X-Men is a definite must-see!

Rating: Null/10 (27 July 2000)

Like a lot of people I know, I went into the movie with somewhat low expectations since movies based on comic books have a below average track record. After the movie was over, I was recommending it to everyone the next day. I'm sure there will be some hardcore fans of the comic book who are going to get very nitpicky about certain details, but understand they're trying to make a movie to appeal to everyone and not just the X-Men nerds. Hugh Jackman stole the show as Wolverine; Patrick Stewart was made for the role of Professor Charles Xavier; and Sir Ian McKellen was superb as Magneto.
Admittedly, I wasn't an X-Men or Marvel Comics fan growing up. I was more into the DC Comic heroes (Superman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, etc.), so this was the first time I got to know some of the characters and background of the whole X-Men story. What I like about the movie is that it wasn't really an action film, although it did have its moments. It's more of a story about the mutants and their struggle to live in a world where they're met with hostility because they're different from everyone else, and the two different ideologies as to how to address it. The film's a commentary on how easily we human beings become frightened with what we don't know and how we seem to always address it: with intolerance and hostility. The X-Men aren't superheroes per se. They're regular human beings who just happen to be mutants and have these extraordinary powers. And you can't really think of this as an ordinary good vs. evil story. From the beginning of the movie we get an idea of what made Magneto the man he is today, and that he's more complex then your run-of-the-mill movie bad guy.
Although the movie wasn't longer (like many have said it was tasty but not filling enough), and the ending somewhat awkward, go out and see it!!!! Undoubtedly there will be sequels, and I hope they'll be just as good if not better than the first. Terrific directing effort from the young director Bryan Singer, and I hope whoever makes more comic book-based movies in the future will refer to this one as the template; the guide to how a good one should be made.