X-Men


"Mutation: it is the key to our evolution. It has enabled us to evolve from a single-celled organism into the dominant species on the planet. This process is slow, normally taking thousands and thousands of years. But every few hundred millennia, evolution leaps forward."   - Professor Xavier


release year: 2000
genre: superhero
viewing setting: home Bluray 3/15/17 and home DVD, 8/25/12 and 11/30/03, and theater in 2000

synopsis: Mutants - the next step in human evolution - begin to appear and take sides in what could become a very messy war.

impressions: This was a lot like Mortal Kombat in that it grafted seemingly silly elements into a well-paced, mainstream movie. I think it worked here too, though far more successfully. Never did the movie descend into the stupid zone; people got killed; there was no overacting; it didn't rely on special effects to carry it. Plus, the conflict here could easily parallel any race-relations problems out there today.

things to watch for: The fight in the Canadian wilderness; the fight in Grand Central Station; the running fight(s) at the end.

something this movie has that no other movie has: A guy with indestructible metal skeleton and claws.

acting: Many, many roles here. Summary: Professor X (Patrick Stewart) - leader of the good guys; well-acted, but then again, Stewart's had experience at being the leader of the good guys. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) - focal character of the movie, well-done as mix of savage, doubter, and hero. Rogue (Anna Paquin) - young innocent teenage mutant, more of a pawn than anything else; decently acted. Cyclops (James Mardsen) - straight guy to Wolverine's quipping, sometimes abrasive behavior; decently acted. Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) - telepath, telekinetic, got more screen time and more to do than any other hero except Wolverine and maybe Rogue; well-acted. Storm (Halle Berry) - weather-controlling woman, accent seemed to come and go, seemed a bit short on her screen time. Magneto (Ian McKellan) - leader of the bad guys, got his attitude from the Nazi death camps in WWII when he was a kid; very well-acted. Mystique (Rebecca Romjin-Stamos) - shapeshifting martial arts badass, costume appeared to have been painted on her body; didn't say much, but well-acted as menacing villain. Sabretooth (Tyler Mane) - hulking, feral bad guy who rips people apart; less dialogue than Mystique, but more menacing; very well-acted. Toad (Ray Park) - leaping, sticking-to-walls guy with long tongue; mix of comic relief and henchling; well-acted; keep an eye out for his Darth Maul moment by the elevator shaft in the Statue of Liberty. Senator Kelly (Bruce Davison) - bigot, hates mutants, is taught a lesson; well-acted.

final word: Worth seeing, doubly so if you're a fan of the series. I think the outlook for sequels and/or a franchise is good.

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