Fun sci-fi/action picture

Rating: 8/10 (16 July 2000)

The long awaited "X-Men" movie has arrived, and it's a pretty entertaining film. However, it's not a great film. Most of the characters could have used a little more development because they're so interesting. One character in "X-Men" is developed effectively and that's Wolverine, well played by Australian newcomer Hugh Jackman. We get to know him pretty well during the course of the film. Another character that has a good amount of screen time is Rogue, played by Oscar winner Anna Paquin. We get to know these two characters very well, but I would have liked to have seen Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Storm (Halle Berry), Cyclops (James Marsden), and Dr. Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) on screen a little more often. Same goes for the bad guys in "X-Men". I recently heard that this movie was originally 45 minutes longer. That might be the problem. Nevertheless, all the actors are perfectly cast, and if their is going to be sequel, I hope that we'll get to know them better in the next movie (and get more screen time). The action scenes, special effects, art direction, costume designs, and makeup are first-rate. And that helps to make "X-Men" a whole lot of fun.
*** (out of four)