Supposedly the final piece to the X-Men series, this lively, energetic, and fun cap to the trilogy is a worthy send off to this fantastic comic book based series. While a director change early on caused some controversy, Rush Hour director Brett Ratner does a fantastic job with the material. If anything, there's not enough here.
The film's problem is the lack of character development or even introduction. While Colossus was teased in the previous two installments, he's used extensively here in battle sequences. There's no introduction to the character, his background, or why he's suddenly so involved. This happens with multiple mutants, and unless you're a die-hard supporter of the comics, a lot of these introductions feel abrupt.
Wisely the movie stays on Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) as it did previously. Storm (Halle Berry) is given an expanded role more in sync with her part in the comics. This, of course, leads to some epic fight sequences, providing memorable and what will undoubtedly become classic images. Ian McKellen, flawlessly cast as Magneto, takes the Golden Gate Bridge and literally moves it off its base to suit his needs. It's unforgettable.
The story creates a plausible scenario given the fantasy setting revolving around a "cure" for mutants. Protests and debates ensue, creating a solid reason for the conflicts to follow. Magneto is almost a sympathetic character, an odd spot for the lead villain. He firmly believes he's in the right, though when he's killing hundreds, it's hard to buy into that angle.
As a third film, The Last Stand rapidly brings the audience to the present in finely spun flashbacks and dialogue. It's enough to grasp the basics to follow the rest of the film. Neither of the writers worked on the first film in the series, and for Simon Kinberg, this was his first. It gives the film a different dialogue feel, especially in the realm of comedy. A line spoken by Juggernaut during the final struggle is simply priceless.
The closing is also worth mentioning, providing a nice "what if" scenario should the series continue. It's also worth noting that it's not over until after the credits scroll. You'll miss a key point if you don't keep watching.
As a send off, The Last Stand pulls together all loose ends to a satisfactory level. Fans can continue to wonder where their favorite characters are (especially Gambit), while the more casual fans can sit back and enjoy a solid piece of action filmmaking. Brett Ratner handled his last minute addition to the director's chair wonderfully. 
Things start off rough for this DVD edition of the film. Contrast levels are initially blinding, but things quickly take a turn for the better. Clarity, detail, and sharpness are stunning. There are trouble spots where the compression artifacts show through rather obviously, while the spot-on black levels hide them the rest of the way through.
Article comments
1 - Dynamo of Eternia
"Aside from that, 24 separate deleted scenes run about 20-minutes total."
Ah, so you ended up with the version with over 20 deleted scenes.
The one I got only has 10, and that's all there was supposed to be. However, apparently due to some kind of production error, some got out that have a bunch of extra deleted scenes that are not meant to be on this edition of the DVD.
And unfortunately there is no way to tell which version you are getting until you open it. I ended up with the 10 deleted scene version, which I am not upset about because that's what I was expecting.
There's supposed to be some kind of special edition DVD to be released later on with more extras, including these additional deleted scenes.
As far as disc content goes, the current Collector's Edition is supposed to be no different than the standard version. The only difference is supposed to be the comic book that it comes with and the outer box which holds the comic and the regular DVD case.
It's weird when a screw up like this happens.