Finally, an action movie with a point!

Rating: 9/10 (21 July 2000)

When I went to see X-Men, I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew it would be great looking, with great effects, and it certainly was. But I didn't know what to expect after that. I was very pleasantly surprised. This is one of the first action movies in a while that has actually had a point to it. In some parts of the movie, it was closer to a drama. It gives us a message of how prejudice affects our world. Although mutants are the target of prejudice in the movie, the message can be applied to any group of people that has ever been in the same situation. Hopefully people who see X-Men will get that message, instead of concentrating solely on the visual appeal, which there is a lot of.
The two main mutants in the film are Wolverine and Rogue (Hugh Jackman and Anna Paquin, both do incredible jobs). Instead of just showing them killing the bad guys like typical summer action movie fare, Brian Singer (the director...another amazing job) focuses on their pasts, showing us how they ended up like they were. He does a great job at this, he can really make you feel emotion for the characters (another uncommon thing in action movies).
The rest of the cast is good as well. Patrick Stewart (Professor Xavier...leader of the X-Men) and Ian McKellan (Magneto, leader of the bad group of mutants) are especially good. I was surprised by Rebecca Romijn-Stamos' performance as Mystique (another bad one). Although she didn't have many lines, I still thought she did a very good job. Surprising, considering how most models do in movies. I'd like to see more from her, provided she can stay out of typical model roles (i.e. Bond girl). The one weak spot is Tyler Mane as Sabretooth, but it's a pretty small part, so it doesn't really matter.
You don't have to be a comic book fan to enjoy this movie. I've never read X-Men, and I enjoyed the movie immensely, and it made perfect sense to me. It offers so much more than a typical action movie. It has a well thought-out plot, which may not seem like a big deal, but not too many big-budget action movies do that anymore (M:I-2...). I highly recommend this movie. Even if you don't typically like action movie, X-Men has a much deeper plot, much more heart, and is just a great movie overall.
Rating: 9/10