X-Men: 8 Reasons Why The Last Stand Doesn’t Actually Suck

4. McKellen's Magneto Is Better Than Ever

As popular as Hugh Jackman's Wolverine is (and he is great, make no mistake), an on-fire Ian McKellen is a class act and the star of the X-Men movie franchise in terms of the greatest performances is undoubtedly his older version of Magneto. The leader of the villainous Brotherhood of Mutants is an imposing and powerful character and McKellen gives him a fantastic presence - a presence that is arguably at its best in this movie, as he wages war on the humans who dared to believe that his "condition" requires a "cure". McKellen's passion for the role in this particular movie stems from the fact that he can empathise with his character. The actor is an openly gay man and has spoken about how he relates the mutant cure to the idea of being cured of his homosexuality: "It's abhorrent to me, as it would be if a person said I need curing of my sexuality, or if someone said that black people could take a pill that would €˜cure€™ them of being black."