Rating: 
Summary: **X-Men - Decent Movie**
Review: The movie X-Men was all right. The theme was good. It was about how mutants survive in the real world. The action was pretty good, but the end was shakey.
See this movie if you like packed action and a shakey ending. I also thought there could have been more action.
Rating:
Summary: An informative political allegory
Review: X Men, the youthful animation that divides love and evil, is a good film, incorporating great special effects, not to mention the childish violence. But X Men really is a grave political allegiry, highlighting how the governments of the world sometimes thing they are making changes for the best, whilst the silent minority, in this case the mutants, think otherwise. Taking it on one level, this film is an entertaining, action-packed thriller, but one should really consider how the undertone of this animation reflects on a democracy whereby everyone should be considered, and not just the elite. Three stars; that really is all I'm giving.
Rating: 
Summary: An X-cellent Start to the Franchise
Review: Have yourself interesting characters and you have yourself an interesting film. It almost always works no matter the type of film at hand. Bryan Singer's X-Men is no exception to this rule as at the end of the day it is the characters themselves that make X-Men work. The film, which is based on the long-running comic book of the same name, stars Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier, a mutant with unmatched telepathic abilities and the leader of a small group of fellow mutants known as the X-Men. After some very impressive introductions to a few of the film's main characters two of Xavier's X-Men are sent out to find the mutants known as Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Rogue (Anna Paquin) before they can be captured by Magneto (Ian McKellen), another fellow mutant who is no longer willing to take the treatment of humans towards mutants (think of the Red Scare in the 1950s).
Cyclops (James Marsden) and Storm (Halle Berry) are successful in their mission and in turn Wolverine and Rogue are brought back to Xaiver's school for gifted mutants. The two get introduced to the setting, and although they have their doubts about it (especially Wolverine), they both decide to give it a try with neither having any place else to turn. It is in the two new additions to the team that the film really shines. Both Jackman and Paquin give wonderful performances and really do steal the show, especially in their scenes together. They not only have the characters down pact to their comic book counterparts, but more importantly bring a level of humanness to the film when together, a trait which just hasn't been seen in recent comic book adaptations nor for that matter most action films as of late. They may be super-heroes but at the same time are still human enough that we can sympathize with the feelings of both. It is this that really sets apart X-Men from past comic book adaptations such as Superman, Batman and to some extent even Blade and Spawn. Whereas those super-heroes were put on platforms above society by the society they protected, the X-Men aren't appreciated for their services as most of the society protected by them are unaware of their existence, and the few who do know of it, only hate them out of fear. They may have superhuman strengths, but because their society doesn't see them as heroes, we are better able to identify with them as humans. This can even be said about the film's main villain (thanks in some part to the film's opening scene), Magneto, as in addition to understanding the reasons for his cause, we are also challenged as to whether or not we agree with those reasons.
The film isn't perfect as it does have a few subtle problems. The most obvious is the underdevelopment of the other three X-Men: Storm, Cyclops, and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen). While we get a decent look into Jean Grey and Cyclops through their very different relationships with Wolverine, the film fails to play on the relationship between the two despite their being romantically evolved. Storm is almost a non-factor in the film in terms of the plot, which was likely due to some last minute cutting of the film. Also coming into play in this area is the film's final showdown. It starts out impressively between the X-Men and Magneto's brotherhood of mutants, but fails to hit a high when it comes down to just the X-Men and Magneto. The score is also pretty weak when considering the classic themes that have accompanied both the Superman and Batman films and the techno score that accompanied Blade. But again, neither of these problems is earth shattering in light of the entire film.
Other than that the film accomplishes everything else that could be expected from it. Both the special effects and action sequences are impressive, but at the same time never take over the story as they are instead molded to fit into just what the story requires at a given time. Nothing more, nothing less. The same can also be said about the supporting villains, Sabertooth (Tyler Mane), Toad (Ray Park), and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos). Neither of the three are given the chance to take over the film, a la the Batman franchise, but all three move the plot along and are impressive to watch as well. Even the catch phrases and humor are kept to a minimal, and because of that they too carry a much more realistic feeling to them.
