X-Men

In 1963, legendary comic writer Stan Lee released the first issues of X-Men through the Marvel Comics label.  These comics introduced to the world many unique characters with extraordinary powers.  These people were known as mutants.  These comics gave us characters such as Cyclops, Storm, Professor Charles Xavier, The Beast, Gambit, Jubilee and The Wolverine on the heroes' side.  For the villains, we got Sabretooth, Mr. Sinister, Omega Red, Lady Deathstrike, Mystique and Magneto.  Throughout the comics, the story lines involved not just battles between good and evil, but also fighting against prejudice and racism.  X-Men has existed in several mediums: Comics, novels, TV cartoons and starting in 2000, live-action movies.

X-Men starts as young runaway, Rogue(Anna Paquin)arrives in Canada at a bar.  She notices a fight going on inside a ring involving a man known as The Wolverine/Logan(Hugh Jackman).  After being threatened by both a fighter and the bartender, Wolverine shows his claws, literally.  Rogue hitches a ride with Wolverine and then both of them are attacked by a mutant called Sabretooth(Tyler Mane).  After Wolverine gets knocked out, he and Rogue are rescued by two mutants, Cyclops/Scott Summers(James Marsden)and Storm/Ororo Munroe(Halle Berry).  After waking in a mansion run by Professor Charles Xavier(Patrick Stewart), Wolverine learns that the mansion he's in is not only a school, but a save haven for mutants like him.  Wolverine learns that a powerful mutant by the name of Magneto(Ian McKellen)may have targeted him, and Xavier wants to know why.

The story has it's twists and turns, and it retains the good vs evil theme.  It also brings the themes of prejudice and racism to a head here.  While those themes were relevant during the  60s and 70s, they are no less important today.  However, the film asks the question: Who's the real villain?  Is it the people who hate and fear those who are different from them, like mutants?  Or is the people who are willing to do whatever it takes to see their race survive?  It doesn't come across as a black and white issue.  In fact, the main villain's motives are pretty noble.  Magneto wants to protect his fellow mutants, but he's willing to go to extremes to do so.  Charles Xavier, also wants to protect his fellow mutants, but not the expense of the rest of the human race, so while their goals may be similar, Xavier's methods and Magneto's couldn't be more different.  In fact, it was mentioned in the film, that Magneto and Xavier were close friends in the past, so there seems to be mutual respect between the two foes.

The real surprise of the movie is Logan, a.k.a. The Wolverine.  This is a guy that has spent the past 15 years wandering the world without memory of who he used to be before an experiment that gave him an adamantium skeleton and claws.  Brilliantly performed by newcomer Hugh Jackman, Logan is a guy with a serious chip on his shoulder and takes crap from nobody.  Yet, beneath Logan's gruff exterior is a man who eventually comes to do the right thing, and nobody fights like he does.  The character goes through an amazing transformation from a character that doesn't seem like he cares about anyone or anything, to someone who actually does.  He's not a boyscout and he's willing to fight to protect not only those he cares about, but also those who hate and fear mutants.  He begins to change, once he realizes that he's not alone.  Patrick Stewart brings a fatherly and noble presence to the character of Charles Xavier.  What can I say about Patrick Stewart?  He's an incredible actor and what he brings to the table is an accessibility and strength that really makes Xavier a good guy.  Ian McKellen IS Magneto.  He makes Magneto someone you can sympathize with to a certain extent.  Magneto is a man who has been victimized by people his entire life.  People like the Nazis who experimented on him and his fellow mutants as well as today's politicians and people who fear him and his kind.

While the film is chock-full of great characters, the ones who really get the most attention are: Wolverine, Xavier, Magneto, and Jean Grey(Famke Janssen).  These, I feel, are the most compelling characters in this movie.  Cyclops, Storm and Rogue, while competently played by their respective actors, with the exception of Storm, aren't particularly well-written.  Halle Berry is simply miscast as Storm.  She doesn't have the presence that the character requires.  The villains are pretty cool, though.  Tyler Mane is freaky as Sabretooth.  Standing at nearly 7 feet tall, Mane is an incredible intimidating presence.  He's just plain mean, and it's awesome.  Rebecca Romijn plays the alluring, yet mysterious Raven Darkholm, a.k.a Mystique, a shape-shifting mutant.  Ray Park plays the vile and disgusting Toad.  Park has always been a fun one to watch.  Ray Park has the physicality and look to pull off such a unique villain. 

The action is fantastic.  From Sabretooth's first appearance to the final battle on Liberty Island, the action sequences are fantastic, utilizing both wire-work and visual effects, it all comes together in an epic package that doesn't disappoint.  The music by the late Michael Kamen not only pays homage to the 90s cartoon, but it really has a very distinct and epic feel that makes the whole movie a bit better.

I mentioned earlier that some of the characters got short-changed: Cyclops and Storm.  These two don't really come across as likable, and they don't really have much of a story-arc.  I've never been a big fan of Halle Berry anyway, but her performance as Storm is severely underwhelming.  She doesn't really bring a sense of urgency when the situation calls for it, and she just comes across as a bit of a bitch.  Overall, though, X-Men is one of the best comic-book movies in the past 20 years.  It's also spawned two direct sequels, two spin-offs, a reboot and a sequel/reset film.  X-Men is one of the most popular franchises in the world and I don't see it stopping anytime soon.  This film also introduced us to one of the most dynamic actors I have seen so far: Hugh Jackman.  Make no mistake, he IS Wolverine.  An 8.5/10 seems pretty respectable for a film of this caliber.  It comes highly recommended.

Thoughts or comments?