X-Men

It is a great challenge to make the first episode of a superhero series, why? You have the pressure of making it believable, entertaining, dramatic, exciting, you know what...

Bryan Singer, hands down, he is a great director, x-men is a hit, and without the action sequences you would expect from a movie of this kind, he keeps your full attention, but not for long enough.

The minutes fly by and suddenly you will find yourself hoping for something exciting to happen, and it will, but by that the movie has reached almost its conclusion.

Good thing that there is a sequel, that it works very good thanks to this first act, not a bad thing, right??? 8 out of 10.

The film version of Stan Lee and Jack "The King" Kirby's best-selling comic book creation, X-Men, has finally succeeded where more than twenty years of four-color, superhero movies have failed. They have finally got it right...

It is a stunning cinematic experience, faithfully adapting nearly 40 years of continuity into a stream-lined, fast-paced, wonderfully exciting trip into the legendary Marvel Universe. X-Men features incredible portrayals of much of the classic mutant cast, especially virtual unknown (at least here in the States) Hugh Jackman as Logan, the Canadian wildman we all know and love as Wolverine. Jackman seems born to play this coveted role with every bit of gruff and grim gusto; his Wolverine looks as if he simply stepped off one of Chris Claremont and John Byrne's exquisitely crafted pages. The rest of the cast was also pleasantly well-casted and well-suited for their roles, including the handsomely chisled James Marsden as the stoic field commander Cyclops and the gorgeous Anna Paquin as the can-never-touch-but-wish-we-all-could Rogue. Famke Janssen and Halle Berry are beautiful and bold as Jean Grey and Storm, respectively, not just appearing as fleeting shards of eye candy, but actually adding depth and strength to the flow of the film. Patrick Stewart's excellent Professor Charles Xavier is in fine Stewart fashion, extrapolating on his Jean-Luc Picard character, and adding genuine compassion and warmth.

Ian McKellan is superb as the tortured master of magnetism, Magneto, playing the part with malicious glee, tempered with an extreme form of jingoism for his cause of the militant uprising of mutants over "normal" people. His Brotherhood of (Evil) Mutants is composed of Sabretooth, viciously and animalistically portrayed Tyler Mane, The Phanton Menace's Ray Park is the wickedly amusing Toad, and the stunning Rebecca Romaijn-Stamos is the shape-shifter Mystique. Park actually had the most to say of Magneto's henchmen, but it was appropriate as these three comprise an awesomely evil team of muscle and not philosophy like their leader.

The productions values were spectacular, as were the settings, taking us from a stark, malign concentration camp in Poland to the wilds of the Canadian north to the serenity of Westchester, New York to a mind-bending climax on Liberty Island. The action sequences were well-paced and action-packed, and much more smoother and better choreographed than any of the Batman films. The special effects, especially Wolverine's legendary adamantium claws, were truly awe-inspiring.

X-Men was meticulously directed by Bryan Singer, who along with 20th Century Fox, actually listened to and cared about what X-Fans thought and wished to see on screen. Although we would have all liked to have stayed in that theater for another 95 minutes, there are many more stories to tell, and God willing, Fox will let it happen.

Most importantly, X-Men finally gives Marvel Entertainment Group a firm footing on film, a foundation that was never fully in its grasp until the surprise hit of two years ago, Blade. Now that Marvel has discovered that it can succeed with its top-tier characters, the sky is truly the limit for its varied cast of great characters. I hope that Warner Bros. will sit up and take notice at what X-Men has accomplished. Maybe this will be a wake-up call to those studio executives in charge of Superman and Batman, and make them realize that the fans' input really does count in the end...

Highest recommendation!

The answer to that question can be found in this movie with a resounding YES. Being a fan of X-Men comics and cartoons, I watched this movie with great skepticism. It was wonderful how the characters remained true to the comics.

The special powers that our mutant heros and villains possess are displayed exceptionally. It made me wish that I could have a special power of my own.

Enough can not be said of the phenomenal cast of actors that were selected for their roles. Not only did they fit their parts perfectly, but they made you believe. Bravo to Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen and a host of actors who were lucky enough to take part in this adventure.

Bryan Singer does a fantastic job of bringing it all together. The special effects in this movie, only enhance the great script and acting. After seeing the DVD with the outtakes, the editing was quite effective.

