falls below potential

Rating: Null/10 (15 July 2000)

Commendable casting, suitable special effects. For a comic conversion this film rides well along its ambitions. Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart make the most out of the standard good guy/bad guy arch-nemesis relationship. Hugh Jackman also lends an excellent helping hand in his portrayal of Logan, a down and out loose cannon.
However, as a fan of the comic since the 80's, and as a writer I feel the script falls far below what the film could have been. The strength of the comic lay not in the wild fantasy of a world where genetically evolved beings exists, nor in the particular heroism of these particular characters, but in the constant HUMAN drama these characters took part in. For the most part, the story didn't need to be so belabored with explanations of powers or sinister plots, but rather should have focused on why these characters were placed in the situations they were in. We were given a glimpse of Magneto's past, which gave a bit of insight to his motivations, but the others were enshrined in mystery (which is perhaps the intention, the chance for a sequel seemingly good).
The special effects (computer generated images, massive explosions, & overused roto-cameras) may have been enough to distract the average teen fan from the holes in the plot, but at the expense of acquainting more mature audiences with characters in a situation which reflects existing racial tensions (one of the issues which the creators of the comic sought to address).
Quite simply this is a film about fantastic heroes and a foreboding threat to mankind, instead of being about a group of individuals feeling their existence threatened at every turn. These are single-faceted characters come to life on the screen who have no resemblance to adults or oppressed people--a pity.