Not as bad as I thought it would be.......

Rating: 6/10 (14 July 2000)

I was dragging my feet, rolling my eyes, and dreading this movie--my friends were pushing me into the theater. And, surprisingly, it was quite enjoyable.
Patrick Stewart is, of course, the only possible choice for Xavier. Even though his part is comparatively small, he still commands every moment he's on the screen. His scenes against Ian McKellan were absolutely brilliant.
Hugh Jackman was excellent as Wolverine, but WAY TOO TALL!!!! Wolvie is always supposed to be the LITTLE psycho!!! Famke Janssen was surprisingly good as Jean Grey, but underused. James Marsden was adequate but bland as Cyclops. Anna Paquin was quite nice as Rogue. But Halle Berry......
Please, Goddess, if you love me, get Thandie Newton or Vanessa Williams in the role next time. Berry was terrible. Awful, horrible, ugsome.
I was struck by how faithful the characterizations were. Wolverine and Cyclops butted heads quite a bit during Logan's early days with the team, and the Cyclops-Jean-Wolverine triangle was a major part of it. Some other things, however, didn't work. The Toad, for example, was way more powerful in this flick than he should have been. And why didn't we get a taste of Storm's claustrophobia in the elevator (granted, it saved us watching Berry try to act).
All in all, a decent flick. I might actually see the sequel.