XCellent!

Rating: Null/10 (28 December 2001)

There were two reasons I rented this movie out. A) I used to love the cartoon and had missed it when it was released at the theaters, and B), I had just gotten back from a school camp with Anna Paquin's father (No I'm not kidding). Nice guy.
Anyway, the film itself is really cool. A+ Special FX, an *actual* storyline and the actors chosen to play the mutants were well-picked and intriguing.
The story goes: Rogue (Anna Paquin - a NZ Native who won an Oscar for "The Piano") runs away from home after discovering her mutant abilities and jumps on Wolverine (Hugh Jackman)'s truck, where they are attacked, saved and taken to Professor X's School for Gifted Youngsters (or something).
There, they are taught how to use their powers and are told about the "brewing war" between mutants and the rest of humanity.
The movie features some big names: Halle Berry (an OK 'Storm', but she should have used something for the voice), James Marsden (the ever-annoying 'Cylops') and Rebecca Romjin-Stamos as Mystique (who was put into full-body make up for 5 hours).
Here's hoping 'X-Men 2' continues the high-callibre entertainment this one carries, but it was a let down to hear that they're not introducing ANY new mutants (good, bad or otherwise).
P.S. Anna has said that she felt her character was just a helpless little girl, so I'm betting they'll improve her character a bit!! But anyways, this is one of the best comic-to-big-screen adaptions next to the Batman franchise.