Somewhere between X-cellent and X-crement

Rating: 7/10 (26 August 2000)

It is really hard to review a film based on a novel without being disappointed by the necessary changes a director has made. It's even harder to be objective when the movie is based on a piece of literature that has been adding new chapters every month for over 30 years.
"X-men" is based on Stan Lee's ground breaking comic book about the persecution of Mutants, humans who have evolved into a new powerful race called "Homo Superior." Despite being persecuted by normal folks, a small group of mutants band together to protect humanity from the evil mutants who seek to destroy them. It has been for many years the largest selling American comic book, mixing all the elements of a great adventure novel with pictures of people in shiny yellow spandex. The film has tried to create a delight for long time comic fans, while not not totally confusing the general public with no idea of the X-mens' 30 year long backstory. So here are a few of the good, and not so good characteristics of the film. I'll do my best not to make comparison to the comics.
Good.
Acting. Hugh Jackman, as Wolverine was fantastic. Surly, feral but with a heart of gold, he was the star of the film by a mile. Even my comic-illiterate companions enjoyed his performance, laughing at every one liner, and gasping as Wolverine performed his tricks with his personal Ginsu knife set, the unbreakable metal blades that shoot out from his knuckles. Anna Pacquin showed real emotion as Rogue, the teenage girl risks killing everyone she touches and there were also fine performances by Ray Park as Toad and James Marsden as Cyclops in small supporting roles.
Directing. Bryan Singer obviously worked hard on this. You can feel the great moments. The love triangle between Marsden, Jackman and Famke Jansen as Jean Grey is one of the highlights, as are the little touches of humour. After being admonished by team leader Cyclops, Wolverine retracts his knuckle blades slowly, leaving the middle blade standing defiantly up in a one finger salute. However in trying to please every one , Singer has left the product a little empty. The confrontation between the two mentors of the good and evil mutants, Xavier and Magneto, only sparkles for an instant outside a train station, and fails to deliver for most of the film.
The Bad. Well, its what is missing that lets the film down. Not enough action, little character development, and the fact that the best villain, (an evil bigoted senator called Kelly) explodes halfway into the film, really disappointed me. It reminded me of a Milk Dud hidden in a bowl of broccoli. You had to wade through too much horrible, boring stuff to get to the good stuff