Two decades later, it's still one of the better superhero films

Rating: 8/10 (23 April 2020)

The first major superhero film of the 21st century; X-Men is somewhat of a groundbreaking film. For better or worse it helped usher in the era of the summer superhero blockbuster that we are currently living in. As for the film itself, it's a good one. Some of the casting is flawless. Hugh Jackman as Wolverine is right up there with Robert Downey's Iron Man and Patrick Stewart's Professor X is not far behind. Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen and Anna Paquin are solid choices to play Magneto, Jean Grey and Rogue respectively. Not all of the characterization is spot on. James Marsden's turn as the leader of the X-Men, Cyclops is uninspiring and Halle Berry's accent as Storm is distracting. The story is not earth-shattering but it is engaging. It's an ironic tale of a man (Magneto) that has witnessed atrocity and discrimination and because of his hatred and fear of humans is prepared to do his own acts of atrocity. Come to X-Men to see where it all started for the legendary original cast and stay for one of the better superhero films ever made. Fun characters, some cool action, a bit of humor and a solid story, what's not to like.