Eclipsed by the sequel.

Rating: 7/10 (18 September 2003)

This is a pretty decent film, though I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it so much without having seen the second one first. Director Bryan Singer tries too hard to explain the characters to what he must assume is a very confused audience--for example, after Mystique has already established that she's a shapeshifter (by doing exactly that), Magneto mocks Senator Kelly by smirking, "I've had Mystique here to keep you company. She takes so many shapes." This isn't really necessary--and I'm speaking as someone who knew next to nothing about the X-men. The other issue I have with this film is that Sabretooth is boring and Wolverine is an irritating jerk. Yes, I know, he's supposed to be--but couldn't he have been rude without being so annoying? All in all, it's a halfway decent movie--not nearly as great as X2, which focuses on plot rather than backstory.