Rating: 
Summary: Hey, not bad!
Review: I wasn't going to do it, but every review of a superhero film is now, by law, required to make a gratuitous reference to Batman & Robin. For those of you lucky enough to have missed it, B&R is probably the most egregious violation of a well-respected comic book and comic book hero that one is likely to find, and this includes Superman III. It is a film that, once experienced (a film that bad isn't just seen), can never be erased from the memory and which is also, if the viewer isn't careful, capable of rendering one completely sterile at a range of two hundred yards. It is, without question, the nadir of comic book filmmaking: an embarrassment to all concerned and a shameless waste of money, yours and the studio's.It's been said that it's always darkest before dawn, so if Batman & Robin was that darkness, then X-Men is the welcome break of day. Not, by any means, a great film, X-Men is a good film, and that makes it something special, given the circumstances. After Warner Brothers' largely successful campaign to strip the good name from comics with their bungling of Superman and their flagellant Batman series, one would think other studios wouldn't bother trying to infuse anything like "quality" or "prestige" into any project associated with the world of four-color heroics. Which makes X-Men even more of a surprise. Directed by Bryan Singer, who helmed the cult hit The Usual Suspects, X-Men includes such classy cast members as Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen and solid production values at a budget of $75 million that even the bloated $110 million of Batman & Robin couldn't replicate. Almost totally devoid of cheese or camp, X-Men sticks to the high ground and actually, bless the filmmakers, tries to make a real movie out of its subject matter. The plot is bare bones, as it should be, pitting the newly formed X-Men against the villainous Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants. At stake: the status of superpowered mutants in a near-future America where social and governmental are on to treat these new beings as somehow less than human. One realizes the aim of X-Men is high with the opening scene: a bleak, rain-washed sequence torn straight from the footage of Schindler's List, as a young boy and his mother are separated by Germans in a Polish death camp, circa 1944. The events are disturbing (as they should be) and handled with real gravity, setting a foundation in place from which the serious tone of the subsequent film can build. With Professor X (Stewart) on one side and Magneto (McKellen) on the other, X-Men is not content to be a simple "good guys vs. bad guys" story, but one with a realistic perspective. Both forces are fighting for the same thing, safety for mutantkind, with their approach defining the difference between them. One is never confused about who the villains are, but the depictions are shaded enough to allow for consideration, and understanding a villain's motivation is never a bad thing. Since the script, though decent, is not the strongest material ever put to film, much relies upon the ability of the performers to make things work. Bryan Singer is an actor-oriented director, always willing to open up a scene for his players to work, and this readiness to take from the portrayal gives X-Men the bulk of its appeal. Though some of the cast, like Halle Berry, seem uncomfortable, others expand to inhabit their characters completely. In particular, Australian actor Hugh Jackman, unknown in the United States, is a stunning surprise as fan-favorite Wolverine. From the first frame to the last, he is his role, and he commands every scene in which he's featured so completely that he practically seizes the film by the throat and subordinates it to his will. Likewise, Patrick Stewart lends all his considerable talent to animating the not-very-interesting character of Professor Xavier, founder of the X-Men. Confined to a wheelchair and burdened with painful amounts of exposition, Stewart conducts himself with such skill that the audience hardly notices when it's been spoon-fed reams of dry back-story. Not to be overlooked is Anna Paquin as Rogue who, along with Jackman, provides an emotional core to the film with almost no help from the screenplay. Together they invest their interaction with deep pools of subtle feeling. One only wishes Ian McKellen had more opportunity to work his own magic, as his scenes with Stewart are sharp, and finely-drawn, but whose more basic "bad guy" sequences fail to catch fire as they should, though they do smolder. In addition, despite the fact that her screen time is unfairly brief, Famke Janssen hints at real profundity in her work as Dr. Jean Grey. It's unfortunate that, in the end, the script fails to support the performance of the cast. If only Bryan Singer could have enlisted the help of his old writing partner Christopher McQuarrie to tighten the hinges on the plot. Even so, the experience of X-Men is a pleasant one, filled with delights for the eyes and, amazingly, for the more discerning senses, as well. The audience is left wishing for something slightly better, but also wishing for a sequel. And that can't be all bad.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than I was expecting.
Review: Being a die-hard comic book and X-Men fanboy, I went into this movie with not a little trepidation. I was pleasantly surprised. Ignoring some of the discrepancies between the movie and the comic book, the film was very well done. The acting by Patrick Steward, Ian McKellan, and Hugh Jackman was great. These were the three characters (Prof. X, Magneto, and Wolverine, respectively) that drove the movie. The rest of the characters, aside from Rogue, just seemed to be there in supporting roles. The character development for these four were outstanding. Their motivations are clearly developed and the viewer understands them right off the bat. The actions scenes were done really well. I was glad that they got Cyclops' beam done well, not to mention Wolverine's claws. Unfortunately, there should have been more fight scenes. C'mon, this is a comic book movie...yes, you need character development, but you also need slugfests. This could have easily been remedied by changing the fight scene between Wolverine and Mystique (who isn't a hand to hand fighter in the comic) to one between Wolverine and Sabertooth. Anyway, I thought the story was also well done, although, since they were telling the origin of the X-Men, it would have been nice to see the actual original team (Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Iceman, and Angel) fight against Magneto and his original Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (subtract Mystique and Sabertooth and add Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch). If you're in the mood for a good sci-fi action flick, this will definitely satisfy you. I think it is one of the best comic book movies to date, even better than the first Batman film.