In the end X-Men is different because it is about the imagined set in the real world, rather than the imagined set in an imagined world. By approaching nearly everything outside of the characters in a realistic manner and by presenting the characters as more human than supernatural the film is both easy to believe in and even easier to identify with. While it doesn't make X-Men the best film of the summer, it does make it one of the better films of the summer, and more importantly, one of the better films to have ever come out of the super-hero genre as it will please both fans and non-fans of the comic book. With the film also playing primarily as an introduction to the series things are bound to only get better.
*** 1/2 (8.5/10)
Rating:
Summary: X-Men hit the big screen
Review: I've never read the X-Men comics and probably never will but the movies are around so that's fine with me. But as for this, the first film in the series, it's a great effort.
As many other reviewers have pointed out, X-Men's main problem is that it's universe has too much scope. Even with only a few (about 7 or 8) mutants from the comics onboard, there's so many characters to introduce, so many relationships to develop, it's almost impossible get a really good story off the ground. Even the director admitted that he felt he making a sort of trailer to a much bigger film. But that's about the only problem in what is otherwise a solid movie. Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, and the rest of the cast members are awesome and the movie does such great job of establishing the characters that when you watch the sequel, you're glad to see them again. And X-Men never relies too on heavily the CGi that has hurt so many superhero/action movies. It seems to find just the right balance. The CGi aids the storytelling but never dominates it. Incidentally the effects here are great. In fact, this is one of the only movies I've seen in which the computer imagery didn't look too fake.
All in all, a good movie that succeeds because of the characters. The sequel, X2, is better since it continues to look into the characters a bit more (not as much as this one mind you) and actually delivers a story but it's good to watch the original first to set the stage.
Darkhorse86
Rating:
Summary: X men
Review: Humanity is at a crossroads. Evolution has reared its head. There are human beings in the world today with extraordinary gifts and powers. These powerful beings are called "mutants." And their existence scares some people.
In the United States, Senator Robert Kelly has introduced legislation that will require all mutants to "register" as such. He feeds the fear by telling his peers, and the public, some of what he's heard these mutants can do.
Two of the most powerful mutants, Professor Charles Xavier (Professor X), and his old friend, Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto), have different agendas of how best to deal with humanity's intolerance of mutants.
The Professor believes that patience is a virtue in this case. Humanity will come around eventually, he believes. In the meantime, he has established a "School for the Gifted," where he teaches his students how to control and master their powers for the good of humanity.
Magneto, on the other hand, believes that a war between humans and mutants is inevitable. Instead of waiting for it to happen, however, he wants to go on the offensive. If it's a war humans want, it's a war they will get. One way or the other, Magneto will see to it that the mutant race is the only race that survives.
That, in a nutshell, is all you need to know before going to see this movie, though you could really no nothing at all and not have to worry. "X-Men" does an excellent job of setting the stage for those viewers who no nothing of the world of mutants.
The X-Men universe has been around for a very long time, with several incarnations in both the comic book and cartoon series world. Each incarnation has its own version of the struggle between humanity and mutants, as well as its own telling of the backgrounds of the characters. There is a very rich history to draw from, with a possible cast of hundreds of mutants to draw from.
One of the reasons I liked this movie so much is that director Bryan Singer didn't try to introduce too many mutants all at once. Although long-time mutant lovers would have loved it, novice mutant viewers would have been too overwhelmed to follow the story. Instead, the main storyline was limited to just a handful of mutants (Professor X, Magneto, Rogue, Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Dr. Jean Grey, Sabertooth, Toad, and Mystique). However, he also treated long time X-Men fans to a glimpse of many other mutant favorites (including Iceman, Pyro, Jubilee, and Kitty to name a few).
I also thought the casting of this movie was near perfection. Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: The Next Generation) made such a great Professor X that you almost begin to think that the comic book character was originally written with him in mind. Ian McKellan (Lord of the Rings) as Magneto was also a great choice. Fanke Janssen (Dr. Jean Grey), Anna Paquin (Rogue), and Rebecca Romijn (Mystique) were also very well choices.
