Good balance of character and action (spoilers)

Rating: Null/10 (18 June 2003)

Having now spawned a hit sequel (the first, so it has been said, of many more), the original "X-Men" film possesses a solid balance of action sequences and well-rounded characterisation. Director Bryan Singer has cleverly crafted the story as an allegory for prejudice and racism that still exists in modern America.
The film begins in World War II in a Nazi concentration camp where a young boy, segregated from his parents by German soldiers, causes hysteria when he discovers an ability to manipulate and weld metal with his bare hands.
Flash forward into the near future, and the US Senate is debating a motion detailing the segragation of 'mutants' - human beings born with special abilities or powers. Overseeing this debate is Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), an aged telepath who believes that mutants and humans can peacefully co-exist. The good Professor runs a school where young mutants learn to develop and control their unique abilities. Also keeping watch is his old friend Erik Lensherr/Magneto (Ian McKellen). Magneto does not share the Professor's beliefs and is all too aware of the corruption and cruelty of the human race, as experienced during his time as child prisoner of the Nazis. In this, he devises an ingenious plan which he hopes will teach humanity a lesson...
The storyline and writing are excellent, taking the Professor and Magneto as two individuals conceiving two vastly different solutions to the same problems of fear and prejudice. Where as the Professor believes in a peaceful resolution and contented co-existence, the bitter Magneto practices hate and revenge. Loosely tied in with this is the role politics plays in creating the kind of atmosphere and social climate that produces individuals like Magneto. The story is carefully laid out and structured and the ending leaves more than one loose thread hanging for tying up in future films.
The performances in the film are all enjoyable and distinctive. Patrick Stewart is quietly dignified as the Professor, and Ian MacKellen gives a very sympathetic portrayal of Magneto. You do feel for him, in spite of his actions. Australian Hugh Jackman plays Wolverine, who heals fast and sprouts slashing metal blades from his hands. Wolverine is a hard-bitten but sympathetic loner with a mysterious past who functions as the film's answer to Han Solo, providing a line in both sex appeal and wise-cracking humour. Anna Paquin is Rogue, who can drain the life out of anyone she touches. Paquin conveys well the confused and vulnerable aspects of this character.
Other notable characters include Famke Janssen as telepathic Jean Grey and Rebecca Romjin-Stamos as seductive, chameleonic mutant Mystique, although we could have explored James Marsden's Cyclops and Ray Park's Toad a little bit more. "Star Wars" fans will be quick to spot a nod to Park's turn as Darth Maul in "The Phantom Menace" in this movie.
Special effects and action sequences are kept restrained but good set-pieces include a fight in a bar, a sequence at a train station and the finale atop the Statue of Liberty. The sequences make good and convincing use of flo-mo and CGi effects.
Along with "Spider-Man", released two years later, this is a fine modern example of how to make a fantasy action picture entertaining and exciting without compromising the need for characterisation. A pity this film's sequel did not follow it's predecessor's example.