X-Men

The early 2000s proved to be quite the boon for superhero films, with the Spider-Man and X-Men films proving that the genre could be financially successful if put into the right hands. While I did grow up during this time, I didn’t have much of an interest in X-Men at the time outside of the X-Men: Evolution cartoon on Kids’ WB (I was more interested in Spider-Man at the time), only ever feeling motivated to watch a select few of the X-Men films years later. After recently watching all three X-Men cartoons at the time of this writing (X-Men The Animated Series, X-Men: Evolution, Wolverine and the X-Men) in their entirety (with X-Men: Evolution still being my personal favorite), I felt more motivated to actually watch the film series in earnest from the beginning, with additional motivation from the upcoming release of Deadpool 3 as well as Spider-Man: No Way Home setting a precedent for the MCU now requiring intimate knowledge of outside film continuities. After rewatching the original X-Men film from 2000 that started it all, I found it to be a solid beginning for the series, one that is still enjoyable over two decades later.

In the not-too-distant future, Senator Robert Kelly (Bruce Davison) has been pushing for the government to approve the Mutant Registration Act, which would force mutants to legally register themselves as such. Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Erik Lehnsherr (aka Magneto) (Ian McKellen) oppose this, but while they are friends, they have their own opposing viewpoints on how to express this. Meanwhile, a teenage girl named Marie (aka Rogue) (Anna Paquin) finds her mutant powers awaken when she puts a boy into a coma after kissing him. While on the run, she meets another mutant named Logan (aka Wolverine) (Hugh Jackman), who begrudgingly takes her on his journey, only to be attacked by another mutant named Sabretooth (Tyler Mane). Following the battle, Rogue and Wolverine are taken to the Xavier Institute in New York, a school for mutants run by Charles Xavier where students are able to hone their abilities and some are also trained for battle against Magneto.

As an introduction to the X-Men universe, the film does a decent job in this regard, taking a more grounded and serious approach, not even pulling any punches in regards to the backstories of Wolverine and Magneto. While not entirely as polished as it could have been by modern standards, it still presents interesting takes on some of the established characters, among them Senator Kelly, Rogue and Toad (Ray Park), keeping them familiar to existing fans while making them fresh for newcomers. While it does have a more serious tone, there is a good balance of humor mixed in through some quick visual jokes and a few lines of throwaway dialogue, though Storm’s (Halle Berry) infamous “Do you know what happens to toads…?” line comes out of nowhere and makes zero sense even in context. Even though watching the X-Men animations before my second viewing helped me personally with understanding the plot due to familiarity, I will note that no prior knowledge is actually required to follow along and the film is written in a way that those unfamiliar with the source can still get into it.

 

Chances are you're watching this for Wolverine (Hugh Jackman).

For a superhero film from the year 2000, the visual effects hold up surprisingly well, helped by only using CG when necessary, mainly in rendering some mutant powers, and otherwise relying largely on practical effects where it can, though one instance of Mystique weaponizing part of a fence is more obviously a prop. The set and costume designs are also on-point and match the characters’ personalities to a tee. Mystique (Rebecca Romijin) being practically naked, albeit featureless, admittedly does provide some sex appeal, but it also makes sense from the standpoint of her shapeshifting powers and takes more advantage of the looser restrictions of a PG-13 film compared with a Y7 TV series. One point of contention, however, is the X-Men themselves wearing black spandex outfits when they go into battle. Granted, this was before filmmakers figured out how to film comics-accurate costumes without looking silly, which a throwaway line even jokingly addresses, but I personally didn’t mind this design choice since it was more the style at the time.

The film is also very well-cast, with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen providing the right amount of energy and charisma for their respective roles as Charles Xavier and Magneto. Although he is notably taller than the character he portrays, Hugh Jackman nonetheless proves how his stellar performance as Wolverine is so beloved that comic book fans are able to look past it. Taking animation lead time into account, Anna Paquin’s take on Rogue felt more in line to me with her depiction in the aforementioned X-Men: Evolution, which happened to premiere four months after this film’s US release.

 

Patrick Stewart is a solid casting choice for Charles Xavier.

The original X-Men film is a great start to a film series that, while not having the same quantity as the later MCU, still has a notable legacy of its own. Existing fans of the X-Men will no doubt find something to like here, but the strong writing and characterization provides a solid foundation for newcomers unfamiliar with these characters. If you are someone who, like me, is worried about prior multi-continuity knowledge being taken for granted with the upcoming Deadpool 3, as was the case with Spider-Man: No Way Home, now is as good a time as any to start catching up.