In the not too distant future, a Mutant Registration Act – an act in which those with enhanced powers by comparison of standard homo sapiens – is being debated about in the US Government, with Senator Robert Kelly (Bruce Davison) strongly in favour of it which veers close to the same viewpoint that the Nazis had back in the 1930s; a comparison which Erik Lehnsherr (Ian McKellen) takes no shame in exploiting as a Holocaust survivor. As such, he conceives a plan to turn every human into a mutant using a device of his own creation. However, Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) believes that man and mutant can live in peace, and along with his team of "X-Men", which consists of Scott Summers (James Marsden), Ororo Munroe (Halle Berry) and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) strive towards keeping mutants protected. However, the conflict between good and evil throws 17 year old Marie (Anna Paquin) - a girl who's run away from home following an unfortunate incident involving her power – and Canadian amnesiac Logan (Jackman) into the mix, as it seems Lehnsherr needs one of them for his scheme...
Whilst refreshing that this first instalment decides against taking the now-stereotypical approach of doing a massive origin story, the story itself is quite a simplistic yarn. It doesn't delve into any other storylines outside of the main one, sticking to its guns with the hopes that it's enough to appeal its mainstream and fanboy audience over the stretch of around 100 minutes, and it's an approach which mostly works. Mostly. You see, whilst it does allow for complete focus and plenty of space for character moments, it also makes way for some slow moments which feel padded out, with the occasional action beat to make things feel as though they're flowing a little more steadily. Add some Cronenberg-esque visuals which seem very out of place in a PG-13 feature and you have a film which manages to tell a fine story with a little stumbling here and there.
Speaking of the visuals, it's easy to tell that they come from the big CGI boom that followed on Jurassic Park, as there's plenty of them which haven't dated very well. Perhaps it's due to the rushed time given to do such effects (the team behind them were only hired eight months before the film's premiere), but none of them ever seem polished enough to be warranted much credit, whilst the action sequences don't exactly differentiate with each encounter despite the onslaught of powers on hand. At most, a battle between Wolverine and Rebecca Romijn's shape-shifting Mystique allows for some inventive fighting, but it's the most you get when compared to the numerous encounters with fellow henchmen Sabretooth (Tyler Mane) and Toad (Ray Park), who just seem incompetent by comparison. On the plus side, Bryan Singer does have a knack at directing such sequences, whilst the lengthy discussions between characters are given extra flair through camera placement and the dialogue given – even if some lines are rather cheesy by today's standards.
Hugh Jackman was a great find for the role of Wolverine, and the sheer number of sequels and spin-offs he's taken the lead of is clear evidence of just how loved his iteration of the character is. His nuanced performance hits all the right notes, and while his physicality reaches new levels with each subsequent character appearance it doesn’t really matter here – what matters is that he looks and feels like the right man for the part. Paquin's Rogue is a fine enough performance if a little hindered by how little she actually has to do despite her prominence; the mighty duo that is Stewart and McKellen are superb when placed together or separate; Berry has a somewhat iffy South African accent but aside from that gets through the film better than she did Catwoman; Janssen and Marsden sadly don't seem to have much chemistry together but outside of that have good performances (with Marsden evidently enjoying riffing with Jackman as per the comics); Davison is your standard senator type; and with the exception of Romijn the other henchmen are rather forgettable.
At the time, I can imagine why X-Men was such a big hit. It has all the elements for a success at that time, and there are elements which do still thrive today despite the advancements made in both the visual effects department and the story-telling department. But it's somewhat evident to see that they just wanted to get a film involved these characters out there, and whilst there are some perfect casting choices and a fine directing job from Singer, it seems as though we may have to wait until the sequel to really dig our teeth into these characters and their relationships. Fine for when it was, and still fine now, but sadly outdated. 6/10.
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