X-Men (2000)

on a story by Tom DeSanto/Bryan Singer; cinematographer: Newton Thomas Sigel; editors: Steven Rosenblum/Kevin Stitt/John Wright; cast: Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Patrick Stewart (Xavier), Ian McKellen (Erik Magneto), Famke Janssen (Jean Grey), James Marsden (Cyclops), Halle Berry (Storm), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Tyler Mane (Sabertooth), Ray Park (Toad), Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (Mystique), Bobby Drake (Iceman), Bruce Davison (Senator Kelly); Runtime:104; 2000)

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

I was never a comic book fan, though as a child I was a casual reader of such comics as Archie, Batman, and Superman. I have never read X-Men, which was created in 1963, or for that matter too many other comic books as an adult, and therefore do not view this $75 million special-effects dominated film with the same reverence that an aficionado of such sci-fi fantasy comics would. I'm just interested to see how Fox's new comics-to-film adaptation presents itself, as I found very few such projects turn out to be worthwhile films. The results here are only tepid, as far as entertainment value goes. Other than that, I had no interest to see if the filmmaker made a travesty of the sacred comic book, as I'm certain X-Men geeks will carefully scrutinize that aspect of the film more than I will care to.

Bryan Singer ("The Usual Suspects"/"Apt Pupil") adapts the best-selling Marvel comic books about a team of mutant heroes battling evil mutants and human prejudice. It is a commercial film, geared to be a summer blockbuster, also hoping to cash in on selling its merchandising wares to its young fans, and cashing in down the road with a number of sequels.

its realistic take on racism, and its moralistic displeasure at the futility of world leaders to bring peace to the world. Its special effects were, at times, dazzling, but I'm not partial to high tech films without too much else going for it, especially for a superhero film that seemed as awkward as this one was. I only ask: Why was the filmmaker so sober-minded about filming this comic book story film?

It just never seemed to get much off the ground, except in its wise casting decisions of Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier and Ian McKellen as Magneto, longtime friends who will oppose each other as mutants who have a different take on the world. Their roles as hero and heavy (which the producer/writer DeSanto says is based on Xavier as Martin Luther King Jr. and Magneto as Malcolm X), become the glue that holds this amorphous, sticky film together. What seems tiring about it, is all the other characters in the film who are given quality time and end up just showing us their supernatural gifts and Halloween-like costumes before disappearing from any further characterizations. The story, before it reached its action climax on the Statue of Liberty at Ellis Island, where the world leaders are convening, hit a lot of tired spots, where the movie seemed to be more or less a promo for more sequels than one that could sustain its own story.

The premise of X-Men is -- that its heroes are mutants -- homo superior beings -- the next evolutionary stage for human beings, who are discriminated against because they're strange. A mutant is a superior human being through the process of evolution, someone who is born with superhuman powers --ex., telekinesis (the ability to move objects by thought), telepathy (the ability to read minds), or the ability to fly. The U.S. Government wants to have access to those who have an "X-Factor," the DNA gene that holds the code that gives them mutant powers.

Ultra-conservative Senator Robert Kelly (Bruce Davison) leads his shrill charge against the mutants (reminiscent of the Senator McCarthy witch hunt days) and wants to enact a Mutant Registration Act to register all mutants so that the government could keep an eye on them. Arguing against this on the floor of the Senate, is Dr. Jean Grey (Famke), one of the good mutants, someone who has strong telepathic and telekinetic powers: She can lift a tank by concentrating on it. She is part of the wheelchair bound Professor Charles Xavier's group, that fights for the civil rights of the mutants. Xavier is in charge of a Westchester, New York-based School for Gifted Youngsters, which is also a front for the superhuman threats. He has a dream that some day he can live in a world where mutants and humans coexist in peace, he even wants peace with Magneto, the main enemy to his group. Magneto is a best friend of Xavier's who has turned arch-enemy. He is the only other person in the world who shares the same supernatural powers (you could see the analogy drawn between the Bible's Devil and God).

The plot of the film is simply to see how Xavier's team stops Magneto's evil team from destroying the world.

Xavier might be the most powerful mutant on Earth. He not only can read thoughts, but he can project his thoughts into others. He can also alter and erase memories. With Magneto's help, he created a device called the Cerebo, which can amplify his mental powers, so he can detect and find a mutant anywhere in the world. He directs these powers only for the good of mankind.

Magneto is a survivor of Poland's Auschwitz in 1944, where he has witnessed so much human tragedy and now his specific goal is revenge against anti-mutant bigots, whose better type of hatred elevates him above the ordinary movie villain. He has formed a Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to take over the world and is willing to kill anyone to achieve his goal. His motto is: "by any means necessary." By going out of control, he moves beyond the pale of goodness and becomes as dangerous as the enemies he is going after.

For most of the film, we are introduced to the opposing sides of this good versus evil duel. On Magneto's side are Mystique (Romijn-Stamos). She's a human chameleon; she can transform herself into the likeness of any person, despite her blue skin and red hair. She also possesses superior martial-arts skills. Toad (Ray Park) is one of the original evil mutants of Magneto's. He can scale walls and has a 12-foot projectile tongue. He's a regular ass kicker and tongue-flinging psychopath. Sabertooth (Tyler Moore-six-feet-ten-inch, 275-pound former wrestler with the WWF) has similar powers to the hero of the story Wolverine (Hugh Jackman-Australian). He has healing powers and heightened senses. He is the scariest of the villains, with a blood lust equal to that of a vampire. He is extremely athletic and has razor-sharp claws, and loves to kill.

On Xavier's team, Cyclops (Marsden) is the first recruit. He doesn't smoke, drink, or curse. He unfurls from his eyes thunderbolts of energy, which can kill and penetrate steel, and he has to wear a wraparound ruby-red-quartz visor to keep those rays in check. Storm (Halle Berry) can control the weather. She can shoot lightning bolts from her hands. She also dons a stunning platinum wig. Wolverine is a hothead, a loner, and the existential hero of this film. He suffers because he can't even remember his family name. He is a difficult person to come to grips with because of his bellicose nature. He can heal himself from almost any mortal injury, has heightened senses, is superstrong, and his bones are composed of an unbreakable metal called adamantum. His claws project out rapidly from his knuckles and can cut through almost anything. By his sense of smell, he can tell where someone stood in a room, even days later. Rogue (Paquin) is a teenager who can touch someone and absorb all their memories and abilities and their personality. She discovers the gift she has, when she kisses a boy and puts him in a coma for three months. There is also a minor role for Iceman (Bobby Drake), he is one of the gifted school children, who when he speaks, small amounts of frost emanate from his mouth.

The comic book's loyal followers might want to know: Will Wolverine ever recall his heritage? Will Rogue recover her full powers? Will the X-Men continue to share Xavier's vision for a harmonious world?

It is obvious that Singer developed a love for this comic book story and its mutants, but he failed to distance himself from it and ended up with a ponderous, uninteresting film, that failed to get to the heart of any character in the story, and left the story hanging by its special effects, which made the film seem dried out long before its action scenes took hold. It was only mildly diverting as far as entertainment value and that is because of the welcomed hammy performances by Stewart and McKellen. I'm sure that regular fans of the comic book will find some inside jokes in the film to laugh at, but I just tended to grow weary of the effort and was not converted to the X-Men project. The film needed a healthy share of irreverence to rev me up for all this righteously moralistic stuff it lays on you.

REVIEWED ON 7/18/2000     GRADE: C

Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews"

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