X-Men is X-cellent!

Rating: 8/10 (18 April 2006)

When I look back at the summer of 2000 there's really only two films that come to mind; Ridley Scott's Gladiator (which I loved), and Bryan Singer's X-Men. Which in my opinion, was the best comic book movie adaptation (at least at that time), even beating out Batman for the top spot. X-Men seemed to deliver just the right amount of big-scale action, humor and sci-fi imaginings that made the film accessible to anyone, whether they were die-hard comic book fans, or not. And at that particular time, I was not, but now I am a huge comic book fan.
When I was really young (around four or five) I used to be into Superman and Batman, so I was more of the D.C. Comics type of kid. I watched those old 40's Max & Dave Fleischer Superman cartoons, the George Reeves 50's black and white Superman TV show, and of course the Christopher Reeves films, and both the Batman and Superman animated TV series of the early-mid 90's (which I still love), heck I even watched the 60's Batman TV show with Adam West (remember back before he was the Mayor of Quahog?). I didn't really get into Batman until Tim Burton came out with his film in '89. But despite all of these things I still wasn't a "comic book kid". I never went out and bought, or read comic books, but it wasn't until I saw Bryan Singer's X-Men, and to a greater extent Sam Raimi's Spider-Man that I became a real comic book fan. So for me X-Men is kind of a turning point in my interest with comic books and superheroes.
X-Men has a number of things working for it. First off, the film is under a hundred minutes, and is very quick paced; never slow, or dull. Second, the casting is, well excellent. Hugh Jackman is spot-on perfect for the character of Wolverine, who was always my favorite X-Men even before I saw the film. He's a tough character whose rough around the edges, but with a tender heart, but don't mess with him, because he'll tear you a new one, literally! Then there's Professor X (for Xavier), played by none other than Patrick Stewart. Honestly though, could you even image for a second for anyone else in this role? Because I certainly know I couldn't. Then there's "the bad guy"; Magneto, played by the great Sir Ian McKellan, needless to say he's great as well; a villain evoking both cold-blooded menace and intelligence. Then there's the rest of the cast which includes James Marsden, Famke Janssen, Halle Barry, Anna Paquin, Rebecca Romijn (insert drooling sound here), Tyler Mane and Ray Park. All of them were great, well all except Halle Barry's wig and fake accent, but other than that it's hard to see anything wrong with this cast. And I for one am glad they decided to change the costumes a bit, because Wolverine just wouldn't have looked as kick-ass as he did if he was wearing yellow spandex, like in the comic books, but I thought the X-Men looked great in the black leather costumes.
The plot of X-Men, in case you've been living under a rock, or just haven't seen the movie before is about two mutants (Wolverine and Rouge) who are rescued by two X-Men (Storm and Cyclops) and brought to a "school for the gifted" run by Professor X. It seems as if they are on the edge of a war between humans and mutants. Magneto has an evil, secret plan towell, I ain't gonna spoil it for ya, you'll just have to see the movie. But X-Men isn't just a big summer action flick, filled with computer effects, no, X-Men is also well-acted and well-written. Any "popcorn" flick can have special effects, but not all of them deliver the solid performances and smart dialogue like X-Men does, and on top of that the film is also dark, stylish, exciting, and at times surprisingly funny. I couldn't have asked for a better comic book movie, and it still holds up after many viewings, many years later. This is excellent summer fun that's not dumbed down, and people of all ages, young and old, and both male and female alike and both fans and non-fans can enjoy.