Homo-Sapien or Homo Superior?

Rating: 7/10 (17 July 2000)

While X-Men is far from flawless, At least Mr. Singer seems to respect the characters and the source material enough to take them seriously (which is more than I can say for Mr. Shumacher or Mr. Burton). The first half of the film works surprisingly well, especially the Haulocost sequence and Logan's introduction. What's also fascinating is that Bryan singer seems more interested in the quiet moments than in the Pyrotechnics. Wolverines conversation with Rogue at the train station, for example. There is a certain fragile quality to those scenes. Unfortunately, things fall apart in the third act, mainly because of the thin plot and surprisingly lifeless action sequences ( although the train station battle and Magneto's stand off with the police are handled well). You can almost feel the film pulling it's punches. I would have preferred a more straight forward approach to the fight coreography instead of all the Hong Kong style wire work. Note to Bryan Singer and company: Just because "The Matrix" grossed nearly two hundred million does not mean that every "comic Book" movie has to look like Iron Monkey. I liked what I saw, but I wanted more. I'm really curious as to what was in those 35 to 45 minutes that Fox took out of this film just prior to release. I'll bet it consisted mostly of character development and plot. Hopefully, Bryan will get a bigger budget (and a longer running time) with the sequel after Fox sees this weekends box office results. Bryan seems to aiming for a thinking man's popcorn movie, and while he wasn't completly successful this time, I can see what he's getting at. If nothing else, you've earned my respect, Mr. Singer. I give you a well deserved B this time. Maybe Fox will take you more seriously now that you've delivered the 4th biggest opening in history. With X-Men 2, I think you should have a reasonable shot at an A+.