One of the most important Modern Superhero movies out there, but has sadly not held up well in a few aspects

Rating: 7/10 (21 October 2019)

I loved the X-Men franchise films, even with its super-screwed-up timelines. It's almost 2020, now, and I'd say that it's still a good series, but recently I re-watched the original X-Men by Bryan Singer, and I can see some impressive flaws in it.
First off, the action for the movie is incredibly slow in comparison to standard MCU/DCEU-fare. The fight scenes are forgettable and poorly choreographed, even worse than the Lau fight scene of The Dark Knight. There's no real build-up or intensity. Plus, all Cyclops does in this story is press a button. He doesn't throw a punch.
Second, the acting. While there is no doubt that the casting of most of the actors is great (Namely Ian McKellen as Magneto, Bruce Davidson as Robert Kelly, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Ray Park as Toad, and Patrick Stewart as Xavier) some of the other actors give poor performances that don't live up to their comic-book counterparts. James Marsden is instantly forgettable as Scott Summers, Famke Jammsen is rather weak as Jean, and Halle Berry is incredibly one-dimensional as Storm.
Despite the flaws, this film is notable since it is pretty much one of the first Modern Superhero movies that focused primarily on dramatic storytelling and gritty action. There are some well-done scenes that make up for the poor script and bad fights, most notably the iconic performance of Hugh Jackman on the train with Anna Paquin as Rogue. That scene gets me every time in a good way. Also, the ending scene is perfection with Charles and Erik playing chess and discussing the fate of the Academy if the Mutant Registration law is ever passed.
I like also how this movie compares the Mutant Community of Marvel Comics in a parallel to what is going on with the LBGTQ community these days. I think it's a good parallel.
May the Force be with you!