Enormous Undertaking

Rating: 7/10 (29 May 2011)

Background
Let me begin by saying I've never read a single X-men or better yet any Marvel comic book when I saw this film. Having no die hard fan anger over the liberties taken on this first installment of the franchise , I found this film to be good and in some parts even great. The story is about people with mutated dna ( mutants) having special powers that differentiate them from society and label them outcasts. There are three sides to the conflict in Xmen . The mutants who see themselves as the next stage in the evolution of humanity and believing they should rise up and seize the power of the world (revolution). Then there's the mutants who feels they should work with humanity towards some sort of common ground ( peace). The last aspect of the conflict are the humans who are afraid of the capabilities of mutants powers.
Story/ Characters
Xmen lives and dies primarily by its characters in this movie. While many different people are brought to the table only a select few are given any depth. The two chief characters that carry the weight of the film are Magneto ( Sir Ian Mckellen) and Wolverine ( Hugh Jackman). Magneto being the mutant supremacist leads to his group called the Brotherhood trying to take the power from humanity. Wolverine is a loner with living in Canada who can't remember his past. Coming across a special school for mutants ( Xmen) he begins to become an activist in the mutant conflict of the world . There are many many more characters introduced during this movie ( so much so that it seems to be its entire purpose) that many are left undeveloped in turn making them less interesting. Overall very well done with what they had to work with and setups possible plots and subplots for the sequels.
The story easily being the weakest component of this movie should only be an after thought in the mind's of the viewer. What sounds like a cheap comic book story Magneto and his group of badies built a convenient machine that can turn all people it affects into defective mutants. Naturally it is the Xmen's job to stop them. I don't want to write to much on the flaws of the story because it will diminish the already feeble attempt to make a good story more.
Miscellaneous
This section is for all aspects of filmmaking I haven't covered yet. The acting in Xmen is well done Magneto Proffesor X ( Patrick Stuart) and Wolverine really standout for me in the film mostly due to their very different opinions on the overall conflict. The director handles the movie well never letting it get to boring and his shouldn't be taken for granted since its an introductory story into a much larger world. The action sequences are surprisingly weak and only one or two scenes ever standout in the whole thing. The special effects were good for their time and don't really feel that dated with the exception of the mutant shape shifter mystique. The setting and atmosphere of the film is pretty large with a worldwide conflict focusing on the issues of minorities and the different ways to handle a problem (through revolution or peace) . With the exception of the story nothing feels cheesy and it all seems rather believable because of solid acting across the board.
Final Opinion
There was so many ways I could see this film failing from the artistic taste of the costumes to the special effects not holding up. Surprisingly though this film does work and at times it works very well. This is a character driven film not story! I can't stress enough how silly I find the first Xmen's story , between that and the action are the only reasons I didn't give this film a higher rating. Overall the varying array of characters saves this movie with their uniqueness although some don't get enough screen time. Another twenty minutes of building a firmer base and understanding of the different Xmen would have done this film well not just snap shot glimpses.
Final Rating 7.2 /10