X-Men the real ending
So everyone's excited today about the final scene of X-Men: The Last Stand, the one at the end of the credits - see the review written on Monday for the very advice, stay until the end. There's so much talk about what this does to the story, except it's not the big surprise at the end of the movie.
Sure it's dropped in at the end of the credits and gives us a surprise, but it's nothing in respect of the revelation of the final scene before the credits.
There's no way to avoid this so I'm going to talk about this in the full article. This means the rest of the story will contain the full written explanations of both endings, note that these are huge spoilers, mammoth film killer spoilers.
Here goes, last warning for total X-Men 3 spoilers. Do not click through or read any further if you haven't yet seen the film...
Okay, so if you're this far you've either seen the film or don't want to see it. Here's the surprise in the scene at the end of the credits.
As the credits roll we know who is dead, we've already seen him die horribly, albeit with a smile on his face. During the film Xavier talked about transferring brain patterns, or consciousness, from one person into the mind of someone born with none. This is the person we see lying in a hospital bed in a coma that at the end of the film after the credits. The Doctor attends to the patient and hears Xavier's voice greeting her as the patient turns his head to her. He's alive.
That's the end. Surprise Xavier is alive. Sure, that's a surprise and it's well done because Ratner sneaks that earlier scene in so well you don't think it's connected.
However, this is just the surprise that a character you thought was dead wasn't, and anyway the whole film has just gone to show that he's not that important as we would have though as the rest of the X-Men managed quite well without him. After all, together they brought down his killer.
No, the real big surprise is that the Mutant cure just doesn't work. Although we see many Mutants shot and cured, including Rogue, Mystique and Magneto himself, the last scene of Magneto playing chess shows us the failing.
He raises his hand to a metal chess piece and waves his fingers gently, and ever so slightly the chess piece moves. Credits.
Now that's the big revelation of the piece, and it's alluded to in the film itself. The Mutant who is used to harvest the cure has the power to nullify any other Mutants powers who are within close proximity, and the Doctor looking after him hints that they haven't narrowed down the gene yet.
So what's the bigger surprise? Xavier is still alive, or that the underlying thread of the entire film, the Mutant gene cure, doesn't work and that all those who voluntarily took it or were shot with it will soon return to be Mutants?
For me the Magneto scene is the killer final scene and had me audibly expressing my approval, not the Xavier is alive moment after the credits, although that is very good itself.
What are your thoughts now you've seen it?
Promotion