X-Men (2000)

Director: Bryan Singer

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin

Country: United States

Rating: PG-13

Run Time: 104 Minutes

We live in a day and age of superhero cinema, plain and simple. Rarely has such a sub-genre over taken the masses' attention and money in such a short time. However, it wasn't always like that. While audiences now have one to five superhero films to chose from each year, there was a time when only one superhero film came out ever few years. Nerds embraced those rare superhero films because they were all they got for several years at a time. Each decade seemed to have its defining superhero film as well. The 70s had Superman: The Movie, the 80s had Tim Burton's Batman, and the 90s had Blade. All of these films were commercial hits that helped establish the superhero genre as it is today. And while one would definitely have to argue what is the defining superhero film of the aughts, as there are so many, there is no arguing that the most important superhero film to come out of the 2000s (besides Sam Raimi's Spider-Man) was Bryan Singer's X-Men.

Singer's first X-Men feature helped establish the template for the domineering superhero film as we know it today: a PG-13 summer blockbuster with humor, action, and special effects that any one of any age or ethnicity could enjoy. These kind of films are made all of the time now to the point where it has gotten sickening. Whenever a studio wants to guarantee that they will make somewhat of a profit, all they have to do is follow the superhero formula and money will follow.

The cinematic SNIKT all started right here.

Upon revisiting the franchise's initial trilogy for the first time in many years, I was overjoyed to find Singer's first X-Men film to be so different from its contemporary superhero counterparts. The film is a mere hour and forty minutes long, a merciful run time if there ever was one in contrast to the over long run times of Man of Steel and Avengers: Age of Ultron. X-Men also has a focused plot, powerful themes, very few set pieces, minimal computer graphics, and a mature tone. Besides Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Dredd, few contemporary superhero films match X-Men's filmic quality.

X-Men is a good adaptation of past and present X-Men story lines; it takes popular X-Men characters and reduces some to cameos (Iceman), places others at the center stage (Cyclops), and changes up the ages of some from adult to teenager and teenager to adult to fit Bryan Singer's vision of the team. For its first cinematic outing, X-Men focuses on humanity's wariness of mutants (people born with superpowers) and Senator Joe Kelly's proposed mutant registration act. As Kelly spreads the hatred for mutants, two opposing sides of mutants battle it out for humanity's safety. Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), a paralyzed telepath, leads the X-Men, a group of mutants who believe that they should coexist with humans in peace. On the other end of the spectrum is Eric Lehnsherr (Ian McKellen), a magnetic mutant who leads the Brotherhood of Mutants, an evil group of mutants who believe that humanity should be transformed into mutants or wiped out for good.

As these two groups battle it out, two new mutants are introduced into the fray, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), a healing mutant with metallic claws, and Rogue (Anna Paquin), a power absorbing mutant who has run away from home. These two mutants find themselves embroiled in Charles and Eric's war over humanity as they both come to grips with their powers and their identities. What follows is an hour and a half of solid superhero entertainment paired with gripping themes of racism, identity, power, and morality.

The gang of early 2000s fashion is all here.

X-Men would not have spawned a franchise if it were not for Bryan Singer's excellent direction and careful handling of the material. Singer probably had no idea that he would help spawn a multi-million dollar franchise and establish the career of than unknown Aussie actor Hugh Jackman. He is essentially the defining auteur of the franchise, haven directed three entires so far and an expected fourth by next summer. Much praise is to be heaped upon Singer for establishing and maintaining a tone of all around seriousness and maturity in regards to the material.

X-Men is a film all about humanity's fear of mutants and vice versa. Humanity fears the mutants because they are different and potentially deadly while mutants fear humanity because they may act on their fears and either attack or control mutants based on their indifferences. The concept alone is a great allegory for society's fear of what is different or unknown, potentially even different cultures and races. However, what makes X-Men that much more of an intelligent superhero film is how it juxtaposes the methodologies of both Xavier and Eric. Xavier's life goal is to help mutants learn their potential at a school for the gifted where they will not be judged or controlled. Eric on the other hand wishes to build up an army of mutants who will stand against humanity, even to the point of killing them.