The true battle of good versus evil can always make for a great story but when a comic book is adapted to film and you feel that what you see is really possible, it is a true stroke of genius.

After watching a lot of animated X-Men stuff, I thought that it was time to watch some live-action movies. I'd heard rumours that the X-Men franchise was rather hit and miss. Well, this was a very solid start.

Not everyone delivers a top performance, but I was so happy that my favorite characters delivered. Hugh Jackman does a relly good and charismatic job as the tough Wolverine coming from a place he doesn't even know himself. He ends up meeting Marie aka Rogue who brings him to Xavier's School for the Gifted. Their relationship is a highlight here.

Magneto gets a lot of star power from the magnificent Ian McKellen and a well done take on his harsh past which leads him onto his dark path in life conflicting with his old friend Xavier who are also given a nice portrayal by Patrick Stuart.

The otherwise talented Halle Berry wasn't as convincing as Storm, I must admit. The booming persona I knew was shifted to a quite monotonous one, and her powers weren't to show before nearing the climax. James Marsden was a good choice as Cyclops, but was kind of the same case as Storm without real punch to the performance.

But despite a few small bumps on the road, I enjoyed X-Men more than I had expected, because the story was actually really engaging when the focus was on the right elements like Wolverine and Rogue and how Magneto fulfills his plan. It's not the usual superhero movie where action and special effects are the main focus, but more like a psychological drama with some hero elements. That makes it stand out among the crowd.

But even though the special effects weren't the main focus they were awesome, hands down! It may be a movie from the year 2000, but back then the effects weren't used as much as they are today, so when they were good they really rocked the screen.

I would recommend X-Men to people who like a well balanced movie with a well told story spiced up with the right amount of action and special effects.

There are some films which take the genre to some other level. This film is definitely the one to do so in the superhero genre.

Good : There's a whole bunch of good things that I can talk about. Bryan Singer does his best to tell the story, considering the comparatively weak script for an experimental film like this. This was the first time in YEARS that a superhero film was taken seriously. Given that there had been no introduction to any of the characters prior to this film, it does a really good job to make them interesting. Plus, it establishes the conflict between Eric and Xavier, which have been an integral part of many films that came afterwards. Not to mention, the character introduction, especially that of Wolverine, was incredible. We instantly know the basic characterization given to each of them, which was enough to get behind the movie. Hugh Jackman was the optimal choice for the role of Wolverine, and he proved it for next 17 years. Every single actor have done a good job in their roles. Also, I believe that X-Men films have been the best superhero films when it comes to "social" themes. We get to see the first of many times two friends with different world views clashing with one another. It has grown incredibly stale now, but was great to see back then and some other films after this, especially First Class and DoFP. The mutants wanting to be accepted by humans, and the other mutants wanting to destroy mankind - what other superhero series have given such a theme, or a similar one? This movie is the reason we are getting films like Infinity War, Civil War, Endgame, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. While I prefer these over the first X-Men movie, if it didn't bring the genre back on track, we would've never gotten such films.

Mixed : It feels dated. Had it been made today, it would've been a lackluster. It was clear that they were trying to experiment with this movie and still figuring out how to get things right. While they got most of the things right, they could've made the story a little more complex.

Bad : The story is quite a bit of a throwaway story. While there's an interesting twist, it still feels like the movie becomes a little goofy and cartoony after that twist. Some moments feel like they were shoehorned just to give some "comic accuracy", but they didn't feel justified. I believe that if you get the basic elements right, it doesn't matter if it's not deadly accurate with the comics. But if you want it to be so, make some baseline for that. Don't do it randomly.

Conclusion : It's a movie that set the genre back on track forever. While the story and script might feel a little lazy when viewed today, you can see that the execution of the ideas were as good as humanly possible. If you are a superhero movie fan, it's a must watch. Not because it's insanely great, but just as a reminder of what led us to where we are. I am a huge fan of the genre. All credits go to Nolan's Batman films, the good X-Men films and Raimi's first two Spider-Man films. I absolutely love the MCU and many DC films apart from Nolan's trilogy - Man of Steel, Wonder Woman, Shazam, The Dark Knight Returns, Superman/Doomsday, etc. But for me, like for the genre, it all started with the first X-Men movie. So, I have a very special place for this in my heart, as a fan.

Rating.

Score : 8/10

Grade : A-