X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Directed by Brett Ratner
Evolution; Genetic discrimination; Genetic engineering; Mutations; Science fiction
When scientists discover a “cure” for the mutant gene, Xavier’s X-Men and Magneto’s Brotherhood take opposing views on how best to preserve the mutant lifestyle.
This movie begins where X2: X-Men United (2002) ends, with Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) organizing a raid on the FDA to discover the source of a new mutant “cure.” This cure, which permanently suppresses the mutant gene, is created by a scientist whose primary motivation is to reverse his own son’s mutation. Dr. Worthington claims that because mutations are “the corruption of healthy cellular activity,” they should be treated like diseases. The possibility of this cure divides mutants across the country: some mutants see the cure as freedom from the burden of uncontrollable powers, while others, including both Xavier (Patrick Stewart)’s X-Men and Magneto’s Brotherhood, see it as an attempt to impose a normalized and inferior humanity. Magneto and his followers sense a turning point in the war between humans and mutants, particularly since the cure is used as a weapon against Mystique, while the X-Men favor nonviolent opposition to counter the push for the cure. Meanwhile, the X-Men struggle with the return of Jean Grey (Famke Jannsen), who supposedly died in Alkali Lake. Jean protects herself from certain death with her telekinetic powers, but at the sacrifice of the mental barriers that Xavier long before established to help her control her powers. Without these mental blocks, Jean’s alter ego Phoenix emerges and destroys everyone attempting to restrain her, including Cyclops and Xavier. When Magneto lures Phoenix to his side, the X-Men must take one final stand against the Brotherhood, to protect the mutant whose DNA is the source of the cure.
Rogue (Anna Paquin) takes the cure because her powers prohibit her from enjoying physical contact. Some mutants consider her decision self-destructive or cowardly, although she cannot adapt to powers that isolate her from those she loves. Other mutants, like Dr. Worthington’s son, who once tried to cut his wings off, desire to be accepted but cannot face the cure. While humans and mutants are more capable of coexisting than ever before – Dr. Hank McCoy, for instance, is part of the President’s Cabinet – the use of the cure as a weapon against mutants implies that there is inherent conflict between the two. Indeed, the President’s use of the terms “human” and “mutant” as mutually exclusive perpetuates this division. Magneto calls the X-Men “traitors to their own cause” because they chose to protect rather than destroy the mutant source of the cure, but the X-Men represent responsible application of powers. Both Magneto and Phoenix ultimately must be restrained – Magneto through the cure, Phoenix through death – because their emotional instability makes their powers destructive. The cure, then, is less the extermination that Magneto imagines than a means of mediating the imbalance that their powers create. The President believes that democracy cannot survive when there are mutants capable of rearranging cities, and events surrounding the cure indicate that the true threat to democracy is not mitigating some mutants’ powers. Still, while these regulations are necessary, they could lead to a slippery slope that endangers all mutants’ freedom.
Evaluation: The idea that mutations could – or should – be cured exploits a general investment in social and genetic stasis that seeps into debates about genetic technologies, and in this way takes up contemporary genetic issues in ways that the previous X-Men films have not. This film has a lighter atmosphere than previous film adaptations of the comic book series, yet it incorporates a greater sense of unity between the mutant characters.
– Natalie Champ