X-Men

Before this movie, the only knowledge I had of the X-Men came from a toy commercial on Saturday morning. I can't remember when I first saw "X-Men" in its entirety but I first saw the ending of this movie on a cruise ship. I am betting there is a debate about which film is more important to the comic book movie genre, this movie or "Spider-Man" from two years later. I would have to say that "X-Men" is the most important film based on a comic book since "Batman" in 1990 but before both "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man" in 2008. The movie does a great job at exploring the themes from the original comic books and it has a great cast. It also has a simple story. Fifteen years after its release, I got to see "X-Men" on the big screen thanks to a digital film festival and that was fun.

The Martin Luther King vs. Malcolm X analogy is fully applied in the live action version of the X-Men. The film also does a good job with themes of discrimination and isolation. World history is also referenced because Senator Kelly can be likened unto Joseph McCarthy. The opening narration stood out to me when I first saw the movie not only because of Patrick Stewart's performance but also due to a lack of sound and echo of the voice. Magneto's origin story is truthful to the comics. It is always dramatic when a villain doesn't think of themselves as evil and when their cause has some justification. Because of the opening scene in Poland, we understand in this film why Erik chose the path that he did. I liked the Alberta scenes because it stays true to the Marvel lexicon where Wolverine is a Canadian. I liked seeing accurate Canadian money and Alberta license plates but there are no mountains in Northern Alberta by the way, only on the western border of my home province. The story of the whole movie isn't predictable thanks to characters like Mystique. I remember when I first saw a part of "X-Men" because if it wasn't for the scene with the line "You're not part of the group", I probably would not have had much desire to watch the whole film later. I also like how we are led to believe that Wolverine is Magneto's target in the story. This was also my first movie of director Bryan Singer's. He turned down the job three times but changed his mind after looking at the comics and animated TV show because he liked the references to world history. For a fun fact, James Cameron was considered to help make both this show and "Spider-Man". Speaking of him, Singer visited the set of "Titanic" and also "Star Wars: Episode I" because of the rise in the use of digital effects and how that would certainly influence the production of "X-Men". Filming had to be done fast because 20th Century Fox needed a movie to release for the summer of 2000. Steven Spielberg decided to delay making "Minority Report" in order to replace the late Stanley Kubrick as director of "A.I. Artificial Intelligence", leaving Fox without a film to release that summer. Joss Whedon wrote a treatment for "X-Men" but it had too much pop culture and cleverness apparently. His style however did wonders later for "The Avengers" so it might have been a loss to reject his work. Richard Donner, who made another important comic book film, is the executive producer. The special effects are good in this movie. It took nine hours to apply Mystique's makeup and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos had to follow strict rules in order for the makeup to work such as not using skin creams. She was also kept separate from the other cast members in order to keep Mystique's look a secret. I wish that John Williams or at least John Ottman had accepted Singer's invitation to score "X-Men". Still, the final musical score has some great themes.

This is an example of ensemble casting that worked. "X-Men" introduced me to all those acting in it except for Patrick Stewart, Ray Park and Anna Paquin. It was also the Hollywood debut of Hugh Jackman. He was chosen at the last minute apparently to replace Dougray Scott, who was making "Mission: Impossible II" (I can't imagine Scott with the claws by the way). There were doubts about this casting choice just like with Michael Keaton as Batman. Fans couldn't see a stage musical actor pull off one of the most beloved anti-heroes from comic books. Jackman not only changed our minds but made us entirely forget about the concern we had. Thus ironically, when he was cast a decade later in the musical adaptation of "Les Miserables", people wondered if he could sing well enough to be in that movie. Another connection with "Les Miserable" is that director Bryan Singer first offered the role of Logan to Russell Crowe. While turning it down, Crowe recommended Jackman. Wolverine is my favorite and practically everyone's favorite character in this movie. Jackman studied Clint Eastwood and Mel Gibson in order to portray Wolverine, who had only a few lines but emotional ones nonetheless. Because Jackman is taller than the Wolverine in the comics, the other actors used platform shoes and camera angles were employed to make Jackman a little shorter. This was my first theatrical film with Patrick Stewart but I had seen plenty of him before on TV's "Star Trek: The Next Generation". Stewart was uncertain at first about accepting the role but Singer reminded him that Harrison Ford was only known for Han Solo until he played Indiana Jones. I don't know whether I saw "X-Men" in its entirety first or "The Fellowship of the Ring" but because I saw the ending of "X-Men" in February of 2001, I consider it as the first time I saw a performance from Sir Ian McKellen. He was actually filming both this movie and "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy at the same time. Terence Stamp was thought to be a possible Magneto and that makes sense seeing as how Richard Donner had worked with Stamp before on the Superman films. McKellen is great in every movie he does. I first saw future Oscar-winner Halle Barry in "The Flintstones" but I didn't recognize her when I saw "X-Men" the first time. I therefore consider the X-men Trilogy as my introduction to her. Anna Paquin is the second youngest Oscar winner in history but I knew who she was from "Fly Away Home". She actually dropped a lead role in another movie to play Rogue. I love when Toad does the trick with the metal bar because Ray Park is also Darth Maul on "Star Wars: Episode I". It may be subtle compared to what we are used to today but Stan Lee's cameo is on the beach.

The best characteristic of this movie was its simplicity. Today's comic book movies may be more exciting but this film's greatest quality is its metaphorical nature. The film also did not try to include every single X-Men superhero or villain and thus the sequels were given a lot to draw upon. The cast had great chemistry and the story stayed true to the comics. I may like other comic book movies more than this show but I do not deny the importance of "X-Men".

4 Stars out of 5