Best Comic Book Movie to Date

Rating: Null/10 (12 May 2003)

After several years of low- life, minor comic book movies X- Men came along and made a huge splash. Two years later, Spider- Man came out also making a huge deal. X- Men sparked the comic book movie generation, and is probably the best one to date. It's much more character- driven and focused on plot then any other comic book movie I've seen so far. David Hayter's script is quite good, covering all the characters extensively and not really paving the way for a sequel as openly as movies such as Spider- Man. Bryan Singer's direction is focused and hard, making the camera constantly focused on the characters and the conflicts they face each day as the mutants are feared and hated more and more. The cast is led by Hugh Jackman in his superb performance by Wolverine, and is mainly supported by Ann Paquin, Ian Mckellen, and Patrick Stewart. They all turn in refined and believable performances, especially for a comic book movie. Also in support, though with much minor roles are Famke Jansens, James Marsden, Halle Berry, and Ray Park. They're all solid, except for Marsden and Berry who turn in some very cliche and weak lines with poor acting. The sequel to X- Men came out earlier this month and I have to say, it's on par with the first one. Unfortunately, this movie lacks enough action to drive it to be fully enjoyable. Some of the lines as mentioned above are too weak to be fully believable. "Do you know what happens when a Toad gets struck by lightening?" for example. 8/10