Better than the comic.

Rating: Null/10 (24 January 2001)

Yes, I've read X-Men, but I'm not a hardcore fan, and hardcore fans will undoubtedly have problems with the movie. I thought that most of the changes were well thought out and beneficial to the movie though. Rogue's powers that were stolen from Ms. Marvel don't appear in the movie, and neither does her constant whining about being forever denied the simple joys of human touch. Anna Paquin makes the character more real by getting the tragic part of the character through to the audience, but not hammering it into them with the overblown melodrama the comic has been known for. Rogue is a much more likeable character in the movie than she ever has been before, though the name "Rogue" is still stupid, being a holdover from her days as an evil mutant, and so named because she "steals" powers from others. It made little sense in this context, but if they didn't call her Rogue, your average X-Men fan wouldn't have known who she was.
Storm was also made likeable in this movie, a herculean feat to be sure. She lost all of the melodramatic lines that made her stale in the comics and came across as more of a real person.
The special effects were great considering the limited budget they had to work with. They didn't overdo any of the power effects, and chose to use them sparingly, but use them effectively. The scene where Cyclops blew the roof off of the train station was beautiful, and the fight on top of the statue of liberty has got to be one of the best movie fight scenes ever, just for the setting if for no other reason.
On the other hand, I didn't feel that Mystique was changed in a positive way. I don't know what the deal was with her costuming, and no mention was made of her relationship with Rogue.
Wolverine was well done, though this comes from a guy who has never much liked Wolverine. Hugh Jackson certainly looks the part, and plays it well, though he is too tall. One is left to wonder why his claws are straight at the end of the movie, after Magneto has repeatedly twisted and bent them. It's clear that Wolverine doesn't like Cyclops from their first meeting, but what isn't clear is why. The rivalry between them could have been expanded on, and explained a little, though the love triangle is still basically there. I have always said that Jean's real mutant power is the ability to make all the male X-Men fall in love with her, and it seems that hasn't changed. The point is that Cyclops doesn't seem to really do anything to make Wolverine dislike him, which causes Wolverine to come off as a jerk, but then, maybe that isn't all that inappropriate.
Cameos from Kitty Pryde, Bobby Drake and Jubilee were appreciated by the comics fans, though I was hoping to see their involvement expanded.
I understand that Singer wanted to include Nightcrawler, but budget limitations made it difficult. Maybe the sequel will throw him in. I can only guess that the Hellfire Club will be the adversaries next time around.
Anyway, I thought that the movie was as true to the comic as was efficient, and the changes that were made were mostly good choices. Hardcore X-Men fans are being a little hard on it.