Movie review

Rating: 9/10 (22 April 2003)

"X-Men" is the long-awaited film adaptation of the highly popular Marvel Comics characters about two rivaling groups of mutants. The first group is led by Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart). He is a sort of humanitarian as he believes that there is a way for mutants to coexist peacefully with normal humans without the threat of violence, who have since come to fear them. He runs an academy where mutants come to learn and control their extraordinary powers. The other group of mutants is led by Erik Magnus Lensharr a.k.a. Magneto (Ian McKellan). Magneto, who is a survivor of the World War II holocaust, believes that mutants should rise up against the oppressive and fearful human population who resent him and other mutants like him. The films main plot revolves around two new mutants: the first is Logan, better known as "Wolverine" (Hugh Jackman) who carries a long-burning hate for the world, as he is also the font of intense anger and his primary weapons are razor-sharp claws that come out of his hands; the other is Rogue (Anna Paquin) who can absorb the powers of other mutants and has run away from home after a particularly disturbing incident with her boyfriend. Some of the other mutants include Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), who has the ability to read minds; Storm (Halle Berry), who can control the weather; Cyclops (James Marsden) who wears a visor to control the powerful beam of energy that is emitted from his eyes; Sabretooth (Tyler Mane) who has highly feral instincts; Toad (Ray Park) who gets his name from his abnormally long tongue and green skin color; and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) who can alter her shape at will.
"X-Men" remains to be an astonishing adaptation of the comic book. Though I have never read the comic books, I grew up on the animated t.v. series, video games and memorabilia such as trading cards and action figures. Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects) shows here that he is a truly great film maker and I am looking forward to the sequel that is going to be released on May 2.
9/10