X-Men Blu-Ray Review

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

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!"