The Last stand vs Dark Phoenix, which was better?

[yogaflame]

Okay, this sounds more like you. For a minute there, you had me worried Fox switched you with a pod person!

lol, I appreciate your concern!

[Indigo_Lady]

I didn't think either of them were great movies, but Dark Phoenix came a little closer to the comic story which is one of my favorite arcs.

There was a better Jean/Scott story
I felt Storm did more in this one
Nightcrawler was present and had some good action scenes
Xavier wasn't destroyed in DP
There was an actual space scene even if it didn't culminate in space
It DIDN'T center around Wolverine!

I don't think either movie had much emotional impetus for me, I was more outraged at the X-3 and how unlike it was to the actual Dark Phoenix saga than I was sad.

One further note - I don't feel anyone who hasn't seen both movies should be voting in this poll. To be fair, how can you possibly compare them if you haven't seen them both?

[Killerbee911]

Dark Phoenix was the better movie, X3 the last stand was the better finale.

[MarvelMaster616]

Definitely Dark Phoenix for me. That movie told a focused, concise story about the Phoenix and Jean Grey. It got the characters right. The chemistry between the actors was great. It had heavier drama and better action sequences. It also ended on a hopeful note.

I honestly don't see anything redeeming about X3. It threw away Cyclops. Jean looked deadpanned the entire time. It completely destroyed Rogue's character by having her take the cure. It turned Wolverine into a whiny school boy who kept pining for a woman who he barely knew. Storm had some great moments, but it feels like everything she did was a vain attempt to fill the void Cyclops left. And Xavier's reasons for blocking Jean's powers aren't nearly as justified compared to what he did in Dark Phoenix.

I feel like if Dark Phoenix had come out in February and wasn't relentlessly bashed by people determined to hate it, then it would've been well-received. This is one of those movies where everyone decided from the beginning that they hated this movie and they look for any possible excuse to justify it. X3 came out at a time before this was easier to do, thanks to all the rumors and gossip on social media. I believe that if X3 came out this year, it would've been bashed far worse than Dark Phoenix.

It's not just that few people gave Dark Phoenix a chance. Too many people were determined to not give it a chance.

[Killerbee911]

I feel like if Dark Phoenix had come out in February and wasn't relentlessly bashed by people determined to hate it, then it would've been well-received. This is one of those movies where everyone decided from the beginning that they hated this movie and they look for any possible excuse to justify it. X3 came out at a time before this was easier to do, thanks to all the rumors and gossip on social media. I believe that if X3 came out this year, it would've been bashed far worse than Dark Phoenix.
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If X3 had come out this year it would have very likely had better CGI and action scenes. While X-3 is hot trash collectively all the pieces together. X-3 has far better action movie and X-3 has doses of humor.

[Sam Robards, Comic Fan]

Dark Phoenix was better. Easily.

It actually gave the Phoenix plot the time of day (making Jean's character development the crux of the plot), it had great character dynamics and performances, really engaging action scenes and provided a couple novel twists. It also had a really charming Jean and Scott dynamic, the latter of which got his best big-screen representation yet: I mean, he got a ricochet shot KO! That made me squee with delight.

The movie wasn't perfect, by any means, with the primary issues coming from the fact that the studio hacked it to pieces. This movie needs at least 15-20 more minutes to flesh things out a bit. I also wish they had at least addressed the ending of Apocalypse and how (and if) it relates. That said, it's miles better than X3.

That movie kicked the Phoenix plot to the curb, giving it lip service until they needed a Jean/Wolverine scene, and what potential they had set up for Storm as the leader of the X-Men in that movie, which was a great idea, got ditched so that Wolverine could be the leader at the end. Angel was nothing more than an extended cameo, and Beast beats Magneto by doing the exact same thing he quit his cushy government job over: forcing the cure on a mutant against their will. Nice job, hypocrite! Also, using proto internet memes in your dialogue is never, EVER a good idea. That alone is enough to discount the movie altogether.

That said, the movie isn't totally without merit, with Kelsey Grammer's Beast being the highlight. And the Danger Room is given an all-too-brief mention.

Unfortunately, nothing relating to their Phoenix plot is worth consideration since it really just makes Jean crazy and makes Xavier look like a total dick. And who's "Cyclops"? Does he have claws in his hands? No? Them f$&% him! Besides, his actor's gonna be in Superman Returns, so let's kill him off-screen about ten minutes into the movie.

