Great adaptation of the comic book

Rating: 8/10 (4 November 2004)

Die hard fans will probably be disappointed with some of the changes. Those new to the X-Men will probably not appreciate it as much. But all in all, Bryan Singer did a great job.
It couldn't have been easy to adapt 40+ years of character and environment development into 104 minutes. But Singer rose to the challenge.
People who don't read comic books don't understand that it is so much more than childish amusement. My English teacher referred to it as all spectacle and no depth. "Flash, boom, crash" But if that were true, any comic book would do. However, the various X-Men books have held on to spots in the top ten sellers for many years. This is because they speak to the human condition. Sure it's exaggerated, but that's how they get their point across.
Any good story is first and foremost about people and how they deal with their situation. Movie, book, comic; sci-fi, drama, action. They are merely the vehicle by which the human condition is explored and no one genre is inferior to the other. Only the storyteller is inferior.
X-Men is about family through friendship, loyalty, betrayal, being an outcast and finding your place, death, overcoming, sorrow, happiness, anger, bitterness, love, and how our experiences shape us. It is about human beings.
When Bryan Singer set out to make the movie, he might have changed some superficial things (I was not a fan a Halle Barry's Storm), but he kept the core the same. And that is what makes this a great movie and adaptation.
Too truly enjoy this movie, look not to the action (which is great) or the special effects (which are superb), they are only window dressing. Look to the interaction between the characters. Listen to the words they say. Watch their emotions. They are human, and humans can relate to them.