**** THE X-FACTOR ****, 28 May 2003

By	Mr. N. Carnegie (Kirkcaldy, Scotland, UK.) - See all my reviews

X-Men is an entertaining action movie and it has some great fight scenes but it is pitched at its intended mass audience and carefully falls short explicit violence making it pretty much suitable for all but young children. However, although the X Men movie comes from a comic book background and is definitely aimed at a mass audience it also has a message and is a lot more highbrow than most super hero adaptations. X-Men for example opens with a scene in a Nazi concentration camp with a young Magneto witnessing his mother being shepherded off to the gas chamber and from this it is pretty clear that Director Bryan Singer is deliberately making a point and drawing a comparison. It is also worth noting that at the time of the X Men's creation, back in 1963, among the major political figures in pre civil rights America were Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and it is easy to draw comparisons with Professor X and Magneto. Comparisons can also be drawn between X-Men character Senator Robert Kelly and a certain Senator McCarthy. What is more, X-Men is particularly pertinent at a time when there is so much tabloid speculation and scare mongering with regard to genetic engineering.

With X-Men, Director Bryan Singer, a self-confessed fan, has stayed remarkably loyal to the comic books and has served up a commercial but extremely enjoyable film with impressive special effects, which has inevitably spawned a sequel and (in all likelihood) a franchise, which makes me for one very happy. Full of great characters and great performances from the likes of Hugh Jackman (as Wolverine), Anna Pacquin (as Rogue) and Famke Janssen (as Dr Jean Grey) and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (as Mystique). However, it is the excellent pairing of the Royal Shakespeare company's McKellen and Stewart opposite each other that really adds gravitas to the proceedings and my only real dissapointments were seeing the excellent and beautiful Halle Berry (as Storm) being under-used and the relatively short running length of 97 minutes.

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X markes the spot, 29 Dec 2005

By	Kurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (London, SW1) - See all my reviews

Some of the X people (sorry, the title is gender-inaccurate: not all of the X-men are men) see this as the first step to their imprisonment and irradication, particularly the one named Magneto, who watched his family being herded toward death chambers in Nazi Germany (where they also had a penchant for registration). Magneto decides that this is the final straw, and vows to 'change the minds' of the leaders of the world.

On the side of the angels is Xavier, Professor Charles Xavier, powerful telepath, who is both a champion of mutant rights but also a believer in the fundamental goodness of humanity. Thus, we have the classic battle - good and evil. The battle lines are drawn. The forces line up.

Behind Magneto, who can control metal objects, either believing in his vision of a corrupt humanity who will do them no good, or simply after the power their powers could afford them, are Toad, a mutant spits toxic goop with his rubbery tongue, Mystique, a basic shape-shifter, and Sabretooth, the 'muscle' every villain.

In league with Xavier at his school are Cyclops, a man whose eyes fire laser beams, Storm, who can control the weather, and Jean Grey, who possesses minor telepathic powers and telekinetic abilities.

Into the midst of this gathering battle fall Wolverine, a man with heightened senses, quick healing and special implants of metal, and Rogue, a frightened teenaged girl whose touch robs the one she's touching of his or her life force.

--The Story--
Good versus evil. Who's side are you on? Wolverine and Rogue are nearly abducted by Magneto's forces, saved by Xavier's forces, then (of course) caught once again. There are some clever moments and diversions (what is really going on?), but mostly as a movie inspired by a comic book would be, the plot is predictable. Magneto is out to convince the world leaders that they are wrong to despise and fear the mutants by turning them into mutants. Each of the mutants has a reason to opt for one side or the other in this battle. Each of the X-people have a past, and we get only teasing glimpses of some of them. The good guys win, of course, but it isn't a definitive victory. Of course, you wouldn't expect it to be. This is supposed to be a blockbuster that will spawn sequels for years to come...Overall, this was a fun movie with a good action, a good story, and good effects. I must confess to never having seen the comic books before and being completely ignorant about the characters or plots, so there were no expectations to be dashed. Stewart and McKellen are two of my favourite actors, and they did not disappoint in their roles.

My one wish would have been for more background and details - I know they were hoping to leave something for the sequels, but coming in at just over 90 minutes, they surely could have let those of us without a comic book interest in on a little more of the mystery.

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