I can understand why some people could like X3's cure plot better than Dark Phoenix. I don't at all agree, but I understand; however, I don't see how anyone can like X3's Phoenix "plot" more than Dark Phoenix. It just doesn't compute. That version is just so completely wrong-headed that I don't see how it could garner anything even resembling good will.

[sublimeclown]

You know something... having re-watched X3 recently, it really isn't as bad as I remember. As long as you separate it from the comics and understand that it's not really a Phoenix story. There are some great character moments and action set pieces. Dark Phoenix was a better adaptation of the Phoenix Saga but it was mostly forgettable and I just didn't feel the stakes were high enough.

[Sam Robards, Comic Fan]

You know something... having re-watched X3 recently, it really isn't as bad as I remember. As long as you separate it from the comics and understand that it's not really a Phoenix story. There are some great character moments and action set pieces. Dark Phoenix was a better adaptation of the Phoenix Saga but it was mostly forgettable and I just didn't feel the stakes were high enough.

If you just look at the cure-related story content, I agree that it isn't horrible; however, the Phoenix material there is so horrifically handled that it drags the entire movie down. Considering that all the hype going into X3 was the resolution/development of the Phoenix plot that had been built in X2, X3 was essentially DOA (and rightly so).

Honestly, if you actually made X3 a Phoenix movie, you could take the cure material and make it into a competent X4.

[Wind Rider]

This needs a “Both were f$&*ing horrible” option.

[Captain Nash]

Last Stand was visually more impressive, Beast was better, and the Jean vs. Xavier scene was miles better than The Dark Phoenix. Also the score was superior, particularly the in the Phoenix scenes. But they badly botched the whole Phoenix story outside of two scenes, did Cyclops a real dirty, had worst comedic lines (odd that I would even mention that in a superhero movie but they were painfully awkward) and the team scenes were lackluster.

Everything else though, Dark Phoenix did better. Nothing compared to the comic mind you, and in neither movie did you feel connected to the characters, but at least this one came closer. I feel like many people are saying it was worse because it's the "cool" thing to do.

[Askani's Flame]

I would say that Dark Phoenix slightly edges out Last Stand for me for many things that have already been stated. Both were clusterfucks and poorly written, but the lack of Wolverine gave Dark Phoenix the edge (as much as I am over JLaw).

[Sam Robards, Comic Fan]

...I feel like many people are saying it was worse because it's the "cool" thing to do.

Bingo. We're definitely in the piling on phase with Dark Phoenix right now. Give it 6 months to a year, and I think some attitudes will change.

Look at the short-lived period in the The Force Awakens's life cycle when a disturbingly vocal minority made the claim that it was worse than The Phantom Menace.

[fridric]

Halle Berry Storm in X3 was the best Storm Fox could manage.

Jean killing Charles in slow-motion while destroying the house and being led away by Magneto was far more moving than Jean killing Mystique, pwning the X-Men in slow-motion, and running away to Magneto.

Beast in X3 was the best Beast Fox could manage.

Angel's arc, while brief in terms of screentime, was basically a solid statement in total.

Alcatraz and the Golden Gate set piece was better than the subway trains.

So, X3 wins easy.

This is what I think about it! The runtime is horrible too! It's crazy fast and I don't even understand why Jean is angry since the beginning. It seems she's hysterical for no reason(and I don't like this cliché for women). The movie disserves Jean as a person.

[U.N. Owen]

Can I just say neither?

The Last Stand and Dark Phoenix treated the Phoenix Force or the split personality like a powder keg with an unseen fuse. The Dark Phoenix Saga was about Jean gaining phenomenal cosmic power, being broken by it and other factors, and choosing to die rather than lose control.

While the X-Men TAS treated the Phoenix much like a powder keg, it did so with much more tact. The Phoenix Force felt like an actual character. The Dark Phoenix Saga of the Animated Series felt like the Phoenix was the main character. The Phoenix was treated like an addict, giving something as abstract as a cosmic force some level of relatability by having it only exist within Jean to experience new sensations.

The Last Stand treated the Phoenix as a X-Plot since it was too busy juggling while the Dark Phoenix film treated the Phoenix as any old MacGuffin.

[Wolverine12]

I enjoyed both films but X3 was superior.