Better than I expected.

Rating: 7/10 (19 July 2000)

I have been a fan of the X-MEN comic and cartoon for years and when I heard they were finally making the movie, I was kinda worried after seeing how disappointing some of the other comic book based movies came out. >
Well, I was pleasantly surprised at how well this movie turned out overall. I felt that they really got the main point of what X-MEN is about across to the audience. Hopefully, with the sequel(s), there will be more character background now that the foundation is laid.
As for the acting, Hugh Jackman stole the show as Wolverine. Patrick Stewart and Ian Mckellen(?) were both awesome as Professor X and Magneto. Famke Jansen and James Marston were pretty good in their roles as Jean Grey and Cyclops even though they had little to work with (although her hair should have been redder). Anna Paquin was ok as Rogue. She wasn't very good at a southern accent and it was gone by the end of the movie.
I don't know what they were thinking by having Halle Berry play Storm. Like many other people, I had imagined Angela Bassett in that role. She is a superb actress and could easily convey the inner strength that Storm is supposed to have. They could have at least had someone who looked a little more like the part like Vivica Fox or maybe Vanessa L. Williams (since Storm does have blue eyes when they are not all white). And in this day of special effects and makeup, you would think that they could have made her hair look at least somewhat realistic.
Another thing I was somewhat disappointed with is how the female X-MEN were always either getting their butts kicked or being rescued, when one of the things that attracted me to the comic was the presence of strong female characters. I wonder how or if Rogue will have her other powers (she gets from Ms. Marvel in the comics) in the sequel.
As for the other villains, I felt they were all pretty good at playing their parts. Although, out of all the villains in the comics, why Toad?
Some characters I would like to see in the sequel(s) are Nightcrawler, Psylocke (why not Tia Carrere), Gambit, Beast, and more of Kitty Pryde.