Rating: 
Summary: Very different from the Comic Book
Review: The "X-Men" movie had to make a lot of changes from the comic book to make it more acceptable to the general public. In the orginal comic book, the X-men get their powers, because their parents were exposed to atomic raditation. For example, Sunfire became a superpowered mutant because his mother was in Hiroshima when the bomb went off. Soon after she gave birth to Sunfire, and then she died. In contrast; the movie "The Conqueror" (1956), starring John Wayne, was filmed downwind of above ground atomic tests in Nevada and Utah. About 70% of the people associated with this movie died of cancer. There were no reports of superpowered mutant children being born afterwards. Also, Mystique was an enemy of Ms. Mar-vel. Mystigue tried to kill Ms. Mar-vel, then she murdered Dr. Michael Barrett, a friend of Ms. Mar-vel. Then Rogue, an ally of Mystique tried to murder Ms. Mar-vel and in the process Rogue gained Ms. Mar-vel's super powered ablities. Carol Danvers, (Ms. Mar-vel), survived to become Binary and then Warbird. Rogue left Mystique, because Ms. Mar-vel's memories were overwhelming her, and then she went to the X-Men seeking help for her condition. In the movie, the X-Men get their powers from their genes, not from raditation, and there is no metion of Sunfire or Ms. Mar-vel. Rogue and Mystique have no prior relationship with one another in the movie. As far as the movie goes, it tries to compare prejudice between regular humans, and superpowered mutants to other types of racism based on skin color, or religion, and I feel that is overreaching. The film has a scene set at a WWII death camp and I think that including it was tasteless in the extreme. Most Marvel comic books are set in New York City; will we get a Marvel superpowered person movie that includes scenes of 9-11-01 in it? I hope not! The film is okay as far as acting, photography, dialoge, and special effects for a movie based on a comic book, but, I wish Patrick Stewart and most of the others could find a film more worthy of their obvious talents. In comparison to other comic book movies; "Superman I" and "II" were the best, followed by the "Batman" movies with Michael Keaton, then "Spiderman" with Toby McGuire, and "X-Men". I did not see "Daredevil" with Ben Affeck, about a totally BLIND superhero! I do recommend "X-Men" as it is a good, not great film.
Rating: 
Summary: **** VERSION 1.5 ****
Review: The X FactorAs most of the world knows by now, X-Men is the live-action version of the of the Marvel comic strip, directed by Bryan Singer (of the Usual Suspects fame). Set in the not too distant future the X-Men are humans who thanks to genetic mutation have inherited special powers. A box office hit back in 2000 taking in over $157m at the US box office alone, 2003 sees the sequel imaginatively titled X-Men 2 hit our cinema screens and as something of a pre-cursor the X-Men DVD has been repackaged and re-released complete with a host of new extras. But is it worth buying? The Extras Disc 1 contains seven behind-the-scenes featurettes and six scenes deleted from the final cut of the theatrical release. Director Bryan Singer also provides an audio commentary (previously unavailable on the original DVD release) in which he discusses the movie, the difficulties filming it and provides the odd insight into the sequel. Plus Disc 1 also includes six extended scenes which can be incorporated into the main feature although these are not new, having been previously available on the original DVD version. Disc 2's main feature is a (making of) documentary Evolution X, which pretty much covers the complete process of making the movie from pre-production meetings, costume fittings, through to the Ellis Island premiere. This, for many, will be a very interesting insight into the process of how a movie of this scale is brought together and exactly what goes on behind the scenes, with plenty of stress and gnashing of teeth from the film-makers. Additional disc 2 also includes Hugh Jackman's screen test and a promo for the sequel. Whether you feel this enough to tempt you into buying X-Men 1.5 will depend on whether you already own X-Men on DVD, whether you buy DVDs for the extras (personally I don't) and how big an X-fan you are. The choice is yours! The Movie Having special powers sounds great (you might think) but in X-Men the mutant race is an oppressed and persecuted minority, due to the bigotry, ignorance and fears of much of the non-mutant population. To make matters worse an ambitious and influential Senator (Bruce Davison) wants to introduce a registration policy for mutants in an attempt to further restrict their civil rights. Divided in how best to respond to this, the mutant community is split into two camps led by Professor X, aka Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto, aka Erik Mangus Lensherr (Sir Ian McKellen). Magneto believes in the supremacy of the mutant population, which he is willing to use force to prove, whilst Professor X merely wants, equality, integration