A satisfying piece of light entertainment

Rating: 6/10 (6 December 2016)

Here's a cinematic rarity: a comic strip getting a successful big screen treatment. It doesn't happen very often, but we're finally at the stage of CGI technology to actually make an effects-intensive movie like this work, and look "right". This is a film never designed to win any awards for the script, direction, or acting abilities, yet instead appeal to the crowds as a fun, exciting way to spend one hundred minutes of your life. And with a film like this, the biggest impact comes watching it on the big screen. I've never been a fan of the X-Men comics or television series myself, which is why I was surprised about enjoying this film. The characters are clear cut, easy to identify with and, most of all, extremely cool. For a blockbuster film like this it's rare to find characterisation, but (gasp) it does occur here, chiefly with the character of Wolverine, who is given most screen time. Hugh Jackman is excellent in the role, bringing the right balance of instability, anger, love, and honour to his character, and he's also very charismatic as well. And that's not mentioning the great big bloody spike things which frequently shoot out of his knuckles.
The rest of the X-Men are familiar, yet due to there being so many of them, are given little or nothing to do. Storm gets to partake in some spectacular hell-raising moments yet that's it. Patrick Stewart is on hand as the wise mentor Professor Charles Xavier, yet is also given little to do aside from roll around in his wheelchair and lapse into unconsciousness at important moments. Anna Paquin puts in a good, heartfelt performance as the shunned Rogue, unable to come into skin contact with another living soul, and we do feel for her situation, but she's the only one. Cyclops has great x-ray vision, but when he's got his glasses on, he's forgettable.
The bad guys are a mixed bunch and seemingly possess little in the way of intelligence. And, there's only four of them. Sabretooth is a big, hairy and powerful guy, yet just seems like a bigger, inferior version of Wolverine. Ian McKellen, as Magneto, seems a somewhat lame leading bad guy, and the decision to make him a three-dimensional and human villain takes away some of the impact of his character. And the sight of him floating around in a cape is guaranteed to raise the odd chuckle. Mystique is visually arresting as the blue-skinned shape shifter, but most of her tricks have been stolen from the liquid metal man in TERMINATOR 2 and countless "body snatcher" films. Finally, Ray Park (better known as the actor under the makeup playing Darth Maul in THE PHANTOM MENACE) is a delight as the purely evil Toad, with a whopping great tongue and the ability to jump about all over the place.
For those expecting action, there is actually not that much, aside from the predictable ending. One standout moment has chaos reigning at a train station, but little else in the way of fighting occurs. As this is a 12 certificate film, we never actually see any on screen deaths occur, and there's hardly any blood or impact to the violence either - here, it's unfortunately glamorised. Wolverine's claws are used to impale only a few people (who survive), which is a bit of a cheat. But the biggest cheat of all is the film's cop-out ending, predictably paving the way for a sequel, which leaves most of the bad guys alive and the fate of the others unknown.
This film is definitely worth watching for the special effects alone, as they easily surpass the overdone nature of the ones in something like THE PHANTOM MENACE. They're also almost constantly on screen, and most effective when they occur in "normal" situations when you don't expect them. My particular favourite was when one unfortunate man dissolved into water, or a moment where one character squeezes between cell bars and has his eyes bulge out alarmingly. And then there's all manner of comic-book explosions, lightning, lasers, and big clouds of vaguely threatening white stuff (no, I have no idea what it was supposed to be either). The only complaints come from the occasionally poor editing and the open-endedness of the finale. Otherwise this is well worth a watch and a nice, satisfying piece of light entertainment.