The summer of 2000 has a lot to offer when it comes to movies, and Bryan Singer's X-MEN only adds to your choices.
OK – it's not the comic book, but it's a darn well-made movie, with a large and solid cast, and you don't have to be familiar with Stan Lee's comics to pick up and enjoy the story.
The premise? A result of quickened evolution, mutated humans have developed a range of extraordinary powers. Trouble is, they pose a threat to the rest of humanity, or at least to those hatemongers who want to pass laws to force `mutants' to register (as Jews registered early during the Nazi terrors?). Many mutants are allied with Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), who runs a special school for `gifted youngsters' and who is himself a mutant, with powerful telepathic capabilities. Dr. X's nemesis is Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen), a sometime friend who believes he is leading a war against humans – the species that would annihilate mutants. Magneto's specialty is creating magnetic fields, and all kinds of mayhem involving metal.
A side conflict that flows into the primary one involves Senator Robert Jefferson Kelly (Bruce Davison), who is the main political force against mutants. In one early scene he is assailing the credibility of Dr. Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), who is testifying before Congress on behalf of her fellow differently abled homo sapiens. (Dr. Grey is telekinetic, with telepathic powers in their infant stages.) What keeps us engaged in the story is the question of whether Magneto will succeed in his campaign against conventional humankind. Will he thwart both Senator Kelly and the superintelligent Dr. Xavier?
The acting is strong, helping to make a fantastic story more plausible. Stewart delivers a magnificently understated performance, showing the control and range of emotion of a master actor. I would tend to agree with some critics that McKellen is a tad too old for Magneto, though he too achieves a masterful subtlety of character. This is a pair of seriously talented actors playing unusual but gripping antagonists.
Hugh Jackman plays a brooding Wolverine. This character is virtually indestructible, his powers a bizarre combination; his body almost instantly heals itself, but his mind is continually bothered by the traumatic experiments done to him at some earlier time (that he cannot remember). The perverse experimenters implanted a wondrous metal skeleton throughout his body. Anyhow…Wolverine is moody and extremely powerful, his sword-like talons shooting from his knuckles, and Hugh Jackman creates a level of sympathy that superheroes don't usually receive.
The rest of Wolverine's cohorts – the `good' X-Men working with Xavier – include Janssen as Jean Grey, Grey's boyfriend Cyclops (James Marsden), Storm (Halle Berry) and the newcomer Rogue (Anna Paquin). The baddies – Magneto's henchmen – are Sabretooth (Tyler Mane), Toad (Ray Park), and the intriguing Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos). Although some of these characters are featured less than others, all of the actors turn in transparent jobs.
Bryan Singer keeps a tight pace but does not ignore characterization. His scenes are functional, and they don't feel the pressure of supplying non-stop action. We need to feel close to the featured X-Men, just as Stan Lee causes readers to sympathize with the print versions of these mutated heroes. And character development serves Lee's creative purposes.
If you are a fan of the comic, you will be instantly aware of the plainness of the heroes' costumes. Wolverine appears mostly in street clothes, and when he joins the other X-Men, he dons their same black body armor. (We are treated to a piece of wit, by the way, concerning Wolverine's usual yellow tights.) I think the lack of flamboyance actually helps the story; we are not distracted by the neon colors. In addition, Jean Grey appears normal, Janssen's dark hair supplanting Grey's orange. Good decisions, Mr. Singer.
In all, X-MEN does suffer from the formulaic blues, the clichés of superhero stories coming out all over. But there is enough catchy dialog, cool powers, and human interest to make the running time seem very quick. Wherever your tastes in movies run, X-MEN will keep you entertained this summer.
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