X-cellent

Rating: 10/10 (14 July 2000)

This was the summer movie I was most anticipating. The trailers assured me that it would be great. I watched the behind the scenes special on the Fox network several times to hold me over until July 14. I was very excited in the theater as the opening credits rolled. X-Men lived up to my own personal hype. It surpassed comic book films such as Blade, Men In Black, and the Batman sequels. The characters were realistic in terms of speech and emotions. Their powers looked great on the big screen. The plot reminded me of that of an X-Men comic. But, that was a good thing. All of the characters were portrayed as I thought of them. The acting was very well done. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) was the most interesting character. He had the best lines. Through the entire movie I was convinced that I was actually watching the X-Men fight evil rather than people acting. Ray Park did a particularly good job as the amphibious Toad, a member of Magneto's Brotherhood. His agility was amazing to watch. Great special effects enhanced his top notch performance. My only complaint is Storm's stupid lines. I'm surprised they weren't replaced with something at least a little better. The movie focuses mainly on Wolverine, Rogue, Magneto, and Professor X. The other characters are given a sufficient amount of screen time. I don't want to get too much into the plot because it gradually unfolds throughout the movie. The action was on the same level as last year's The Matrix and The Phantom Menace. There are a lot of violent situations; but there isn't much blood or gore. This was done for the PG-13 rating. X-Men was an excellent movie that was great the first time around. I can't wait until I see it again. Even if you're not an X-Men fan, I think you will enjoy it if you like fast paced action and fine acting.