The battle of the mutants (X-Men (DVD))

Member Name: yackers1

Product:	X-Men (DVD)
Date:	01/10/09 (117 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A good adaptation and fast paced film that will keep you hooked until the end

Disadvantages: Not 100% accurate

Written by Bryan Singer, Tom DeSanto and David Hayter, and directed by Bryan Singer, X-Men was the groups first attempt at the adaptation of Marvel's X-Men comic book heroes that was released back in August 2000. This is a review of the film only - I have not looked at the additonal or bonus features of the DVD, and therefore, cannot comment on these.

****Cast****

The cast in this movie is large, but the main characters are as follows;

~"The goodies"~

i) Professor Charles Xavier - Patrick Stewart
ii) Jean Grey - Famke Janssen
iii) Ororo Munroe/Storm - Halle Berry
iv) Scott Summers/Cyclops - James Marsden
v) Logan/Wolverine - Hugh Jackman
vi) Marie D'Ancanto/Rogue - Anna Paquin

~"The baddies"~

i) Erik Lehnsher/Magneto - Ian McKellen
ii) Sabretooth - Tyler Mane
iii) Mystique - Rebecca Romijn
iv) Toad - Ray Park
v) Senator Kelly - Bruce Davison

****Plot****

Evolution is taking a new path and chromosomes are taking a 'twist' producing mutants with some unusual, and exciting powers. Both mutants and humans fear each other, yet one particular mutant Professor Charles Xavier, along with his team of X-Men, consisting of Jean Grey, Ororo Munroe/Storm and Scott Summers/Cyclops, has made it his mission to make a world where mutants and humans can co-exist in peace.

Whilst Xavier is planning to create a 'better' world, another mutant, Erik Lehnsher/Magnetoc, and his team of Sabretooth and Mystique, is planning on destroying humanity, speeding up the mutation process and making everyone equal by creating a machine to unleash on the world.

Marie D'Ancanto/Rogue, a young mutant girl, runs away from home and ends up grabbing a ride with another mutant, Logan/Wolverine. Unbeknown to them Rogue is the key to Magneto's plan. Xavier is aware of this and sends his team to retrieve Logan and Rogue and get them to the safety of the X-Men mansion.

Does Magneto succeed in his plan to make a world of mutants? Will Logan ever discover his roots? Does Rouge find the place where she belongs? Do Magneto and Xavier rekindle their friendship?

****My opinion****

In my opinion comic book adaptations are usually hit or miss, but then given the producers have to manage the expectations of the die-hard comic book fans, as well as a more general audience this is not surprising. I find most comic book adaptations lack depth, full of cheesy rubbish, full of too many over the top action scenes and rely on lots of special effects. There are, of course, some exceptions to this.

X-Men is definitely one of the better adaptations that is not like the above. Whilst there is plenty of action to keep the audience entertained and captivated, there is also a lot of time spent in developing the characters throughout the film.

On the whole all actors are well cast and portray their respective heroes very well. Hugh Jack man is perfectly cast as Wolverine and he did an outstanding job, that can't be faulted or criticised in any way. Patrick Stewart also did a great job at showing the self-control one would expect from Professor Xavier. The on-screen relationship between Professor Xavier and Magneto was great and the "old friends turned arch enemies" was well executed and very believable.

I think Halle Berry was miscast as Storm as she looked bored throughout and never really looked like she was getting in to the role. Likewise, James Marsden looked uncomfortable as Cyclops even though he was given plenty of opportunity to shine in his dialogue and interaction with Wolverine.

I was not blown away by the special effects but they were more than adequate and showed the super powers of each hero in some highly innovative and clever ways.

I think audio (soundtracks or sound effects - whatever is the most suitable) really enhances a film, and these were severely lacking in this film which is a shame. Don't get me wrong, there is some audio but it is unmemorable, poor and didn't really do anything for me.

Overall X-Men is an entertaining film and I think the producers have done a great job with it. It is not 100% accurate to the comic, but then what adaptation is? Besides, if it were then it would only really appeal to the hardcore comic book fans, which would turn in to a financial disaster, as the cost of making the film would never have been recovered. What the producers have done is turn this movie in to a comic book/sci-fi thriller that appeals to many, and the result is very good. It is not the best comic book adaptation (although it is one of the better ones) and it is not the best sci-fi thriller (by a long way), so I don't think this film will ever be a classic, but it is definitely worth watching.

****Other****

Run time - 104 minutes
Certificate - 12
11 award wins and 23 other nominations

Summary: A good first part of the X-Men trilogy