Let’s say for just a minute that you’re not just like everyone else. There’s something about you, either something with your body, your heart or your head, that sets you apart from what society likes to define as “normal.” Maybe you hate whatever it is that makes you different; maybe you adore it; maybe you’ve just realized that whatever it is is still you and you’ve simply come to terms with it.

Let’s say someone offered you a pill or a shot that would take that difference away forever. In a matter of seconds, whatever it is that makes you unique or makes you a freak, whichever way you look at it, could be wiped from your genetic code forever. No longer would you stand out. Would you do it?

That’s the central question asked of the mutant population of X-Men: The Last Stand, and it’s a fascinating question I wish could have been explored more thoroughly, though perhaps a massively-budged summer superhero action flick isn’t the ideal place to dissect issues of ethics. In some ways, The Last Stand is both the most and the least of the trilogy: it has the loftiest ambitions (both in terms of the action and in terms of the philosophies debated) but is the least cohesive and pays the least attention to character detail.

For the first time in the series, it’s easier to understand Magneto’s (Ian McKellen) point of view than it is Charles Xavier’s (Patrick Stewart): a “cure” for mutation has been discovered, and Magneto correctly realizes that what begins with mutants being cured voluntarily likely won’t end that way. If the cure proves effective, no way will mutants as powerful and potentially dangerous as Magneto or the X-Men be allowed to roam around free. Xavier favors moderation and discussion to resolve the situation; Magneto favors war. The Last Stand tries to present both sides of the philosophical and ethical debate it raises, including showing that some of the good guys might find the cure appealing (though, curiously, none of the bad guys seem to). However, the debate doesn’t get as much play as it really needs to: The Last Stand is the shortest of the three X-Men movies and there’s a whole lot of Stuff Blowing Up that needs to be squeezed in to the 1:45 running time.

Director Brett Ratner commendably kept the feel of the movie nearly identical to the vibe cultivated by Bryan Singer in X-Men and X2: X-Men United. Ratner wisely realized that this movie was the final film in a trilogy, and therefore it wasn’t the time to be radically changing the look or tone of the series. (The fact that he signed on to the production mere weeks before shooting began probably contributed to that descision.) And The Last Stand certainly feels like the last part of a trilogy — there’s a desperation and a sense of real consequence that the previous films couldn’t pull off because sequels were sure to come.

With The Last Stand, however, it’s clear that should there be any further sequels, they’ll likely be focusing on the younger X-Men that were featured here, and probably on some new cast members as well. I won’t get into any details yet, but I’ll say this: as action-packed as the first two movies were, The Last Stand is the one where Things Happen, and they Happen in a Big Way. One of the scenes were Things Happen had me filled with dread (since I had a suspicion what was about to occur) and had my heart pounding in my chest in a way that I haven’t felt in longer than I can remember, so kudos to Ratner for manipulating my emotions successfully.

Unfortunately, in their desire to make these Things Happen, the filmmakers (Ratner and screenwriers Zak Penn and Simon Kinberg) skipped over some fundamental details like story construction and characterization to do it. The Juggernaut himself could easily have fit through the plot holes in this script. And the writers seemed fine with changing some characterizations or relationships if they needed to do so for the sake of their plot (chief among the problems here: the relationship between Xavier and Wolverine is show to be strained for, as best I can tell, absolutely no reason and no gain to the film).

I’m willing to cut Penn and Kinberg a little slack, though, because even if they didn’t get the small character moments just right, they sure went for broke with some of the big ones. There’s a surprising amount of emotional heft to X-Men: The Last Stand, and much of the cast deserves praise for their work. As mentioned above, Big Things Happen, and when those Big Things Happen the filmmakers don’t shy away from showing the characters’ reactions. Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and Famke Jannsen all played the intense emtions their parts required well. (I do feel sort of sorry for Jannsen, though — most of her role consisted of standing still while the FX crew did all of the work. But when she was given some meat to work with, she did a surprisingly impressive job.)

Overall, X-Men: The Last Stand was a slightly weaker film than its predecessors, though it certainly wasn’t for a lack of reach. And while this movie might indeed have been the last stand for the first generation of celluloid X-Men, I can’t wait to see what the next generation brings.