Rated PG-13 (Sci-Fi Action Violence)
Running Time: 1 Hour & 44 Minutes
Cast:
Patrick Stewart-Professor Charles Xavier
Ian McKellen-Eric Lehnsherr/Magneto
Hugh Jackman-Logan/Wolverine
Famke Janssen-Jean Grey
James Marsden-Scott Summers/Cyclops
Halle Berry-Ororo Munroe/Storm
Anna Paquin-Anna Marie/Rogue
Shawn Ashmore-Bobby Drake/Iceman
Rebecca Romijn-Raven Darkholme/Mystique
Tyler Mane-Victor Creed/Sabretooth
Ray Park-Mortimer Toynbee/Toad
Bruce Davison-Senator Robert Kelly
Directed by Bryan Singer
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| This is it...the one that started it all! |
Note: Part of the "X-Men Trilogy" Blu-Ray set.
Despite the success of “Superman” in 1978
and “Batman” in 1989, adaptations based on comic book properties still did not
gain the respect they so rightly deserved. The situation grew worse when
“Batman & Robin” was released to disastrous results in 1997 and so, comic
book movies were few and far between until the release of “X-Men” in 2000.
Sure, there was “Spawn” and “Blade” but neither of them were well-known outside
of people who weren’t already familiar with the comics. Marvel had sought to
make a film adaptation of X-Men as far back as 1989 but was mired in
development hell until 1996, when Bryan Singer signed on to direct, fresh off
his critically acclaimed film “The Usual Suspects.” Initially, Singer was
reluctant to sign on, seeing comics as ‘unintelligent literature’ but Marvel
persisted, and after reading the comics and watching the animated series, he
relented. Singer cited the themes of prejudice in the comic that influenced his
decision in tackling the film. “X-Men” faced intense scrutiny from fans since
Marvel didn’t have the best track record when it came to film adaptations, i.e.
1989’s “The Punisher” and 1990’s “Captain America.” 20th Century Fox also
didn’t have much faith in the project and set a strict $75 million production
budget limit to minimize losses in case the film flopped at the box office.
When “X-Men” was released into theaters on July 14, 2000, the film surprised
everyone, becoming a critical and box office success, and revitalizing
Hollywood’s interest in superhero properties.
The world is changing, as the next step in
human evolution, called ‘mutants,’ people born with fantastic and often
dangerous abilities, have become so widespread that Congress is debating to
pass a ‘Mutant Registration Act,’ which would require all mutants to publicly
reveal their identities and abilities. Dr. Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and her
mentor, Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), informs Congress that
passing such a law would just incite more violence against mutants, to no
avail. Meanwhile, a young girl named Rogue (Anna Paquin) runs away from her
Mississippi home after her mutant abilities begin to manifest, causing her
boyfriend to go into a coma. In Canada, she encounters another mutant called
Logan (Hugh Jackman), who offers her lodging in his worn trailer.
Unfortunately, they are attacked by Sabretooth (Tyler Mane), another mutant who
is working for Magneto (Ian McKellen), who believes that a war is brewing
between humans and mutants. The two are rescued by Storm (Halle Berry) and
Cyclops (James Marsden), who bring them to the X-Mansion, a haven for mutants
run by Professor Xavier. On the outside, the X-Mansion looks like any other
private school but it differs in one key area: educating and teaching young
mutants to use their abilities responsibility and not be afraid of a world that
hates and fears them. However, there are those who oppose Xavier’s dream of
tolerance and must be fought, led by his team of ‘X-Men.’ As tensions rise
between humans and mutants, Magneto begins to put his plans for world
domination in motion and the X-Men must stop him to avert a disastrous war.
When I saw “X-Men” way back in junior
high, I was so surprised at how faithful Singer remained to the comics’ core
message: that of tolerance and the consequences that come with extreme
prejudice and bigotry all wrapped up an all-out superhero battle royale. This
is a perfect example of the filmmakers actually getting the material, treating
it seriously and walking the fine line between pleasing hardcore comic book
fans and making audiences not familiar with the source material understand what
is going on. The film opens in Poland, 1944 during the height of World War II
where groups of Nazi soldiers forcibly separate Jewish children from their
parents. This sets the tone for the entire movie and establishes a parallel
between the persecution of Jews and now, mutants. The manifestation of mutant
powers symbolizes puberty, where young people often question the changes
happening to their body, feelings of alienation and identity crises. There are
also comparisons to Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, where Xavier advocates
peace and tolerance while Magneto believes that any peaceful co-existence is a futile
attempt. With “X-Men,” there are numerous ways to interpret the themes and
Singer has successfully created one of the most intelligent comic book film
adaptations yet. If there is one problem with the film is that the running time
is rather short and some of the supporting characters could’ve benefited from
more screen-time. One of the most common complaints is that there was too much
focus on Wolverine, which was unsurprising considering the character’s extreme
popularity.
