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'X'-CITING
BUT NOT 'X'-CELLENT...
Written
by Thomas
Chau
Cast:
Patrick Stewart (Professor Charles Xavier), Sir Ian
McKellan (Magneto), Hugh Jackman (Wolverine/Logan),
Anna Paquin (Rogue), James Marsden (Cyclops/Scott Summers),
Famke Janssen (Jean Grey), Halle Berry (Storm), Rebecca
Romjin-Stamos (Mystique), Ray Park (Toad), Tyler Mane
(Sabretooth), Bruce Davidson (Senator Kelly)
 Premise:
Adapted from the most popular Marvel comics of the
1990s, The X-Men are a group of genetic mutants with
amazing abilities, brought together and trained by the
world's most powerful telepath, Professor Charles Xavier
(Patrick Stewart) to help fight for his dream - a world
where the mutant minority and human majority can live
together in harmony - to be judged not by the fancy
powers they posess, but by the content of their character.
However, the Mutant Master of Magnetism, Magneto (Ian
McKellen), scarred by the human brutality he's experienced,
has come to believe the mutant race is superior to humanity,
and should rule over them as their better
Overall
Rating:
 (out of
4)
Rated PG-13
for
sci-fi violence, mild language
As
the opening credits (strangely reminiscent to that of
"Fight Club") rolled, I was excited. A sheer
wave of anticipation and satisfaction swept through
me as I realized that the film I had been waiting for,
for four years, was finally on the big-screen.
Dating
back to the early months of 1996, this project has been
a hot topic for gossip buffs like me. Bryan Singer joined
and left the project. Almost seven screenwriters took
a stab at working on the script. And names such as Angela
Bassett, Jean Claude Van-Damme, and Gary Sinese were
heavily rumored names to play some of the cast members.
Three years of pointless bickering took place until
1999, when Fox and Marvel finally began rounding up
a cast. With so much gossip and controversy surrounding
this project, I became more and more intrigued over
the past few years and more eager to see the comic book
and cartoon I loved as a kid be put on the big-screen.
The
movie begins during World War II showing a young Magneto
as a boy being separated from his parents, thus an indication
of his source of anger for becoming such a villain.
Cut to the present day where we see a young, 17-year
old teenager wishing to run away from home. She kisses
her boyfriend and to her horror, he falls into a coma.
Knowing that she will never be able to get close to
those she loves, she runs out the door and heads to
Canada in order to run as far away as home as possible.
This brings us to the next scene where a frightened
and young girl runs into the most unlikely source of
help - the mutant known as Wolverine.
I
was especially pleased to see that the film began with
the character backgrounds. It was just enough to learn
essential points about them and at the same time, did
not waste hoards of time. Almost immediately, we finally
see the X-Men as we know them - Cyclops, Jean Grey,
Storm, Professor X, Wolverine, and Rogue, joined together.
But
as the story moves along, the thrill of the movie is
toned down. The "awe-factor" is just not there,
as you patiently wait for the impending thrills. Unfortunately,
when it does come, you find yourself watching the last
scene of the movie.
In
between, there are doses of excitement and I think they
could have been expanded a lot more to give the audience
a better experience. Fans of the comic book series will
be excited to see cameos of the up and coming "X-Men"
as teenagers, including Colossus, Iceman, and Jubilee.
The movie tried to establish itself to those completely
unfamiliar with the X-Men franchise by bringing in a
lot of character elements (such as the love triangle
between Jean Grey, Wolverine, and Cyclops).
In
a nutshell, the movie sets itself up for sequels to
come because the entire movie seems to be too much of
an introduction. "X-Men" is every bit a comic-book
film and a great movie for what we all want to do at
the theater...escape. It's surprisingly enough for even
the strongest sci-fi hater to do nothing but smile...
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(C)
2000 Fox. All Rights Reserved.
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