X-MEN : Not Too Exciting, But A Great Set-Up For Future Sequels...

Rating: 8/10 (14 June 2006)

X-MEN
After seeing X-MEN:THE LAST STAND in the theaters I was anxious to revisit the film that started the franchise. Lately, X2 has been on television all the time, and considering it's the better film then X-MEN I've seen it more often. When I first saw X-MEN in the theaters, I was left with mixed feelings for the film. I couldn't help but admire it for bringing to the screen my favorite childhood characters... however, I couldn't help but be underwhelmed compared to the pictures I'd had in my imagination all those years.
X-MEN, the first film in the franchise, had an almost impossible task in front of it when it was made. The scope and sheer size of the comic book stories is so huge it's impossible to please all the fans of the series. If the first film had started with the origin of the X-MEN... we would have had to wait through numerous films to see many of our favorite X-MEN. However, to dive into the middle of a story that took place over centuries of time in the comic books risks alienating fans of the original story lines. Bryan Singer had to make a choice... remain 100% faithful to the comics or remain loyal to the central theme while manipulating some characters and stories to work in a film franchise. Either way, not everyone could be 100% please.
In the end, Singer opted to re-formulate some stories and characters. I assume he did so in order to make it feel more current, and to ensure that bringing some other mutants in for further installments in the series was easier to accomplish. It is in this choice that my reservations for this first film were born. When I first left the theater, my mind was filled with thoughts like "Why does Rogue not do anything she's supposed to" and "Why did they not use certain mutants enough" and "Couldn't this have been bigger?".
Now, having seen where the franchise continued to move, I can appreciate these changes a little more. Things in the first film felt surprisingly hollow to me when I first saw it in the theaters. I saw that there were subtle allusions to the Dark Pheonix Saga as well as a strong establishment of the "mutant war"... however the sequels to the film have made me appreciate the subtlety of this first installment more.
X-MEN begins the story of the X-Men in a time when mutant privacy is being threatened. Senator Kelly (played by Bruce Davison) is leading the campaign that all mutants should be forced to register as such. However, two allegiances of mutants, led by Profesor X (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) have very strong feelings against this campaign. Profesor X leads the X-Men in the fight to co-exist with humans peacefully, while Magneto leads the fight to eliminate human supremacy.
Meanwhile, a young girl named Rogue (Anna Paquin, who unfortunately is mis-cast in this role) is discovering she has powers she can't control, nor does she want. After being taken under the wing of Wolverine (played to perfection by Hugh Jackman), they find themselves under Profesor X's protection. But exactly who needs to be protected and from what? The problem with this film as a stand alone piece is that there simply is not enough action. I assume budget constraints kept the film from being able to unleash all the action we see in X-MEN:THE LAST STAND... however, the lack of any real fight scene pitting a team of X-Men against an opponent is the major disappointment here. Action scenes clearly had to be created on a small budget, and while some more intimate fights remain exciting (Wolverine vs. Mystique in particular)... the finale leaves the audience slightly underwhelmed.
However, as an introduction to the series this film functions rather well. Those subtle allusions to Dark Pheonix and the "mutant war" I mentioned before don't seem as hollow now that I see they were actual seeds to future plots. Also, the fact that this film a character study of Rogue and Wolverine more then anything gives additional weight to the future films.
All in all, although the film seems boring as a stand-alone "blockbuster action film"... it adds weight to what has turned out to be a compelling franchise. It is a more personal film then X-MEN:THE LAST STAND and it is a more information film then X2:X-MEN UNITED. Although at first I couldn't fully appreciate it as an avid fan, I have come to enjoy the original X-MEN film for what it is. A good, if not great film, that is a strong establishment of better things to come.
... B ...