Rating:
Summary: X-Men
Review: I enjoyed the movie, but one thing I'm wondering about: did anyone else notice during the 20th Century Fox logo at the beginning that the X in the word 'Fox' stayed illuminated a fraction of a second longer as the screen faded to black? I was the only person in my group who noticed it, and I don't know if my mind was playing tricks on me or not!
Rating: 
Summary: Psst...hey bub......GO SEE THIS MOVIE!
Review: Thank GOD,we finally have a darn near perfect comic-adapted movie! I gave it 5stars because it didnt screw up the genre(it just might put it right on track)Stewart,Mcellan,Jackman,u just cant get much better casting than this! The effects were very good as was the direction & story telling.The academy w/all the kid mutants was cool(we have future xmen kitty pryde,iceman & also evil brotherhood member the blob)Its a shame fox didnt open the purse strings(they decided to finance urban legend 2)so we didnt get the danger-room or colossus,nightcrawler or the beast(but i bet after the mega bucks of this the sequel(s) will! Senator kellys death was disapointing(he should have been kept around(hello sentinels anyone?)With this films success we can no look forward to daredevil & james cammerons spider-man(oh yeah baby!) & hopefully never have to it through garbage like batman & robin again(w/all its flashing lights,big codpieces & nipple costumes)God schumacher really destroyed a legend.....Hats off to u MR SINGYR.....YOU HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THIS COMIC ENTHUSIAST!
Rating:
Summary: X-Cellent, sits in the company of Batman and Superman.
Review: X-men. For 11 years have I awaited this. 11 years it has taken them to make a movie that is compreble to Batman. A movie that can sit in the company of Batman and Superman. X-men is one such movie. Clearly the best movie of the summer. I can't wait to see it again.
Rating:
Summary: X-Men, what else is there to say
Review: I was really excited going to see this movie. Being a big fan of the comics, I had high hopes for this one. At the same time, I was somewhat skeptical. Marvel didn't have a great past in movie making with a flop of a Punisher movie and a Fantastic Four movie that few people even know existed. I was not dissapointed in the least. The actors played their respective roles perfectly. The attitudes shown in the comics are faithfully shown in the movie. Hugh Jackman in particular was amazing as Wolverine. The special effects wove into the story seamlessly. The action was non stop. Wolverine's fight with Mystique was particulary catching. Aside from being an X-Men film, it's also a film that focuses on some of societies problems. Having survived a Nazi concentration camp, Magneto goes from being persecuted in the holocaust to being persecuted by the anti-mutant hysteria, then finally becoming the Hitler he'd grown to hate. It show's how racial hatred often develops on both sides and the importance of overcoming such barriors. This is definetely a film I attend to watch again real soon. Even if you're not an X-men fan, I highly suggest watching this. It's great as an action film, an X-Men film and a film dealing with social issues.
Rating:
Summary: What a excellent movie
Review: I ve seen this movie today and it was EXCITING.You will have to be a complete moron to say this movie is terrible because its that good. Hugh Jackman was the perfect guy to play Wolverine and so were the other actors as their characters. This is a must see for any X-Men and comic book fan like me.
Rating:
Summary: AWSOME!
Review: I think the tittle sumes it up
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good but.........
Review: Ok....I am trying to be fair by reviewing this movie. I consider myself an above average X-men fan as I collected the comic and I am well aware of the history behind them. The movie treaded lightly over the history of the X-men to deal with the adventure at hand. This was one of the few problems that I had with this movie otherwise it was pretty good. The movie's main focus by far was on WOLVERINE, and this movie portray's his character almost as good as the comic. His mannerisms, facial expressions, language, powers were almost dead on and made this movie more enjoyable for me. Patrick Stewart is the perfect Charles Xavier, its almost as if he was born for the role. Jean Grey and Storm were only support characters at best and were not used enough in my eyes. I would have loved to see some flying sequences with Storm. Rogue was a total wuss, she did however remind me of the Rogue old fans might remember that first came to the X-men...not the tough as nails fighter in the comic today. Magneto was a little disappointing. A stronger character should have played him...someone like Julian Sands perhaps. Sabertooth while being cool looking was nothing more than a support character. The same goes with Mystique...she looked cool but was not used enough. Toad has a new power and was done very well. I hated him in the comic but loved him in the movie. This was a surprize. He is a character that I would see return in a sequel. Ray Parks (Darth Maul, Toad) seems to have the villan role down pretty well! The costumes were a little disappointing and should be changed for a sequel. All black leather doesnt cut it. All of the X-Men need their colorful uniforms back maybe done in leather instead of Spandex to offset the bright contrast of the colors. The fighting sequences were cool and I would actually go see this movie again. What this movie has done is lay the groundwork for a bigger budget sequel with a better director and hopefully some changes that will turn the X-Men movies into an ongoing franchise. I expect to see several sequels over the next decade. Bottomonline....the lack of characters and the lack of use of the characters that were in the movie was a little disappointing. The story was decent enough and the special effects were great! What was accomplished for a movie with only a 75 million dollar budget was done pretty well. This will probably be one of the biggest movies of the summer! I highly recommend seeing it!
Rating:
Summary: Well done.
Review: I enjoyed this movie. All the characters played themselves well. I was impressed with Cyclops perfectly matching the whiny and basically annoying character he is. All the personalities came to life quite well, though I was not entirely familiar with the toad guy. He was very effective though. Good storyline and though there wasn't a lot of action scenes, I think it set itself up for the future sequels well while still keeping with an entertaining and exciting movie.
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