Drawing Blanks.

Rating: Null/10 (7 July 2005)

A world of mutants collide as there are the good guys (led by Patrick Stewart, Famke Janssen and Halle Berry), the bad guys (led by Ian McKellen, Tyler Mane and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) and those trying to figure out their place in society (Hugh Jackman and Anna Paquin). A U.S. politician (Bruce Davison) tries to make mutants outcasts, but his plan goes awry when McKellen has a deviant scheme to turn the entire planet into a diverse mutant race. "X-Men" will be difficult to follow for those not highly versed with the popular DC Comics. The movie feels like it starts in the middle of its story and the lacking background is a huge minus. None of the characters are very well developed and the potentially fascinating premise takes a backseat to loads of special effects and crazed action sequences. Stylish and somewhat interesting but poorly developed and only minimally realized, director Bryan Singer's picture does not mark the spot for cinematic greatness. 2.5 out of 5 stars.