The core is intact

Rating: 8/10 (3 May 2009)

I base this on the 1.5 DVD. One option of that is to watch this with six extended scenes(that add character moments, and vary in quality) and 17 behind the scenes segments(that all automatically come on at their specific times), and I don't believe you can view any of these 23(all of which last between 30 seconds and several minutes) without also seeing the film. This brought graphic novels back onto the silver screen, and proved to/reminded us that they can be excellent, after Joel Schumacher took unsuspecting theater-goers back to some of the worst of the 60's(the colors, man!). Taking a note from Burton's two Batman entries, Singer, who is, by the way, clearly very talented, and completely made this thing come together, chose to make the costumes less showy. In general, he made it a lot more realistic, and, whilst keeping the point as sharp, the theme as poignant, as it should be, made this accessible to a much larger audience. Those who have never opened a comic book, while they won't quite "get" everything, will still be able to understand and enjoy this. The biggest issue in this, honestly, the whole series of movies, is the amount of people. There are too many, and most of them get so little time and development, their personalities are as two-dimensional as the drawings, instead of as layered as they are, at their best, on those same pages. This probably should have been a TV series, or at least a mini, but maybe there aren't enough out there who'd sit down for that... meanwhile, Superman gets one, yet, the heroes where the message is one of accepting those that are different... I digress. The abundance of superpower-wielding ones also means that efforts have to be taken to continually explain why they aren't using them in that situation, and even *that* doesn't always work out perfectly. The abilities are depicted rather nicely, however, and they're written in well. This and the second one contain some of the best shape-shifting stuff in motion pictures. There are fantastic and effective reveals in this. The effects are very well-done, and it isn't that evident that the budget is slightly lower than the typical Summer blockbuster amount. The casting is almost entirely spot-on. Jackman *is* Wolverine, Mane could barely be a better Sabretooth(he's got the physique, and he didn't have to do much acting), McKellan as Magneto... heck, even Romijn, who's really a model, does well and fits. There are good, strong women in this. The pacing is perhaps uneven. It should be known that this is a science fiction piece with action sequences(they are marvelous, though, don't get me wrong), not the other way around. There are fun in-jokes and references in this. All of the humor is great, really. The attention to detail is incredible. There is mild violence and language, and neither are excessive. This comes with a commentary by the director, well worth listening to. The second disc has extras, including five featurettes, interviews, tests, galleries, trailers and other material. I recommend this to any fan, and anyone who likes sci-fi and/or thrillers. 8/10