Movie Review: X-Men (2000)
X-Men (2000)
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Tyler Mane, Ray Park, Rebecca Romijin-Stamos, Bruce Davison
Directed By: Bryan Singer
To prove that I can be as big a biased fanboy as anyone else, I figured it was time to review the first X-Men movie, the one that kicked off the superhero movie rage (for better or worse). That, and the world-famous Top Five Reviews movie review index needed an entry under X.
I've been reading X-Men comics since before my voice got low and girls started getting prettier. I have a solid run of 240 straight, plus hundreds of others from other X-related series. Reading X-Men comics is pretty much the only thing from my old life that I still do. So, when the movie came out, I was ready to geek out as much as any Star Wars fan waiting in line for a prequel.
I was also trepidatious that the movie would stomp all over that which I had loved for years, as Hollywood had done with every other comic book movie to have come out before X-Men. However, I was very hopeful that this one would be different. The reason? Bryan Singer.
Bryan Singer, the director of The Usual effing Suspects, one of the coolest movies ever. If he couldn't make a good X-Men movie, then it couldn't be done. For years, there had been talk of an X-Men movie, and for years I didn't want it to happen. Then, they got Bryan Singer, and I was cool with it.
When there was talk for years about an X-Men movie, there was always a consensus regarding one person that needed to be cast: Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier. Because no bald cap would do, we needed a real live bald guy! I was surprised he took the role, since he already played one iconic fanboy character, I figured he'd be tired of going to conventions by now. But play Xavier he did, and he did so flawlessly. Singer filled the cast with another esteemed British actor Ian McKellen to play arch-foe Magneto, Oscar winner Anna Paquin as Rogue, big star (and eventual Oscar winner) Halle Berry as Storm, Famke Janssen as Jean Grey, James Marsden as Cyclops, supermodel Rebecca Romijn-Stamos as Mystique, a wrestler, and Darth Maul. A good blend of solid actors and cheap talent to fill out the cast. Better than Dolph Lundgren as The Punisher, I say.
The only problem was casting the main character. They had someone cast, but he went and broke his hand right before shooting. So, they cast some guy no one had ever heard of, Hugh Jackman, to play the most important role in the movie. And he does so flawlessly. Jackman IS Wolverine, a performance so pitch-perfect that it just might be the best portrayal of a comic book character on film ever. Better than Christopher Reeve as Superman, better than Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man. The first time I saw him on screen, stopping a guy's punch, with the sound of clanging metal echoing through the theatre, I marked out like a guy in a storm trooper outfit seeing Yoda fight Count Dooku. Then, Jackman growls, and sneers, and SNIKTs. He had me at snikt. No, wait, he had me at "bub". Or, at "every time". Ahhhh... so good.
Singer and co-writers Tom DeSanto and David Hayter do an excellent job in wrangling 40 years of mythology into a manageable 1.5 hour movie. He manages to show each of the 10 main mutants of the film showing off their powers in interesting ways (along with other background mutants like Iceman and Pyro), and hints at larger stories and origins surrounding them. He wisely plays down on some of the larger science-fiction elements of the series mythology, and focuses on the core myth surrounding the X-Men: protecting humans who hate and fear them. It is the most resonate theme of the film and the mythos, and the one that best gives a film purpose.
Sadly, the film is far from perfect. An hour and a half is not long enough to sufficiently develop the characters, leaving the film to operate at a break-neck pace to get its business out of the way. Even with the fast-pacing, it drags during the origin stories portion (or, at least it does for non-fans, it was just fine by me), while the audience awaits the next battle. And, in true comic book fashion, their is some really lame dialogue at times. Not Revenge of the Sith lame, but still pretty lame ("Do you know what happens when a toad is struck by lightning?" Ugh). Another problem is that favourite characters go underdeveloped or unfeatured (such as my favourite, Cyclops) while the movie focus on Wolverine, Xavier, Magneto, and Rogue. But, those are the choices that need to be made in a movie.
Overall, I loved-loved-loved this movie when it came out. Loved the tension between Wolverine and Cyclops. Loved Rogue's longing for human touch. Loved Magneto's handling of the police. And now, watching it 5 years later, I still love it. Of course, I'm seeing it all through my X-Men coloured-glasses. Which are ruby quartz.
4/5
Related:
Astonishing X-Men - "Gifted" (2004)
Uncanny X-Men - "Hope" (2002)
The Usual Suspects (1995)