However, my favorite casting decision has got to be Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. I don't know who it was that saw the potential he had to play this part, but it was very much the right call. Of all the characters, the casting of Wolverine is the one that could have broken the entire movie for long time X-Men fans. Thankfully, Jackman was the perfect choice and we were treated to a great portrayal.
I know some long time X-Men fans were disappointment that his or her favorite mutant did not make it into the movie. However, there is great potential for not only more X-Men movies (at the time of this review, X2: X-Men United has already been released and pre-production work is currently in progress for X-Men 3), but also for more specialized mutant movies focusing on one, two, or three mutants at a time (right now, rumors are circulating about a movie featuring Wolverine and one featuring Storm). If done correctly, this franchise can last for many, many years.
The original VHS version also comes with three extras that are rare of videos: 8 deleted scenes, an interview with director Bryan Singer, and animated storyboards.
Boiled down: "X-Men" has terrific action, great special effects, good casting, a solid plot, and is a lot of fun. I truly recommend that you add this to your movie collection.
Rating: 
Summary: I Can't Belive They Did This Right!
Review: I put off seeing this movie for a long time. I'm one of those fans that when I read a book I really, really love - whether a novel or comic book series - I usually hesitate to see the movie for fear of having it conflict with the way I already perceive the material in my mind's eye. Plus, comic book adaptations in particular have a rather spotty record in my opinion. The 80s/90s "Batman" live-actions were alright (except for the last one, which I only decided to break down and chance watching after being wowed by "X-Men" & "X2" and " Spider-Man") but weren't really true to the comics, and couldn't touch their level of quality. The Batman animated material, on the other hand, was a rare high mark for comic adaptations, they were very good, and though toned down and simplified for a younger audience, were overall true to the books. The Marvel adaptations - the early 90s "Captain America" movie, what I saw of the 90s animated "X-Men" and "Spider-Man" stuff...well, let's just say I found all the Marvel adptations prior to the last few years to be very unsatisfactory. To top it off, the ads for this movie made it look like it was going to be about as close to the comics as "The New Adventures Of Lois And Clark" was to the "Superman" comics, based on what I saw of it. Mystique and Toad way, way altered, the X-costumes gone and replaced by the black leather that for a while it looked like All the comics-derived characters were going to don (when I heard they were making "Spider-Man" I honestly expected them to stick him in some black leather get-up, with maybe a red mask or something) and so on...
But eventually, I capitulated and decided to take a chance, and just view this as an alternate vision of the X-Men concept, without expecting it to match up too closely. Lo and behold! I couldn't believe my eyes as the movie started unfolding - they were actually getting it right! In spirit, only a couple of the characters - the aforementioned Mystique and Toad - were markedly different from their comic book selves, while the rest of them - Wolverine, Xavier, Jean Grey, Magneto (for the most part), Cyclops, Storm, Rogue - they got the heart and soul right; and they got the whole Feel of the x-Men concept pretty close to dead-on. With so much matching up right, things like getting the costumes all wrong no longer seemed so unbearable.
Granted, there were a few things toned down or altered; Magneto's true origins, while tragic here, are presented less graphically for a wider audience. When you read enough of the actual comics you realize why it would have been a miracle for him to turn out any way other than how he eventually did. As for how he did turn out, while the filmmakers got his depth and drive, he came off as a bit more of a pure villain here than he usually does when handled right in the comics - he tends to waver closer to the cusp between hero and villain, and occasionally straddle or even cross it in the comics. And with Wolverine, it was a mistake the way they had his blood just magically evaporate or seep back into his body or however it disappeared when his wounds healed. His wounds do heal at a phenomenal rate, but the blood already spilled doesn't just 'go away'. I guess they figured it was the only way to show his healing power and make sure everyone understood what was going on.
