Fox, color, PG-13, 104 min. plus supplements, Dolby Digital 5.1 and 6.1, widescreen, Street: Oct. 3, $29.98; First Run: W, May 2006, $234 mil.
There are two sets of menu choices on the new X-Men DVD: one to "Join the Brotherhood" and another to "Take a Stand," representing the film's two feuding factions of mutants. Like the mutants, each menu differs graphically but leads to the same set of movie and supplemental options. After the action-filled feature, said extras are a little limited but very entertaining. There are two commentaries: one by the producers and another by director Brett Ratner and writers Zak Penn and Simon Kinberg, which is the more engaging of the two tracks. These three seem to enjoy talking about the project, particularly the way the production was followed by the online community, that the film was adapted from two well-known comic book story arcs and how the movie was wrangled to the screen by Ratner, who announces that though he likes comics, he was never an X-Men fan. There are more than a dozen deleted scenes with optional commentary by the filmmakers, and though some are throwaways, a good number are quite worth watching, including three alternate endings. One of which offers a complete about-face for Anna Paquin's character, and another finds a law enforcer snarling "Mr. President, shut the f**k up." Notably absent is a production featurette, so the film's vital action sequences and countless special effects are left without the usual deconstruction. Also available for $39.98 is the Stan Lee Collector's Edition, which is identical to the standard Last Stand except for a 100-page booklet, featuring an exclusive new comic written by Lee as well as three reprints of classic X-Men comics.