The acting is generally good and the best
performance is without a doubt Hugh Jackman as Logan. He nails his character’s
gruff demeanor perfectly and his other softer qualities, such as becoming a
father figure to Rogue and his growing attraction for Jean Grey. Jackman was an
unknown actor at the time but after this film, he’s rocketed to super stardom
and recently, he even hosted the 2009 Academy Awards. I always knew Patrick
Stewart would come to play Professor Xavier. He looks exactly like the
character come to life and I have no complaints about his performance. He IS an
accomplished Shakespearean stage actor, of course! Likewise with Ian McKellen
as Magneto, who portrays him as a bitter man due to his experiences in World
War II who believes that if people can be persecuted for their ethnicity, than
humans will surely do the same to mutants. Since he experienced the Holocaust,
he knows full well the extent of human cruelty. In a way he does want peace
like Xavier but his methods are more extreme and he is not above killing a
handful of humans that are in his way. The other major character is Rogue,
played by Anna Paquin and while her Southern accent wavers at times, she does a
good job showing the fear and alienation when she discovers her mutant powers,
knowing that for the rest of her life, she’ll never be able to touch anyone.
Unfortunately, the Brotherhood members and
most of the X-Men are underutilized. We know Cyclops is the field leader of the
team and goes by-the-book but we never get that sense of authority from James
Marsden. He and Jackman do perfectly capture the rivalry they have for each
other from the comics. Famke Janssen makes for a rather dull Jean Grey and
there’s actually more chemistry between her and Jackman than with Marsden.
Halle Berry as Storm gets shortchanged the most, never looking completely
comfortable in the role and using a forced accent to deliver her dialogue. This
was abandoned in the sequels. When she says, ‘Do you know what happens to a
toad when it's struck by lightning?’ sounded cheesy due to the serious way she
said it. This line was part of Joss Whedon’s abandoned screenplay but he meant
for it to be said as an off-handed remark. The Brotherhood members, Mystique
(Rebecca Romijn), Toad (Ray Park) and Sabretooth only get a few lines in the
film, looking more like a ragtag band of thugs rather than freedom fighters
making a political statement. It would’ve been nice to learn more about their
motivations for joining Magneto but probably due to budget concerns, Singer
just couldn’t accommodate. I do want to mention that the inhuman, nude look of
Mystique was incredibly hot and had everyone talking in junior high! Yeah, our
hormones were already raging at that age! The fight scenes and special effects
are well-done despite the film being close to a decade ago. Again, they’re
focused more on Wolverine and his fighting prowess makes the other X-Men
members seem rather inept. The guy takes on both Mystique and Sabretooth but
the others just get wacked around by Toad. Some of the wirework is obvious but
doesn’t detract from the whole experience.
“X-Men” arrives on Blu-Ray for the first
time, courtesy of the “X-Men Trilogy” boxset, which features a whopping total
of nine discs! The first disc of each movie features commentary from the
filmmakers, the second discs are the special features and the third discs are
simply digital copies of each individual film. I was surprised by the high
quality transfer considering films made around 2000 don’t hold up well on
Blu-Ray, i.e. “Fight Club.” The background objects are sharper, and you notice
more detail on the X-Men’s individual uniforms. Colors are more vibrant, from
the sickly, pale green of Toad to the dark, scaly blue of Mystique. When the
camera gets close to actors/actresses faces, you notice every individual skin
pore. There are some shots that appear too soft but these are few and far
between. You probably wouldn’t even notice them! Like “X3,” there is also some
noticeable film grain but this just adds to the cinematic experience when
viewing these films. Likewise, audio quality is excellent from the loud thwacks
exchanged between Wolverine and Sabretooth to the screeching of metal when
Magneto tears apart the train to get to Rogue. The score from Michael Kamen
never drowns out the dialogue and small sound cues, such as the trademark
‘snikt’ when Wolverine pops his claws are instantly heard. 20th Century Fox has
pulled out all the stops with this release and while the picture quality may
not be up to par with recent releases due to the film’s age, this is as good as
it gets and watching “X-Men” on Blu-Ray is the definitive way of viewing the film.
Upon the film’s release, critics greeted
the film positively and it currently holds an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, citing
its faithfulness to the source material but that it focused too much on
Wolverine. The true test was at the box office, since it was the deciding
factor for Fox to continue with a sequel. It did not disappoint, and “X-Men”
went on to gross $157 million domestic and $296 million worldwide. Hollywood
immediately began to adapt every known comic book property and it is not
surprising to see at least two or three comic book films released every year.
Despite “The Dark Knight” setting a new standard for comic book movies last
year, “X-Men” will always be remembered as a perfect example of how to adapt a
comic book property to film, and despite being nine years later, it still
remains one of the most intelligent superhero films I’ve ever seen. If you’ve
only watched it on DVD, you owe it to yourself to experience the power of the
X-Men again on Blu-Ray!
Final Rating: 4 out of 5
"Fight with you?! Join the team? Be
an X-Man? Who the hell do you think you are?! You're a mutant! The whole world
out there is full of people who hate and fear you and you're wasting your time
trying to protect them? I've got better things to do!"
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