X-Men (B+ or 3/4 stars)
In a world where both Humans & Mutants fear each other, a girl named Rogue (Anna Paquin) runs away from home & meets up with another mutant known as Logan, aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), who owns a private academy for mutants, sends a team of them to bring them back to the school before it's too late. Too late for what, you ask? Too late for Magneto (Ian McKellen), a powerful mutant leader who believes that a war is approaching; and needs Rogue to help his terrorist organization win that war. 'X-Men', directed by Bryan Singer, is a great superhero flick. It lacks some depth. The plot could be better. But the characters are enticing, the special effects are great, & it's very entertaining.
The film takes place in the future where the Senate is debating a bill that would require all mutants to officially register with the government. Senator Kelly (Bruce Davison) is in charge of this movement. And Magneto, a war-hungry leader of the mutants, believes that Sen. Kelly's beliefs/actions will thrust them into a battle (humans vs. mutants). Fellow elder mutant, Professor Xavier opposes Magneto's ways. His merry band of 'X-Men' include a woman whose skills are in telekinesis, Dr. Jean Grey (Famke Jansen); Cyclops (James Marsden), whose eyes shoot laser blasts; and Storm (Halle Berry), who can conjure any form of weather at her disposal. These X-Men (and Professor "X", as they call him) believe in peaceful co-existence.
But Magneto wants humans extinguished. His team includes a blue shape shifter named Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos); Sabretooth (Tyler Mane); & Toad (Ray Park). Similar to Kamikaze's, these villains would have no problem dying for their evil cause. With all these rumblings going on, a pair of newcomers arrives at Professor X's school. They are, of course, Rogue & Wolverine. Rogue is a frightened girl who has discovered that she cannot touch anyone without draining their life energy away. That's extremely disconcerting for her. Wolverine has a metal skeleton & retractable claws that shoot from his hands when provoked. Inhabiting a brother/sister-like relationship, these 2 decide to join the other X-Men is an assault against Magneto.
We care about this assortment of characters. The most developed include Rogue, Wolverine, & Magneto. We know their back stories & their motivations more than anyone else. Magneto, in particular, has a very interesting reason for his malice. Having endured the Nazi camps in WWII, he refuses to let that atrocity happen again by seeing the human race get a one-up on his mutants. The action segments are handled very well (using off-camera angles, slow motion, & special effects wizardry). There's a massive spherical room that is wonderfully impressive to see. There's also a gorgeous glass/plastic apartment. And the climax (involving the Statue of Liberty) is particularly exciting to watch. All of these settings utilize great special effects.
Ian McKellen is great as the morally conflicted 'villain'. Hugh Jackman, an Australian actor, is very likeable as Wolverine. Anna Paquin brings her Oscar-winning talent to the table as Rogue. We, perhaps, feel for her the most. Her emotional pain & loneliness is evident (due to her unfortunate mutant ability). James Marsden, Famke Janssen, & Halle Berry plays their parts well. They're unchallenging roles, but fun & effective, nevertheless. This is a comic book adaptation. So its goals are modest, as is its overall execution. But thanks to its successful balance of good pacing, decent character development, an appealing story, & fist-clenching action sequences ... 'X-Men' is absolutely a "don't miss" movie. I look forward to the inevitable (and probably further developed) 'X-Men 2'.
The film takes place in the future where the Senate is debating a bill that would require all mutants to officially register with the government. Senator Kelly (Bruce Davison) is in charge of this movement. And Magneto, a war-hungry leader of the mutants, believes that Sen. Kelly's beliefs/actions will thrust them into a battle (humans vs. mutants). Fellow elder mutant, Professor Xavier opposes Magneto's ways. His merry band of 'X-Men' include a woman whose skills are in telekinesis, Dr. Jean Grey (Famke Jansen); Cyclops (James Marsden), whose eyes shoot laser blasts; and Storm (Halle Berry), who can conjure any form of weather at her disposal. These X-Men (and Professor "X", as they call him) believe in peaceful co-existence.
But Magneto wants humans extinguished. His team includes a blue shape shifter named Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos); Sabretooth (Tyler Mane); & Toad (Ray Park). Similar to Kamikaze's, these villains would have no problem dying for their evil cause. With all these rumblings going on, a pair of newcomers arrives at Professor X's school. They are, of course, Rogue & Wolverine. Rogue is a frightened girl who has discovered that she cannot touch anyone without draining their life energy away. That's extremely disconcerting for her. Wolverine has a metal skeleton & retractable claws that shoot from his hands when provoked. Inhabiting a brother/sister-like relationship, these 2 decide to join the other X-Men is an assault against Magneto.
We care about this assortment of characters. The most developed include Rogue, Wolverine, & Magneto. We know their back stories & their motivations more than anyone else. Magneto, in particular, has a very interesting reason for his malice. Having endured the Nazi camps in WWII, he refuses to let that atrocity happen again by seeing the human race get a one-up on his mutants. The action segments are handled very well (using off-camera angles, slow motion, & special effects wizardry). There's a massive spherical room that is wonderfully impressive to see. There's also a gorgeous glass/plastic apartment. And the climax (involving the Statue of Liberty) is particularly exciting to watch. All of these settings utilize great special effects.
Ian McKellen is great as the morally conflicted 'villain'. Hugh Jackman, an Australian actor, is very likeable as Wolverine. Anna Paquin brings her Oscar-winning talent to the table as Rogue. We, perhaps, feel for her the most. Her emotional pain & loneliness is evident (due to her unfortunate mutant ability). James Marsden, Famke Janssen, & Halle Berry plays their parts well. They're unchallenging roles, but fun & effective, nevertheless. This is a comic book adaptation. So its goals are modest, as is its overall execution. But thanks to its successful balance of good pacing, decent character development, an appealing story, & fist-clenching action sequences ... 'X-Men' is absolutely a "don't miss" movie. I look forward to the inevitable (and probably further developed) 'X-Men 2'.