A good introduction to the Marvel Universe.

Rating: 6/10 (18 April 2010)

Batman, Superman, and several other comic book icons had been coming to the big screen for years, but none of those movies really required the sheer ambition that was necessary to bring such a beloved and complicated, ensemble style book like X-Men to film. I don't think that X-Men was quite as good as the first Spider-Man or Batman movies, but it succeeded admirably in putting together the world and characters necessary for it's sequel, X2, to be such a great movie.
I think that Bryan Singer and the producers made a lot of good decisions with this movie. Focusing the story on the relationship between Wolverine and Rogue was smart, as were most of the casting decisions. The film adaptations of the various characters and their powers were not perfect, but they certainly could have been worse. The special effects were great for their time, too.
For all those things that it does right, though, I still consider it to be only slightly above average. Maybe the reason that I don't love the move more, is because I've seen it so many times that it has little left to offer me. I don't ever remember thinking it was amazing though, even when it was new. X-Men is a decent comic book flick, but it pales in comparison to its much better sequel.