and peace. With fundamentally opposing views the two camps are set on a collision course with the future of the human race at stake. X-Men is an entertaining action movie and it has some great fight scenes but it is pitched at its intended mass audience and carefully falls short explicit violence making it pretty much suitable for all but young children. However, although the X Men movie comes from a comic book background and is definitely aimed at a mass audience it also has a message and is a lot more highbrow than most super hero adaptations. X Men for example opens with a scene in a Nazi concentration camp with a young Magneto witnessing his mother being shepherded off to the gas chamber and from this it is pretty clear that Director Bryan Singer is deliberately making a point and drawing a comparison. It is also worth noting that at the time of the X-Men's creation, back in 1963, among the major political figures in pre civil rights America were Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and it is easy to draw comparisons with Professor X and Magneto. Comparisons can also be drawn between X-Men character Senator Robert Kelly and a certain Senator McCarthy. What is more, X-Men is particularly pertinent at a time when there is so much tabloid speculation and scare mongering with regard to genetic engineering. With X-Men Director Bryan Singer, a self-confessed fan, has stayed remarkably loyal to the comic books and has served up a commercial but extremely enjoyable film with impressive special effects, which has inevitably spawned a sequel and (in all likelihood) a franchise, which makes me for one very happy. Full of great characters and great performances from the likes of Hugh Jackman (as Wolverine), Anna Pacquin (as Rogue) and Famke Janssen (as Dr Jean Grey) and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (as Mystique). However, it is the excellent pairing of the Royal Shakespeare company's McKellen and Stewart opposite each other that really adds gravitas to the proceedings and my only real dissapointments were seeing the excellent and beautiful Halle Berry (as Storm) being under-used and the relatively short running length of 97 minutes. X Men 2 opened this weekend, with the pre-release hype promising it will be bigger, better and more exciting. With several new X-Men, including Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler and Brian Cox as new nasty bad guy, General Stryker, if this one lives up to the hype it will be something special. Four stars ****
Rating: 
Summary: HONEST REVIEW. Please read Director, fans, and Hollywood.
Review: X-men had hardly ANY action. It was 95% dialougue. I grew up watching X-MEN, and this movie felt more like a prequel in all-out character development than anything else. All this movie involved ... was side-story after side-story, explanations for the X-men. Since there are so many X-men, you've gotta obviously establish characters, but this movie NEEDED more action! Also, that one-liner by Storm toward the end, about what happens to a toad when he gets struck by lightning??, was just terrible and cheesy! If a piece of wood gets struck, it won't get electrocuted, give me a break! Besides those mindless flaws, Wolverine hardly faught in the whole movie! What happened to his killer-instict animal-violent persona?! We didn't see any of that until the end, which by that point was too lacking a climax to really ENJOY more than we could have! Also, X-MEN 2 looks to be so much better in the action, visual department. But they really SHOULD involve GAMBIT and BEAST in the third X-MEN, that is if they do want to bring absolute, true justice to world-wide fans, and the actual comic-story before Hollywood got involved. I also miss the cool, yellow and black custome that Wolverine used to wear in the comic book and TV series. That would be awesome if they had him switch into something more wicked cool instead of this leather, plastic-looking jump-suit night-gear. In conclusion, the first one was just boring, especially coming from the guy who directed USUAL SUSPECTS. The original X-men truly NEEDED much more action and they also needed better, more wild, (maybe more violent) and especially creative FIGHT SEQUENCES! The first X-Men was just weak, even though it did a good job at establishing who was who in the group. Even still, it was not really something I could sit through again, as it almost ... due to lack of almost any ACTION. Something for the director and writers to acknowledge if they care about the... um, triology? But I think X-Men 2 does address some of these issues just by looking at the previews. It would be nice to know someone will address the other as well.
Rating:
Summary: The Empire Strikes Back of X-Men
Review: I remember walking about of the theatre the first time I saw this movie. The first thing that came to my mind was "Wow! The sequels are going to be awesome!" A lot like how the Empire Strikes Back was an alright movie, but let's face it, it was really just a long hype up for Return of the Jedi.
