X-Men

Rating:
Summary: **** THE X-FACTOR ****
Review: As 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. On the surface, 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 fear of much of the non-mutant population. Furthermore an ambitious and influential Senator (Bruce Davison) wants to introduce a registration policy for mutants in an attempt to further restrict their civil rights. In response 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 hits our screens later this year and I for one am really looking forward to it! Four stars ****

Rating:
Summary: One of the best movies I saw this summer!
Review: I've always enjoyed the x-men comic books, but aren't really a die hard fan and I was blown away by "X-Men"! Everything was well done, the characters, the acting, the writing, the action, the comedy, EVERYTHING! Please do yourself a favor and give it a chance. There are so many good things to say about this film and very very few bad things to say about "X-Men". Great Movie! Go see it! I can't wait to see one of the sequels.

Rating:
Summary: First Succesful Marvel Movie
Review: X-MEN was a first for many reasons. It was the first Marvel Movie where Marvel took an active part in development of the script, worked with producers at 20th Century Fox to make it both a good movie and be faithful to the comics, and had a large enough budget to work with. It was something of a surprise when this movie was released in July, 2000 to respectable reviews and good box office results. 20th Century Fox wanted to release the movie on DVD just as fast as possible so this first edition DVD only has a certain number of bonus features; Good Widescreen edition of the movie, two theater trailers, Hugh Jackman screen tests, and a six part PBS interview of Bryan Singer done by Charlie Ross which the making of the movie was discussed. This was better then the later X-Men 1.5 DVD set which was little more then a promotion piece for X2, a picture that turned out terrible.