alcatraz, which kicks off

855
00:47:43.320 --> 00:47:47.119
a twenty minute frenzy of music covering the final battle

856
00:47:47.119 --> 00:47:50.679
of the film. It and the following four tracks create

857
00:47:50.760 --> 00:47:56.679
one massive, interconnected musical set piece. It's exhilarating and relentlessly paced,

858
00:47:57.199 --> 00:48:01.119
rarely pausing for a breath, with emotional energy. The film's

859
00:48:01.119 --> 00:48:03.880
score has only ever had one single release, back in

860
00:48:03.920 --> 00:48:07.119
two thousand and six, produced by Very Sarah Band around

861
00:48:07.159 --> 00:48:09.440
the time of the film's release. It is a single

862
00:48:09.559 --> 00:48:12.840
CD but contains a healthy dose to the film's score,

863
00:48:12.920 --> 00:48:15.719
with twenty seven tracks totaling just a little over an

864
00:48:15.760 --> 00:48:18.800
hour of music. And while there hasn't been a complete

865
00:48:18.880 --> 00:48:20.760
release of the film's score from any of the major

866
00:48:20.840 --> 00:48:23.880
labels yet, but with Lala lands Reca's release of the

867
00:48:23.920 --> 00:48:26.760
first two X Men scores, I'm fairly confident that this

868
00:48:26.760 --> 00:48:30.679
one is right around the corner. Ultimately, Powe's work on

869
00:48:30.719 --> 00:48:33.880
The Last Stand remains a high water mark for the franchise,

870
00:48:34.239 --> 00:48:39.559
successfully injecting a sense of mythic weight to a structurally

871
00:48:39.639 --> 00:48:43.199
flawed narrative. While the film itself can be at times

872
00:48:43.360 --> 00:48:46.960
a muddled mess, the score stands alone as a cohesive,

873
00:48:47.400 --> 00:48:50.760
deeply passionate piece of art that captures a composer at

874
00:48:50.840 --> 00:48:55.679
the height of his symphonic powers. It balances breathtaking spectacle

875
00:48:55.960 --> 00:49:00.960
with genuine emotional gravity, cementing it as a memorable, top

876
00:49:01.000 --> 00:49:04.880
tier superhero score of the two thousands. Here we go.

877
00:49:05.119 --> 00:49:10.079
Oh, you know everyone listening that that love your soundtrack sessions,

878
00:49:12.239 --> 00:49:14.559
They're probably like, are we seriously They're at the end

879
00:49:14.559 --> 00:49:16.559
of the show. Are they seriously not going to give

880
00:49:16.599 --> 00:49:21.079
us a Wayne soundtrack moment? Like? What? What bullshit? No?

881
00:49:21.159 --> 00:49:22.800
I was just saving it. I wanted to end on

882
00:49:22.840 --> 00:49:24.480
a high note. That's that's how we do it. Wayne,

883
00:49:25.440 --> 00:49:26.320
I've missed that.

884
00:49:27.480 --> 00:49:29.800
Well, hopefully I can do more. There's got some good

885
00:49:29.800 --> 00:49:31.679
films I know coming up that I yeah, we got a.

886
00:49:31.639 --> 00:49:33.840
Lot of we've got a lot of good ones. Well,

887
00:49:34.280 --> 00:49:35.840
we got we got a lot of good stuff coming

888
00:49:35.880 --> 00:49:39.239
this this season. Still, next time on a film buy,

889
00:49:39.960 --> 00:49:42.119
Amber Lewis and I will debate whether or not the

890
00:49:42.159 --> 00:49:47.639
house always wins with a look at Oceans eleven. I

891
00:49:47.719 --> 00:49:50.280
know you've seen it, So how would you summarize it

892
00:49:50.360 --> 00:49:55.239
in exactly five words? Uh? Go to a film by

893
00:49:55.280 --> 00:49:59.000
podcast dot com, give us your answer or email us

894
00:49:59.519 --> 00:50:03.039
at a film I podcast at gmail dot com. If

895
00:50:03.039 --> 00:50:05.760
we use your five words synopsis on the show, like

896
00:50:05.800 --> 00:50:08.119
we we shouted out several of our Patreon members at

897
00:50:08.119 --> 00:50:10.360
the top of the hour. Uh, if we use yours,

898
00:50:10.360 --> 00:50:11.800
we'll shout you out. We'll give you some of a

899
00:50:11.800 --> 00:50:16.000
film by swag and Hey, Patreon supporters, you know it's

900
00:50:16.039 --> 00:50:19.199
talking about talk. I'm talking to Brad and Steve and James.

901
00:50:19.519 --> 00:50:21.679
We got something fun coming your way. So you know,

902
00:50:22.000 --> 00:50:26.039
sit tight. I'll tell you this, Wayne, we're doing Oceans eleven.

