Still waiting for the payoff

Rating: 6/10 (19 January 2001)

Let me say up front, that I'm not a devotee of the X-Men comic book series, and knew very little about the story prior to watching the film. However, I was anxious to see "X-Men" the movie, as it had received a lot of publicity during it's theatrical release, and the trailers for it looked enticing. After watching the movie on DVD, I was impressed with the special effects, and the surround sound employed, but the story left much to be desired. The idea of a race of mutants living amongst us, and possessing extraordinary powers has a lot of potential. I felt however, that a much of that potential was wasted by the seemingly lacklustre story. It certainly seemed as though the premise of this film was simply to introduce the characters and then create the setting for a (hopefully better) sequel. For me, the lack of resolution in this movie, made it seem too much like a 'part1', rather than a movie capable of standing on it's own merits. Watch it and see for yourself. Definitely worth a look on a rainy Saturday, if only for the FX.
5/10