X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) was a box-office success, but not everyone loved it. Justin Chang of Variety said the film is "a wham-bam sequel noticeably lacking in the pop gravitas, moody atmospherics and emotional weight that made the first two Marvel comicbook adaptations so rousingly successful." That means it wasn't as good as the first two, which I agree with.
Concept art by Adrien Van Viersen show scenes from early versions of script that could have been awesome. In one scene, from an early version of the script by writers Dan Harris, Michael Dougherty and John Ottman, Jean Grey destroys San Fransisco and is overwhelmed by her powers. To save everyone, she kills herself and her "spirit" survives and becomes a "godlike cosmic" creature, which Dougherty compared to the "star child" in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Storyboards show a scene from an early draft of the script where Kitty Pride (Ellen Page) visits the President in his limo and the storyboard for the classic scene where she saves Jimmy/"Leech" (Cameron Bright) from the Juggernaut (Vinny Jones).
Plus, Colossus kicks the Juggernaut in the head.
Adrien Van Viersen is a professional concept and storyboard artist who's worked on big-budget projects like The Incredible Hulk, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and X-Men 2.
Check them out after the jump and click to embiggen (enlarge).
Watch the Juggernaut scene.
See more of Adrien Van Viersen's work at www.adrienvanviersen.com
Click on the links if you want to see more of Adrien Van Viersen's work and X-Men: The Last Stand film.
Wikipedia Summary
X-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 American superhero film, based on the X-Men characters appearing in Marvel Comics. The third installment in the X-Men film series, the film was directed by Brett Ratner and stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry. The film's script is loosely based on two X-Men comic book story arcs, "The Dark Phoenix Saga" by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne, and "Gifted" by writer Joss Whedon and artist John Cassaday, with a plot that revolves around a "mutant cure" that causes serious repercussions among mutants and humans, and on the mysterious resurrection of Jean Grey.
Director: Brett Ratner
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen
Official site: http://www.xmenthelaststanddvd.com/
@ Copyright 2006 Marvel Entertainment, Dune Entertainment LLC, Ingenious Film Partners, Donners' Company, Twentieth Century Fox, All rights reserved
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I must admit Last Stand did not resonate with me. This artwork might have made it more stylish, but at the end of the day it was the script that did not jibe. For me the X Men has been hit or miss. I don't like that the females have been basically background characters except for Jean, who is acceptable to men more because she is so traditionally womanly and not strong like Kitty or Storm. Her powers are mental and soft. Rogue has been weakened. I would have preferred to see Gina Torres as Storm, not Halle.
ReplyDeleteGood point Melisa. Halle Berry fought to take on a larger leadership role. I think Grey was a strong character, but her arc was based on her relationship to men. First Class was much better at that.
DeleteI must confess sheepishly that I've not yet watched any of the X-Men movies all the way through. The DVDs currently sit unwatched in the cabinet, borrowed from a friend. I should really get on that.
ReplyDeleteThey're not everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed the first two. The third was kind of a misfire.
ReplyDelete