"I feel a great swell of pity for the poor soul who comes to that school looking for trouble."

Rating: 7/10 (1 March 2017)

Not only did Bryan Singer's first X-Men film pave the way for following films to come in the franchise, but it really set the way for the modern era of superhero films. The very first X-Men film really told people that comic book films could mean something and that they weren't just goofy films. These films could relate to the real world and that's why it works so well.
Co-written by Bryan Singer & Tom DeSanto, X-Men is the first time a superhero film truly played with real problems we face in society. The film plays with the ideas of racism and discrimination throughout as soon as the films opens. That's why the comics and the film works wonderfully, the way that the people and mutants fight - in politics or in hand-to-hand - is fueled with passion and true hatred for one another.
Shot with a knowledge of the comics, and a true passion to make the film successful, Bryan Singer directed this first film so well. Its quite mesmerizing how well Singer shot this given it came nearly 17 years ago. The sequence of Logan waking up and exploring the mansion is done to perfection and the quick editing makes it to me a tense scene. I also love just how small scale Singer keeps the film. It all takes place within a somewhat contained area and it really allows the film's characters to hold it together, and boy they sure do.
It seems like Marvel as always been great with casting, because X- Men has a pitch perfect cast. Patrick Stewart's Professor Xavier is just pure brilliance. Ian McKellen as Magneto is menacing and brilliant at the same time. Hugh Jackman as Wolverine is pure badass. He resembles everything the character is, and matched it to a tee. The supporting cast of Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Halle Berry, and Anna Paquin, make the film so much better. Their conversations really bring life into the film and their banter is hilarious.
Another key component to why Singer's first X-Men works so well is how well he treats both sides of the characters. I feel the comparison between Xavier and Magneto and I feel for both sides and that's important, because most films don't allow that to happen. The technical aspects of the film are pretty 50/50. In some parts of the film - Wolverines claws, Storms powers, the fighting between Wolverine and Mystique - the effects look really good for 2000, but some parts - Wolverine flying out the car window - are pretty bad and some dialogue can be a tad cringy, but works overall.
Bryan Singer should go down in history as a director who really allowed the superhero genre to take off to where it is now. X-Men allowed itself to resonate with the audience on a realistic level and that's why it's one of the best comic book films to date. The direction from Singer is beyond it's time, the effects, while iffy sometimes, bring in realism, and the characters are so brilliant and truly make X-Men entertaining.