| X-Men (2000) | |
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Rating: 7.3/10 (646,262 votes) Director: Bryan Singer Writer: Tom DeSanto, Bryan Singer, David Hayter Stars: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen Runtime: 104 min Rated: PG-13 Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Released: 14 Jul 2000 |
| Plot: In a world where mutants (evolved super-powered humans) exist and are discriminated against, two groups form for an inevitable clash: the supremacist Brotherhood, and the pacifist X-Men. | |
With almost 40 years of history in the comics, adapting the X-Men to the big screen was always going to be a daunting task. The fanbase was very touchy about every detail, and if you missed out one favourite character, well, there would be hell to pay. So, my sympathies were with Bryan Singer when he took on the directorial duties for the film.
Singer seemed such a strange choice for a superhero film. The guy who gave us the usual suspects didn’t really seem right for the part. However, he proved to be more than just right…he was perfect! His casting choices was impeccable. Patrick Stewart was born for the role of Prof X, and McKellen was a perfect choice for Magneto, not because of any similarity with the character, but because he and Stewart were both of the same background in acting, thus approached the roles with a level of dignity, and through their mutual history could convey the friendship of the two parts well. Jackman seemed a curious choice for Wolverine, seeing as the comic character is about 5ft 2ins…but Singer didn’t care. Heck, he was going to change the costumes too (which the fanboys hated…until they saw the film)
The story, for what little there is, introduces the audience to Erik (Magneto), showing his powers emerging as a young boy in Poland. Jumping to the present, the now adult Magneto has a bit of a megalomania complex. Fighting for mutant supremacy, he finds himself at odds with his old friend Professor Xavier, who seeks peaceful co-existence with humans. Both men have recruited a number of other mutants to aid in their fight, and when another mutant appears, it seems that he may be just what they are looking for….or is he?
The film is a spectacular introduction to the X-Men, with some dazzling performances by the lead stars, and a few amusing ‘spot the mutants’ scenes for comcic fans out there. However, that is all it is, an introduction. The relatively short running time does little but propel the film towards a rather rushed finale, leaving you fed but still wanting desert. That’s not to say it isn’t a great film, au contraire it is about as good as you could expect from a first X-Men film. You see, unlike Spiderman or Superman, the X-Men are not as well known to the general public, and to suddenly thrust upon them 40 years of history would have been daft, and detrimental to the series of films. For indeed Singer had it planned out all along as a series of films, and wanted to create familiarity with a core team of players before moving onto the real deal, and this film does this well.
The cast seem to be having fun, particularly Jackman who seems to really get under the skin of Wolverine. McKellen and Stewart famously read back issues of the comics to get a better understanding of the relationship between Xavier and Erik, and were impressed by the ‘Shakespearian’ plots and relationships on offer in the books. This fun translates well to the audience, and you can’t help but like the film. Action wise, well, for an action based franchise it seems a bit static at times, and Singer adopts the ‘point and click’ approach a bit too much. The drama of the action scenes is a bit lacking, and some of the dialogue is plain dreadful.
The film does lack that something, and that something is a good story. Part one in a film franchise, well indeed and pretty good at that, but as a standalone film…not quite.