But these are minor quibbles when put against the movie as a whole; you could be picky and deduct a half point for this and a tenth of a point for that, or you could add up everything they did right and find you've got a ten out of ten before you're halfway down the list. Even the casting turned out to be brilliant. Hugh Jackman and Ian McKellan, for example are definately Not who I would have picked for Wolverine and Magneto, but they proved me wrong and made the parts their own.
If you see this movie and like it (or love it) I'd also recommend X2 (naturally), Spider-Man (haven't seen the 2nd one yet so can't comment but it looks great), the animated Batman stuff, Darkman (not based on a comic but, made in 1990, it captured the spirit and feel of modern comics far better than any movie up to that point had), the X-Men comics (they've had a few rough periods over the decades but have usually been excellent, like they are currently), numerous other comic series (Spider-Man, Batman, Hawkman, Hulk, Superman, etc. - there's lots of trade paperback compilations of these right here on Amazon) and the Byron Preiss/Boulevard Books paperback (not comic book; it's all in prose) "The Ultimate Silver Surfer", featuring short stories by an array of authors, with "On The Beach" by John J. Ordover and "The Broken Land" by Pierce Askegren being among the best.
Rating:
Summary: x-men 2-the greatest comic movie ever!
Review: amazon only lets us review one part of a whole set so theres a better chance youll buy more stuff if you like the first review.i guess theyre more interested in $ than the freedom of speech and not ripping off its customers.so im going to review them both right here.in part one,wolverine who has acute senses,admantium blades and a extremely fast regenerative power is hurt and rescued by the x-men who are a team of highly evolved people with extraordinary talents.he was with rogue when he was recruited who can touch people and see there thoughts and drains mutants abilities.thier leader is professer x.one of the guys from star trek.he is insanely telepathic.while there at mutant school,he meets cyclops with eye lasers and jean grey who also does the telepathic thing.theyre enemies are magneto who controls anything metal,sabretooth-a cat like he-man,toad with a very long and powerful tongue.like 4 or 5 feet and can throw people.magneto has a special machine that could suck all mutants powers into his captive rogue and then take over from there.a battle goes down up top the statue of liberty.then in the second part,which i give 5 stars,another bad mutant who works for magneto named mystique uses nightcrawlers9a good teleporting mutant]body to attack the white house so the x-men will get the blame.magneto who is trapped in a plastic prison pulls the iron in his guards blood to rip him apart and escapes.the guy who aided his escape is a big shot goverment type who wants the mutants dead.his son is a mutant who can control otheres minds.but the dad can control him with a special machine.so they try to use the kid to control professer x into using his cerebro invention to kill all mutants.theres a big fight,blahblah blah.mystique is totaly naked except for blue dye and little rubber suction thingys allover her body.sabretooth is played by the lucha libre star taylor mane.thats spanish for professinal wrestling.they are both good but 2 is way better.jean grey is a semi hot red head.if the creators really wanted to go over the top spectacular with this set theyd finish telling the story.jean grey does come back as an extremely powerful mutant called phoenix.she is powerful enough to take over the world but doesnt want to since shes good.but then she gets turned into the dark phoenix.also ,there are many many cool characters not even explored yet.theres juggernaut-a giant kind of like hulk but smarter.apocalypse-a more powerful and giant version of the t-1000 from terminater 2.giant robotic mutant hunters called sentinals.the blob-a giant fat guy whose mirth absorbs most any blow.longshot-a good guy who has incredible luck all the time.archangel-with paralytic darts and razor wings.the beast-more agile than spider man,genius and colored a lot like sullivan from monsters inc.havoc-he can concentrate something and blow stuff up.even a mountain if he really really tried.gambit can charge things and use them explosively.bobby drake from part 2 later becomes a far more powerful ice man.firestar who shoots fire.a lot like pyro in part 2.there are many many more too.at least 30.they even travel to the future for numerous outstanding stories.my point being,while both of these movies rock!they could make at least 3 more totaly awesome ones and a whole string of sequels some even involving psycic vampires and the like.wolverine did the best acting in part one but was outshined by pyro in the 2nd one.pyro can control flames.ie:in one scene he lights a lighter and uses it to blast a team of cops away so he can escape.that scene was the best scene of both parts.there is this subtle ww2 minority rise up against the white kind of undertone but its expected with hollywood.in the best scene i talked about,wolverine gets shot in the head at point blank,hits the ground and is up within a minute.i guess the only star is the dude from star trek.so these are his 2 best movies.all his others suck.the special effects are very cool.pyro and nightcrawler put on some dazzling displays.ive already given some ideas for sequels but will recap.1-apocalypse vs the x-men,2-the dark phoenix saga,3-time travel to the vampire world of the future,4-sentinals vs the x-men,5-time travel story where the x-men are eventualy betrayed and wiped out by a friend,and even when the battled kang who in the very distant future rules the world and sets out to conquer all time!i give the real deal and the real deal is if you dont get all this and more youre getting screwed.
