A Very Good Movie

Rating: 7/10 (19 July 2000)

I used to collect X-Men comics when I was younger, so as a former "hard core" fan I was a bit skeptical as to how good a live action movie on the subject would be. I am happy to say that the X-Men movie is wonderful entertainment. I liked Bryan Singer's take on the story, a moody, introspective tale that's closer in spirit to "Unforgiven" or "The Wild Bunch" than "Batman." Watching Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen inhabit their roles and play off each other was a treat, although should we expect anything less from these two actors? Especially impressive is Hugh Jackman's dead-on interpretation of Wolverine - this man is a very talented and charismatic actor who will hopefully go far in the business.
The reason I did not rate this movie higher is because of the not quite air tight construction of the overall work. Also, many of the characters (Storm, Mystique, and Toad in particular) have only a few lines, and we never really get to know them beyond the action sequences. This is not to take anything away from what the film has accomplished, however. This is easily one of the best super hero films ever made. Is there a cinematic franchise in the making? If they keep the tone similar to this film, we might (finally) have a sequel to look forward to.