X MEN (2000)
Grade: B
Director: Bryan Singer
Screenplay: Tom DeSanto, David Hayter, Bryan Singer
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen, Bruce Davison, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Tyler Mane, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Mathew Sharp
Despite an abundance of flaws, X MEN worked for me because it actually goes so far as to take itself seriously. In the age of what could be called the Kevin Williamson syndrome (spawned from the Tarantino syndrome) it's nice to see a super-hero film that doesn't constantly wink at its audience through labored camp and aren't-we-clever irony laden dialogue. And this is no BATMAN AND ROBIN cartoon either, with all those superfluous comic relief characters mouthing awful puns ("Stay cool," the frozen one says). Other than a needless ridge between two characters and a love triangle that goes no where (though, thankfully, neither is given much screen time), X MEN tells its story in an efficient workmanlike manner that brings to mind memories of past big budget genre films like TERMINATOR and BREAKDOWN; flicks that worked because they stuck to the basics and left out all those unnecessary diverting elements. The movie treats its source material like the holy bible (even opening with a prologue set in the Holocaust), and because of this, fans of the comic will most likely be pleased. I am not one of them; X MEN was one of the few comic series that didn't pique my interest as a youngster, but as a summer movie it's a damn good way to kill 100 minutes.
The plot isn't Kafka but it is a great deal more detailed and complex than the usual humdrum high concepts that barrel our way from May to August. The story is based on the notion that as a species, a select few of us humans will continue to evolve further into mutant beings with super human powers. (No, Darwin probably would not have a very good time at this one, but hey, it is science fiction…or, more appropriately in this case, sci-fi). At first these super humans are treated like outcasts, much like any minority (yes, an attempt at social commentary, but this is less annoying considering the only actor who bellyaches about tolerance is Ian McKellen, a performer so magnetic he could make virtually anything at least sound profound). Director Bryan Singer (THE USUAL SUSPECTS, APT PUPIL) doesn't so much attempt to "smuggle" subtle messages into his film, he opts instead to have his characters say them out right, but moments such as these are well written in the tradition of talented writers attempting to make nonsense seem important. They're mostly successful. Singer includes some mild stabs at the Communist Blacklist in which Congress discusses a list of "known mutants". That kind of thing isn't necessary in a summer movie, but it's welcome to see that someone is at least trying. And further to Singer's credit, he's assembled a cast that's capable of making the screenplay's moody dialogue come to life.
The most intriguing of the characters is the outlaw\loner, Wolverine, thankfully played with no Chris O'Donnel\Brendan Fraser self consciousness by talented new comer Hugh Jackman. Jackman, with his mountain chops and fro-like hair, suggests a brawnier Berkeley protestor from the Nixon-era. But he's as steely eyed as Eastwood, and with much more charisma. Both Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen (thespians in every sense of the word) are the definition of magnificence; every utterance is spoken with weight and intensity. These fellows just ooze class. They play old friends and current rivals, both mutants, only McKellen's character, Magneto, has grown disenchanted with the world and the manner in which his kind are treated. Along with his crew of mutants, he plans to take over the human race, admittedly a silly proposition, but when McKellon describes his plans, speaking in that mellifluous tone of how nothing…ever…changes, with his eyes glistening somewhere between rage and sadness, well, I was just melting, and I truly bought the whole damn thing. Now give that dialogue to an over the top ham like Nicholson, or a block of wood like Swartznegger and it's near impossible not to snicker.
Stewart's character, Xaviar, is a wheel chair bound mentor with telepathic abilities who runs a school for mutants where he harvests warriors to battle against Magneto's troops. He receives two new members, Wolverine and Rogue (Oscar Winner Anna Paquin), after they're attacked by the bad guys and eventually rescued by a group of Xaviar's good mutants. Those good mutants include Cyclops (James Marsden) a pin-up boy with a Star Trek-like visor blanketing his eyes in order to contain energy beams that would otherwise blaze forth destroying everything in their sight; Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) is a brilliant doctor caught in the midst of a love triangle between Cyclops and Wolverine. Her powers include Telekinesis (think CARRIE, only not as angry) and telepathy; Rogue is imbued with the ability to absorb others skills and memories by merely touching them… though with this power she risks killing them; Storm (Halle Berry) is arguably the most powerful "good mutant" considering her ability to manipulate the weather any which way she desires.
Their adversaries (Magneto's pawns) are a less developed bunch, but nonetheless hold ones interest. Especially Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (as Mystique), painted in dark blue with slicked lava-like red hair cascading down her dorsum. She can shape shift her figure into anybody as well as perform MATRIX-style kung fu hi-jinks; Toad (Ray Parks) not only has a gigantic tongue, but is able to spit toxic bile from his mouth and crawl up walls with the precision of THE FLY. As for Sabertooth, like Wolverine, he's blessed with sharp claws and also comes with a frightening yeti-like appearance. Yes, you actually have to keep track of all that to get the most out of this film. It's a little off-putting for the film's characters to have so many powers seeing as how there's almost nothing they can't do collectively. One wonders why they don't just band together and take over the world instead of living in shame.
X-MEN introduces so many characters over the course of its running time that it's difficult to recall all of them. Most of the characters are hardly given any screen time (though in the case of Halle Berry, who gets maybe five minutes, this is a good thing considering that she's completely upstaged by her platinum fright wig, but on the other hand I would have liked a bit more of the reptilian Ray Parks and the low ebb intensity of Famke Janssen). It might have been wise to limit the amount of X MEN and possibly introduce the rest in the inevitable sequel. As it is the film spends about an hour on introductions (all of which are well done) and less than forty minutes on the "plot". Since Singer does such a good job with the material I didn't really mind until the end when I was like "Is that all?" The film's conclusion, a hokey battle atop the Statue of Liberty, is a bit anti climactic no matter how many MATRIX-like kung fu hi jinks we get. Oddly enough I left the theatre thinking that the film could use an extra twenty or twenty five minutes (the original cut rant at over two hours, which sounds just right for this film). Odd because I felt the opposite while watching the other summer action spectacles, none of which were as character driven or engrossing as this, though all of which featured more inexplicable stunts and FX. Of course a studio exec could never cut that. The lessons of THE AVENGERS, GODZILLA, etc go unlearned.