While being a great movie, X-Men has the problem many movies have. A great story with a lot of things left out, unexplained, or that could have been fixed. I never read the comic books growing up, but listening to my friends who did, I had enough knowledge to wonder why they never covered Storm's claustraphobia when she was in the elevator shaft, or why Rogue was so young.
Then there's Halle Berry for Storm. I know, "she's sooooo hot!!" But she's not that great of an actor in this movie. Expecially when you give her an accent. She looks the part, but the director needed to work with her some more. Expecially when it comes to her lines. I've never met anyone who's disagreed that her line to Toad when she fries him has to be one of the dumbest lines in movie history. And when they were trying to save Rogue, why couldn't she fly up to her? SHE CAN FLY!! Perhaps I just had a problem with her portrayal of Storm. I'm used to the bold...Storm and not one that looks scared or sad all the time.
As other have said, Sabertooth was a [softy.]And Toad!? He's the dumbest villian in the whole series. At least they got him out of the way early.
Finally there's Jean Grey. Great role, but needed a hotter actress. Not to be picky, but I HAVE seen how she's drawn in the comics. They just didn't portray her well enough.
But now that that's all out of my system, I will say that the rest of the movie was great. It made me quite excited for the sequel. Hugh Jackman is perfect as Wolverine. Before I saw the movie I thought the biggest challenge would be making Wolverine's hair look normal. And no one other than Patrick Stewart would work for Professior X.
Again, this is a great movie with a few flaws. Perhaps they'll fix all them in the sequel knowing people will go see it.
As for me, I feel like such a nerd...I'm gonna go shower. I feel dirty.
Rating: 
Summary: X-Men 1.5 - A thoroughly entertaining adventure!
Review: As stated above, X-Men the movie is certainly one of the most entertaining films to have been put on the silver screen in some time. Cinematically it is amazing in every aspect. You don't even have to have been a fan of the comic books, as I am not, to enjoy this silver screen wonder. Given all the possibilities for this movie to have been done poorly or on the cheesy side, this movie could've flopped all over the box office. Director Bryan Singer proved with X-Men that it is possible to take a comic series and put it on the silver screen with taste and yet still somewhat true to its original intent! He and the producers deserve high praise for their efforts and their ability to gather up some very big names to take up the starring roles! In many ways this film is about oppression, but extends its theme with subtlety. The premise: X-Men the first movie was and is meant only to have been the first of what is hoped to be many of these fine films. In this, the first movie we're introduced to many of the key players of this and future films. Director Bryan Singer deftly sets the stage for the conflict between the two warring sides of the mutants as Professor Xavier is profoundly hoping to bring understanding to mutants and non mutants alike. Magneto on the other hand, having suffered at the hands of the Nazi regime and now watching non mutants lean towards oppressing mutants sets himself on course for conflict between his mutants and the rest of humanity or mutants that get in his way! What follows from there is one of the most explosive and enthralling "superhero" films to have ever been made. The battles between the X-Men are nothing short of stunning, especially the climatic battle between Wolverine and Mystique. Patrick Stewart "is" Professor Xavier, Hugh Jackman is perfect in the role of Wolverine and all the other outstanding actors perform superbly in their respective roles. A respectful nod to Rebecca Romijn-Stamos for performing so well as Mystique and the lengthy make up process she had to go through in order to bring her character to life! X-Men 1.5 - The DVD Taken as a whole, this particular second DVD release contains what should've been on the first DVD release. This particular DVD is exactly what it is, an unnecessary marketing ploy to get "X-Men 2 United" in the minds of the viewers. The one redeeming factor is the free ticket for the next movie, contained within the package. That being said, the interviews and special features are quite interesting, but as stated previously, they should've been on the first release. {ssintrepid}
Rating:
Summary: The movie that started the golden age
