Basic, but Quite Entertaining!

Rating: 7/10 (25 June 2013)

The first X-Men movie is an entertaining film but an extremely basic film. It is definitely not bad, but it is not great either. I spoiled myself by watching X-Men United first. After watching that brilliant film a number of times watching this film for the first time felt very underwhelming. After watching in a number of times after that I came to enjoy the flick. I also thank the film for helping to open the doors to a long chain of superhero films throughout the 2000s and still going strong. If it was not for this film or the first Spiderman film, we might not have nearly as many superhero films as we have today let alone great ones. However, it is still basic superhero film compared to films compared to later movies like X2.
Most of the cast does a good job. I like most of the characters. The majority of the actors fit their characters perfectly especially Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) and Patrick Stewart (Professor X). Famke Janssen does a good Jean Grey and James Marsden does a really good Cyclops. One thing that this movie does right that the other after it does not is have Cyclops be relevant. This is the only movie that we get to see Cyclops do anything.
Some actors were miscast though. Anna Paquin does not do a good job as Rogue. I think she would have been better a Kiddy Pride. The character of Rogue in this movie is a far cry from the character in the comics and the TV shows. Rogue is supposed to be a spit-fire. This Rogue is the complete opposite of that. Halle Berry does okay as Storm, but there are plenty of people that could have played the role better.
The villain Magneto is a great in this film. He is played brilliantly by Ian McKellen. McKellen is one of my favorite actors. He does great in every movie he is in whether the movie is good or bad. He got the character of Magneto down to a tee. Magneto is one of the best parts of the film. I like him because he is not really a full villain but more of an antagonist. You feel for him and can see where he is coming from. I even like his ultimate plan in the film. It is really not that bad of a plan if it wasn't for an unfortunate side effect. The other villains are very one-note and not worth talking about.
The score is nothing special. The fight scenes are well done and entertaining. The effects are quite good too. I also love the social commentary the film presents, which X-Men is primarily based around.
Overall, I think X-Men is a decent and entertaining superhero film. If you are a fan of X-Men definitely check it out. However, do not expect anything too deep about the film. Watch X2 for that.