Holy mutants Batman! A good comic book movie.

Rating: 7/10 (16 July 2000)

X-Men: The next phase in human evolution has given rise to a select group who possesses a wide range of unusual abilities: telekinesis, super-healing, and morphing are only a few examples. Unfortunately, there is a movement among the "normal" people - afraid of what they do not understand - to have these "mutants" register so they can be identified, tracked and their powers documented. Two mutants emerge as leaders with radically different agendas - one seeks peaceful coexistence with the rest of humanity - the other domination.
Whenever a book is adapted for the big screen there is bound to be controversy over casting or content - legions of fan were livid with the choice of Tom Cruise for the role of Lestat in "Interview With a Vampire". To a lesser degree, this has also applied to comic book adaptations ("Spiderman", "Superman", we won't even touch "Batman"), but none approaching the level of debate which raged over "X-Men". It was not just a question of who would be cast, but which characters should be included, what they should wear (people were livid that the characters would not be clad in body hugging spandex), how close they should be to the comic book characters, etc. Consequently, I would be stunned if anyone is totally happy with all the characters - I know I wasn't.
Toad gets far too much screen time and his prehensile tongue schtick quickly grows tiresome, Sabretooth isn't very menacing (they couldn't find a bulked up Behemoth with a little more screen presence? Kane (?) from the WWF comes to mind) and the May/December relationship between Jean Grey and Cyclops doesn't jibe. I did however think Hugh Jackman was superb as Wolverine, delivering the right balance of pathos and rage. Patrick Stewart's Xavier is a cool as ice (he got a lot of practice as Captain Picard on Star Trek), soft-spoken diplomat. Finally, Sir Ian McKellen is almost regal in his portrayal as Magneto the wonderful gentleman villain with a nasty disposition (but couldn't they have given him a better hat? I bet that's why he has such an attitude problem). But you're probably wondering "What about the movie itself?" All in good time
Rather than go for a gaudy "comic book" look ("Dick Tracy"), or a decaying and depressing landscape ("Batman"), "X-men" has a realistic feel: it takes place a few years in the future in a recognizable New York. The story is engaging and accessible, examining the concept of intolerance - although here it is not skin color (in most cases) or religion that is the focus - which captures headlines everyday, and is quite simple to grasp. Just to ensure that the movie doesn't get too heavy, there are quite a few clever puns and one-liners sprinkled throughout to provide some levity. And let's not forget the action.
There are several excellently choreographed action sequences, most notably the battle between Mystique and Wolverine. The experience is heightened by excellent cinematography, stop motion and slow motion photography, and impressive special effects (morphing technology continues to improve).

X-Men will not satisfy everyone, but it does deliver a finely crafted story, good acting and is without a doubt one of the best comic-book-to-screen translations to date.
And there will be a sequel.