903
00:50:26.960 --> 00:50:29.960
I'll challenge I'll challenge everyone right now if you want

904
00:50:29.960 --> 00:50:32.559
to go the extra step, if you can give me

905
00:50:33.760 --> 00:50:38.519
an eleven word synopsis about Oceans eleven, listeners, you got

906
00:50:38.559 --> 00:50:41.519
to use exactly eleven. I know Amber is gonna love this.

907
00:50:41.840 --> 00:50:44.400
I should tell her, I should, I should challenge her. Uh,

908
00:50:44.880 --> 00:50:49.719
if you use eleven words exactly to describe oceans eleven

909
00:50:50.519 --> 00:50:53.880
and we pick yours, I'll I'll give you the tea,

910
00:50:54.119 --> 00:50:56.079
I'll tell you all the swag. But also I'll give

911
00:50:56.079 --> 00:50:58.920
you a free month of our Patreon. You can get

912
00:50:58.920 --> 00:51:01.800
in there, download all all the exclusive content, get all

913
00:51:01.840 --> 00:51:05.920
the episodes, and uh, just just go nuts have a

914
00:51:05.920 --> 00:51:09.000
good time. So I'll do I'll do that, Wayne.

915
00:51:08.800 --> 00:51:09.639
Yeah, that sounds great.

916
00:51:10.159 --> 00:51:13.480
Yeah. As always, please join us on social media. You'll

917
00:51:13.480 --> 00:51:18.119
find us on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, x. We absolutely love

918
00:51:18.159 --> 00:51:21.639
interacting with all of you, sharing opinions, taking your requests

919
00:51:21.679 --> 00:51:27.280
for future episodes, and debating great movies. Wayne, it has

920
00:51:27.320 --> 00:51:31.239
been a pleasure having you back on uh What's what's

921
00:51:31.239 --> 00:51:33.000
Scott called the Flagship Show.

922
00:51:33.440 --> 00:51:37.480
Yeah, been great to have you here. Yeah, it's great

923
00:51:37.519 --> 00:51:39.280
being here. I always love doing these at last, love

924
00:51:39.360 --> 00:51:42.880
talking about films that I love and somethings that I

925
00:51:42.960 --> 00:51:44.960
don't quite love as much as I should.

926
00:51:45.440 --> 00:51:49.119
Yeah. Well, it's always great to hear you and David

927
00:51:49.119 --> 00:51:50.960
and Scott on the Bridge of the Enterprise. But I

928
00:51:51.079 --> 00:51:54.800
understand next month you and David are what you're trading

929
00:51:54.800 --> 00:51:56.400
the Delta Quadrant for dinosaurs.

930
00:51:57.239 --> 00:52:01.639
Yes, we are. We are talking about the the third

931
00:52:02.159 --> 00:52:05.400
in the Jurassic Park trilogy, in my opinion, because I

932
00:52:05.800 --> 00:52:08.000
only in my own mind considered there are only three,

933
00:52:08.480 --> 00:52:11.320
and that is Jurassic Park three, directed by one of

934
00:52:11.320 --> 00:52:14.840
my favorite directors, Joe Johnson. So I'm really looking forward

935
00:52:14.880 --> 00:52:16.360
to talking to that with David.

936
00:52:17.119 --> 00:52:17.960
Oh, that'll be a good one.

937
00:52:18.039 --> 00:52:19.719
Yeah, especially since we saw the film together.

938
00:52:20.239 --> 00:52:22.519
Yeah, that's uh, that's part of the next month. We

939
00:52:22.599 --> 00:52:25.639
got our what is it a gambling good guys in

940
00:52:25.679 --> 00:52:29.000
Blockbuster Part threes. Obviously we're kicking it off with Ocean's

941
00:52:29.000 --> 00:52:31.800
eleven then, you know, so we've we give them one

942
00:52:31.800 --> 00:52:33.519
of the gambling good guys that you got. You just

943
00:52:33.559 --> 00:52:36.400
you just teed it up Jurastic Part three, So we

944
00:52:36.519 --> 00:52:40.039
got another gambling good guy. We got another Blockbuster Part three.

945
00:52:40.280 --> 00:52:44.280
So listeners come back because, uh, it'll be a fun month.

946
00:52:44.960 --> 00:52:48.559
Uh in in in June. As always, to all of

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00:52:48.599 --> 00:52:52.360
you listening to the show, subscribing to our ever growing

948
00:52:52.440 --> 00:52:56.039
YouTube channel, following us on social media, and supporting the

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00:52:56.039 --> 00:53:00.360
show on our Patreon, we absolutely thank you and we'll

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00:53:00.400 --> 00:53:03.000
see you next time. M