Simply X-cellent!

Rating: 10/10 (15 July 2000)

I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that Hugh Jackman is going to go on to become a huge Hollywood star. Jackman plays Wolverine in Bryan Singer's silver screen adaptation of Marvel Comics super-group the X-Men. The story is set in the not so distant future where genetic mutation has created what mankind comes to know as mutants, a person born with special abilities or powers. Senator Robert Kelly (Bruce Davison) is the leader of a group of people that fear the "mutant menace" and is championing the introduction of the Mutant Registration Act. Senator Kelly fears for mankind should the mutants ever decide to strike out in anger against the rest of society. Meanwhile, on the other side of the coin there is an ongoing battle between the two major factions in underground mutant society, Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his X-Men, and Magneto (Ian McKellen) and his Brotherhood of Mutants. Xavier is in favour of a peaceful co-existence between man and mutant and Magneto favours the idea of ruling the inferior homo sapiens. When Magneto's brotherhood attempts to kidnap two newly discovered mutants, named Rogue (Anna Paquin) and Wolverine, the X-Men have to intervene. Wolverine and Rogue are offered asylum inside Xavier's School for the Gifted which serves as a window dressing for a school where mutants can learn to control and harness their powers. The school is also the base of operations for the X-Men. Xavier is troubled by Magneto's apparent interest in these two new faces. What could he have in store for them and what would the implications be on the future of mutantkind. Singer directs a wonderful film that concentrates more the characters and the story than the action but never ignores the need to spice up the plot just a little. Setting the tone here is Jackman in his first major film role and what is sure to be a breakout role. Stewart and McKellen deliver powerfully restrained performances as the leaders of the two mutant groups, never appearing too campy or over-bearing. The rest of the supporting cast was simply X-cellent in their respective roles including Ray Park of Star Wars fame as the menacing mutant Toad and former supermodel Famke Janssen as the beautiful Dr. Jean Grey. Long time fans of the Marvel Comics series will take special interest in some of the cameos made by their old favourites and new fans of the story will marvel at the complexity and humanity of a wonderfully crafted story. So in the immortal words of Wolverine, "Hey bub, get your ass out of that chair and go see my movie!"