X-Men (2000)

Rating: * * * out of * * * *

Rated PG-13: action, violence, partial nudity.

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, James Marsden, Anna Paquin, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, Rebecca Romaijn-Stamos, Famke Jansen, Bruce Davison, Ray Park, Tyler Mane,

Running Time: 100 Minutes (dependant on which movie theatre you are in)

Directed by: Brian Singer.

So here it is, the film fans have been waiting for for over a decade, 'X-Men' finally comes to the big screen in an all-out adventure, full of eye popping special effects, great stunts, fantastic acting and a wonderful story. When I first heard they were making a live action version of the movie, I was quite skeptical. I knew I was going to see it, but I wasn't sure if it was going to be good. Then the first teaser trailer came out and I lost all hope. It was so dumb and so confused they should have just left it alone. Then a few weeks later the full trailer came out and I was stunned, the film looked great, it looked wonderfully edited, directed and acted and I was hyped up to see it. Finally the day came I got to see it, and I must say I was a bit disappointed, but I still enjoyed the film immensely.

The movie follows the cartoon and comic books to a T. I don't want to ruin the story so I will just tell you the basic plot: Mutants are despised by humans, because of some of the things they can do, the senate wants mutants to come out in the public with what they have, and register themselves so we are aware of what they can do. Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) is a very powerful mutant who has made a school for the gifted children who have these certain powers. Rogue and Wolverine are two confused mutants who meet each other in a bar after Rogue witnesses Wolverines sharp claws almost go through a guys throat. He takes her with him on the road, but a ways down they hit a tree and Logan (Wolverine) is thrown through the window, then being attacked by a evil mutant Magneto's pack.

Then we finally get to see the good guys, Storm and Cyclops rescue Wolverine and Rogue and bring them to the home of Professor X. Wolverine isn't quite sure of what is going on, but soon realizes that this place is where he needs to be to live safe and free among other mutants, Rogue who was always scared of what she could do, now lives freely in the home. Magneto a very powerful mutant is after the X-Men because of the powers he has and because he is aware that there is a war brewing between humanity and mutants. Professor X and his team of X-Men must try to stop Magneto from destroying the entire world before its too late. Hold on to something because your in for a ride!

Don't worry I didn't give much of the plot away, thats just an outline. The film is very well conceived with its plot, and I was pleasently pleased to find out that each character has a backstory which adds much to the study of these people. I realized however when the film was over that even though it didn't have that much action, this movie is just starting it all. The sequel (which is coming out) will be continuing it, and so on and so on. The direction by Brian Singer (The Usual Suspects) is  amazing, the action scenes, and the choreography in the film is amazing. The special effects are mind-boggling and some of them look incredibly real.

The characters we have is Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) who is a great character, brought to life by an emotional back story. Hugh Jackman brings the character to the screen with a bang, and is probably the only person who could have played Wolverine this good, Anna Paquin plays the mysterious Rogue, which as first I was skeptical about, but after seeing her play the part I will say I was impressed by her motions and by her accent she put to the character. Famke Jansen plays Jean Gray but for some reason her character seems pushed back and not doing much, but non-the-less she does a great job in her character, Halle Berry does a good job on playing Storm, but either she didn't bring the character out as much as she could have, or the character just wasn't brought out in the script, because like Jean Gray she seems a bit pushed back. James Marsden is good as Cyclops, and is given some great comic relief between him and Wolverine. Perhaps the best performance of the X-Men is Patrick Stewart who is priceless as Professor X, he plays him with such agility, such expertese that he gives one of the best performances Ive seen this year.

Of the bad guys, Rebecca Romaijn-Stamos plays Mystique who is a shapeshifting, very sexy character that is completely naked with blue all over her body. Of course its PG-13 so you cannot see anything. Tyler Dane plays Sabretooth and is extrmely well at it, Ray Park who played Darth Maul in Episode 1 plays Toad here who is a pointless character but non-the-less a great one. Of course the best of the bad guys is the fantastic Ian McKellan who brings out the character of Magneto more than anyone else could, there is a scene in the film when Patrick and Ian are together talking and it is amazing to watch these two talented actors work.

Even though the movie has these pluses, it also has its minuses. First of all some of the characters are undeveloped, for instance we don't get very much background on Cyclops of Jean Gray. There are many scenes that seem to go and on with talky dialogue, and not enough action. The climax of the film is very well made, but I found that it went way to fast. Of course these flaws come with the movie because it sets up for the sequel. Even with these flaws, seen this year. Its worthy of a movie theatre trip possibly twice or even three times. For the fans of X-Men like me, your gonna love it!

Reviewed by Brandon Herring 7-13-00