Rating:
Summary: X-Cool
Review: "X-Men" takes place in the not-so-distant future when random genetic mutations have created a sub-race of human species with special powers. Not surprisingly, the non-mutated population fears the power and motives of this largely hidden subculture, and Congress is divided about the laws it needs to enact in a not-so-subtle allusion to the McCarthy Era hearings. Two powerful mutants and former friends, Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) face this threat in opposing manners. Xavier runs a secret school to nurture young mutants and their talents, to give them a place to fit in, while Magneto seeks to jumpstart the evolutionary process in an attempt to mutate all humans. Xavier's X-Men - Cyclops (James Marsden), Storm (Halle Berry), Dr. Grey (Famke Janssen), and newly outed Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) - set out to stop Magneto and rescue perhaps one of the most powerful newcomers to the school, Rogue (Anna Paquin), who has the mutant ability to temporarily absorb the life force of others.
The comic book and therefore the film asks the viewer to swallow much disbelief. If you can ignore the plot holes (such as why each mutant has an individualized superhuman power), then this film is lots of fun. The special effects are good, and the action is high-intensity. The chemistry between Stewart and McKellan is compelling, as it is between Jackman and Paquin. Marsden and Jackman share some humorous exchanges, but Marsden does not bring enough to his role, though the thin script is partly to blame. Much of the story focuses on Wolverine and, to a lesser extent, on Rogue instead of on the other characters. Watch this film in surround sound for maximum effect.
While all the elements of this film should make it a five-star action movie, director Bryan Singer fails to give it heart. Sometimes it seems as though the film is going through the motions of trying to thrill the audience without making sure we are emotionally invested in its outcome. Issues of prejudice, persecution, and responsibility run underneath the action, a welcome addition. Really, though, this film is about fighting the bad guys, and it's here where it succeeds most.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie--Absolutely Stunning Sound and Picture!
Review: I watched this movie for the first time without ever having read any of the X-Men comic books-in fact, I don't like comic books at all. So, needless to say, I was given the opportunity to watch this film from a purely objective standpoint: I had no expectations of what this movie should or should not entail. And, to my surprise, I was extremely delighted with this DVD for a few specific reasons. First and foremost, the Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 soundtracks are remarkable. Anybody who has a decent surround sound system-set up correctly!!!-will marvel at the amazing acoustical environments created by the sound team of X-Men; I suspect that THX played a large part in the success of mixing a soundtrack in which every sound effect is mixed with such careful attention to detail that one wonders how such perfection can be possible-I wish every movie's soundtrack would be so immaculate. As if the sound wasn't enough to sell me on X-Men, the picture quality is outstanding as well-far exceeding that of a typical DVD. Again, I'm sure THX played an important role in the video transfer process. And, technical aspects aside, the movie was written and executed very well. I think the X-Men team did an excellent job of taking a highly unrealistic story line and turning it into a movie in which the plot and characters evolve without the sense of corniness often associated with films of this nature. So, all in all, I appreciated X-Men and would recommend it to anyone who appreciates a well made movie-if not for the sound quality, alone (granted, this will not contribute to a viewer's satisfaction at all, if not played through a quality surround sound system). But there are few movies that I enjoy watching more than once, and this is definitely one of them. Enough said.
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