Review: We all must realize that had this movie flopped, it is possible that there would not have been a "Spiderman", "Daredevil", or the terrific-looking (at least from the previews) "X2". While many comic fans are rejoicing that the future looks great for this type of picture, there had to be a tremendous amount of pressure to do it right. After years of seeing substandard products, due to a combination of lack of special effects technology or Hollywood indifference, the folks at Marvel waited many years for the right time to put together exactly the right movie. After living with these characters for many years and having it firmly in my mind what they should look like, I can say that there could not have been a better job of casting. Patrick Stewart was born to play Professor X. Getting a actor of Ian McKellen's status for Magneto was a real coup. Hugh Jackman gives the best performance in the highly desired role of Wolverine. Who knew then that Halle Berry would become the second Oscar-winning actress in the cast (along with Anna Paquin)? And who also knew then that Rebecca Romjin-Stammos would become arguably modeldom's hottest pin-up? All these people were cast by others that knew the characters inside and out, and wanted the best product possible. Like "Spiderman", there are very few changes to the "rules" of the characters, and anything done different (like ditching the familiar costumes) was done without harming a thing. Watching it again is getting me really pumped up for the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Worth it
Review: A lot of folks have complained about Fox releasing this just so they could make more money. That may be so, but let me tell you, the extra features are well worth it whether you have the original or not. The overall design of the disc is superb, as you navigate through strands of DNA to find your trailers, production featurettes, and behind-the-scenes footage. The extra disc is definitly worth the cost of admission. As for the movie itself, I was thoroughly impressed by it after I had seen it a few times. An avid comic book fan, I have numerous squabbles about the Batman, Superman and Spiderman movies - and all superhero movies in general. With this I have the least. While the writing of the movie did stray from the comic books (it is hard not to) the story was still very believable and even a die-hard like myself could end up enjoying it. As for the directing, Bryan Singer gives the X-Men a new, darker look than they have ever been portrayed in before (except maybe by artist Alex Ross). And you know what? It works. It adds mood, tone, and intensity to the story. And the special effects and camera work are top-notch. X-Men 1.5 is an altogether excellent movie and DVD set. If you don't own the original, buy it. If you do, and you are a big enough fan, buy it as well. You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, Deep and Intelligent
Review: This cinematic adaption of the legendary Marvel Comicbook series accomplishes the near impossible: it does the legacy of the comic books justice while still fleshing out in its own right. Director Briyan Singer crafts compelling action sequences while still giving room for the characters to develop and interact, and quite nuancedly too. The characters gel almost immediately, and the actors give textured performances. The best is Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine. His performance is vital to the appeal of the film, since the film focuses the majority of the time on his character. Plot: While Logan is etching out a living as a bar fighter in Rural Canada, the U.S. congress is considering a bill to register all mutants, humans who have altered DNA that give them special powers. Think of it as racial profiling but on a genetic level. Out of this, two old friends, Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellan) are at odds about how they should deal with the attitudes that normal people have towards them. Xavier belives in giving the people time to be more accepting, while Magneto has run out patience and wants to make the general population of humans Mutants. In the mean time, a girl from Mississippi, nicknamed Rouge (Anna Paquin) flees home for Canada when she finds her power is putting people in a coma while taking their special talents and memories for a time. In Canada she meets Logan, and together the make their way to Xavier, and become part of the intrique that is brewing between Xavier and Magneto. And that tension leads to some spectacular action sequences between the X-Men and Magneto's hoardes, especially the train station encounter and the finale in the Statue of Liberty. The fights in this scene rival that of the Matrix in terms of Martial Arts type stunts and quick, confident camera work from Director Singer. But what lifts this film above so many other action films is the well-developed relationships between the characters and a smart script that deals with the issues of human segreation via genetic mutations, and the warring opinions on either side of the issue, even if those warring stances turn into violence.
Rating:
Summary: 1.5 a Rip off
Review: The movie is excellent. The 1.5 version is a rip off. It includes the same deleted scenes that can be found in the orginal DVD release only plugged into the movie where they would have gone had they not been deleted. This would have been cool, however, they are not editted into the movie. Meaning there is no background tracks or anything. The look like audition scenes or something. Buy the orginal DVD. Don't waste your money on this 1.5 version.