While Xavier's teaching mentality focuses more on positivity, friendship, and bringing out the good in others, Eric's methodologies lean more towards hatred, brotherhood, and harnessing the rage within a mutant. Both men want what's best for mutant-kind, but each wishes to achieve their goals in different ways, one at the expense of humanity and the other with everyone's safety in mind. The X-Men franchise's greatest strength lies within this dichotomy between Xavier and Eric, two of the most unique "friends" you will ever discover.

Nothing is more shocking that rediscovering how young McKellen looked in 1999.

Singer's debut superhero picture holds up so well because it its entirely focused on character and theme over plot and spectacle. Singer directs a powerhouse ensemble of actors who all give uniformly excellent performances. Even though Stewart and McKellen play the true leads of the picture, Hugh Jackman singlehandedly steals the show with his breakout role. Thank God for Hugh Jackman and thank God for his turn as Wolverine, one of the coolest anti-heroes of all time. Wolverine is more or less the protagonist of the picture, a lonesome ronin in search of answers and peace. When he stumbles upon another lonesome wanderer, Rogue, the two eventually make their way to Xavier's school. It is here where Wolverine, or Logan, shows his true colors and fights alongside Xavier's X-Men. I cannot express enough how much I love Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. If Charles and Eric are the lungs that breathe the life into the franchise, than Wolverine is its heart and soul. Supporting turns by Halle Berry, Famke Jansenn, Anna Paquin, James Marsden, and Rebecca Romijin are all notable as well. Each does a great job embodying their franchise character.

Unfortunately, X-Men is not a perfect or even great superhero picture due to a few minor flaws. In all honesty, X-Men's weakest element is its action sequences. While not bad by any means, the film's few set pieces are mild and slow paced, never being able to elicit an iota of excitement out of the viewer. The set pieces are too short as well. Every action scene, minus the finale, is over before it even gets started. But I guess that's alright. X-Men's strong characters and powerful themes are so fantastic already, that a weak palate of action doesn't hurt the film that much.

The film also suffers from some mediocre CGI and silly choreography, courtesy of the year 2000. Just try and watch the moment where Wolverine swings around the Statue of Liberty's tip with his claws and tell me it doesn't look silly. Sabretooth's design is also extremely corny. If X-Men Origins did anything right, it was that it finally did the character of Sabretooth justice by aiming for realism and simplicity in regards to his design. However, the worst offense committed in the entire film lies within two lines spoken by Storm. As Storm hurls Toad out of a museum, he latches onto a pole with his tongue in order to save himself. When Storm floats out to shock him to death, she boldly states, "Do you know what happens when a toad gets struck by lightning? The same thing that happens to everything else." Oh man, this line is so bad that it actually hurts every time I hear it. You couldn't write worse dialog even if you tried.

The most badass hero this side of the PG-13 rating.

If X-Men is a good introduction to the world of Marvel's mutants, than it is an even better set up for its eventual sequel, X2: X-Men United. Magneto's plastic prison, Mystique's escape from Ellis Island, Wolverine's search for his origin, and Xavier's dread for the eventual mutant war are all hinted at by the film's conclusion. If anything, it is almost impossible to complete X1 without wanting to pop in X2 right after, which is what I ended up doing recently.

Singer's X-Men is a good superhero film with a great story, memorable characters, and unforgettable themes. Mild spectacle and a few dated elements hold X-Men back from being a great superhero film a-la its sequel or Spider-Man 2. Still, X-Men is a fantastic start to a lengthy and intelligent franchise that entertains and challenges its audience, something that few franchises of today continue to do. And while we will hit some speed bumps along the way (X3 and Origins anyone?), the X-Men franchise is essential superhero viewing, especially its debut film.

Rating: 8/10 - A solid sci-fi/superhero film that is a good reminder of where the contemporary genre got its start.

Franchise:
X-Men (dir. Bryan Singer, 2000)
X2: X-Men United (dir. Bryan Singer, 2003)
X-Men: The Last Stand (dir. Brett Ratner, 2006)
X-Men: First Class (dir. Matthew Vaughn, 2011)
X-Men: Days of Future Past (dir. Bryan Singer, 2014)
X-Men: Age of Apocalypse (dir. Bryan Singer, 2016)

'Wolverine' Spin-Offs:
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (dir. Gavin Hood, 2009)
The Wolverine (dir. James Mangold, 2013)