Rating:
Summary: X-Men 1.5 rooked me too
Review: First I have to say I love X-Men the movie, and this is a great dvd. But I cannot give it the five stars I would like to (or that I gave the first X-Men dvd) because I feel that they have cheated the fans. Much like the comic books themselves, they've devised a way to take more money from the fans. Why wasn't all these extras on the original dvd? Even Bryan Singer himself says in the introduction to the dvd that he hates to do it, and that he hopes a group of people are sitting around watching the 1 dvd they bought (then why did you do it Bryan? whay didn't you just put all this good stuff on the original dvd?) First of all, the menus aren't as cool as the original dvd. Sort of cheesy in fact. Now, both the original and 1.5 come in slipcover cases, but the original has a nice design, with a metallic type sheen to it--very x-meny. 1.5 has much less of the sheen, horrid red letters, and instead of a small tasteful cover art, a large picture of Wolverine, flanked by Mystique and Storm. It looks all right, if you haven't seen the original slip case design. And inside is almost good. it has a nice red and black design (not the vulgar read of the outer cover, but a more tasteful and subdued red), and only loses it when you see a cast lineup. From a design perspective, 1.5 is definitely weaker. Disc One
The X-Men movie is on this disc. I won't go into a review of the movie, because I already did that in my review of X-Men. I will say that it is a great movie, Singer does a great job, and the casting is inspired. There is a commentary track on this dvd, something that was missng from the original. Singer does a great job talking about the film and the filmmaking process. I just have to ask, why wasn't this on the original dvd? There is also an Enhanced Viewing Mode on this cd. It contains extended/deleted scenes, where they would have been placed in the film (also on the original dvd). The problem is that you can't go to them seperately, you can only access them in their place in the Enhanced Viewing Mode (a definite weakness, and not a problem on the original dvd). The Enhanced Viewing Mode also has 17 different behind the scenes footage, at various locations in the film (these you also can only access through this mode and not in a seperate menu. a minus). Disc Two
Here is where Singer's introduction and apology is located. "It's not my nature to be putting out multiple dvds of a film" --then why Bryan, why did you do it? But the orchestra is nice (you'll see what I mean). There are two menus here. One is X-Men 2, which has a Daredevil teaser (there's a movie I won't go see) and has an X-Men 2 sneak preview (I understand why this isn't on the original dvd, and it is a great addition, but not worth buying a whole new dvd). The other menu is titled Evolution X. Under it you'll find all sorts of goodies, which can all be played in sequence, or accessed one at a time (which I recommend), and there is branching her as well, but I'm not sure if you have to go at it all together or not, but I suspect you can only get it if you choose the 'Play All With Branching' option, which really isn't such a bad way to go. There's a 'Production Documentary Scrapbook' where you can watch the train sequence from all different camera angles, and without the post-production and multi-angle fight rehearsals. 'X-Factor' which contains costume tests, toad's makeup test, and an image gallery. 'The Uncanny Suspects' (my that's witty) which has a character gallery and Hugh Jackman's first reading and screen test. 'Special Effects of the X-Men' contains all sorts of effects featurettes and extras. 'Marketing the X-Men' which has trailers, tv spots, and internet spots. And finally 'Reflection of the X-Men" which has footage from the Ellis Island Premier and premier's around the world. And don't forget all the xtras found in the branching option. Overall you do get a lot of good stuff that you won't find on the original dvd. But what you will find on the original dvd that you won't find on 1.5 is the easter egg Spider-Man gag, which is great (but you will get something similar where a Wolverine appears in the original yellow costume), nor will you find the Fox Special "The Mutant Watch", which isn't esential to the film (actually, it doesn't fit great continuity-wise), but it is entertaining, and should be on the 1.5. Now, should you buy X-Men 1.5? I did, but that's because I'm a huge fan of the X-Men (in film, cartoon, comics, toys, and fiction), and the huge X-Fans will end up doing this. Also, I'm a student of film theory and criticism, and this dvd has things I couldn't pass up. But if you have the original dvd, then I'd either rent 1.5 or borrow it from a friend. If you don't have either, I'd say go ahead and pick up 1.5 (borrow the original dvd from a friend, you've got to see the Spider-Man gag). 1.5 does give you the better value, it's just that this stuff should have been on the original dvd. Instead, in the grand Marvel tradition, we screw the true fans.
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