X-Men (2000) Review

So with New Mutants hopefully hitting the cinemas soon I have decided to go back and watch all of the previous X-Men films and here is my review for the original film that started the franchise. The premise of the film sees two groups of super powered people called Mutants clash - the militant Brotherhood and the peaceful X-Men and how their two ideologies force opposition.

Main Character

It always amazes me that Hugh Jackman was never supposed to be Wolverine, he got the role due to Dougray Scott dropping out and the rest is history. So this is his first time as the character and he is fantastic here, he has the right mix of gruff and humour that makes him such a great character. He owns the screen with his charm and charisma and it is easy to end up rooting for him and wanting to find out more about him as he is shrouded in mystery for the majority of the movie. 

Supporting Characters

Possibly as iconic is Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian Mckellen as Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto. These two's relationship is one of the most fascinating that there is and I love how the film treats it, yes Magneto is the villain here but the film gives him logical motivations and you truly understand where both characters are coming from even though it is clear Magneto's is more drastic. Both actors nail there performances and it would lead to many films together in the future. Famke Janssen plays Jean Grey and I thought she did a good job here, her chemistry with Jackman is good here and is a nice addition here. Also high credit to Rebecca Romijn for her performance as Mystique, first the makeup is great here and in the action scenes she does a fantastic job. But there are some performances that don't work for me, Anna Paquin has a big role here as Rogue and honestly watching it back it is pretty weak, there is just no real character development and her southern accent felt really forced as well. James Marsden as Cyclops is just a pretty boring character and Halle Berry as Storm has this awful accent that comes across poorly which does affect her character. 

Story

The story here is really good, seeing this world where mutants exist but are discriminated against hits a lot of real world themes and it creates plenty of interesting character dynamics. As I said you understand both Xavier and Magneto's ideologies and it is handled really well. Seeing Wolverine finding out about X-Men is like he is the window for us and it is a good story device that works well here. 

Script 

The script here is really good, there is a great mix of humour and drama. Jackman has some really funny lines here and with the drama involving Xavier & Magneto it is a great script. Though it has to be mentioned this film includes possibly one of the worst lines in film history, if you have seen this film you know which line I am talking about, but it is a great script regardless.

Style

The style is good here, there is some decent action scenes, particularly one involving Wolverine and Mystique which was well handled. Also this film is paced really well, it is shorter then I remember but it fits everything it needs in it and doesn't include any pointless scenes. But this film is now 20 years old and it shows a bit, some of the wirework and CGI is really noticeable and makes it seem dated, it is a criticism but also a bit of a harsh one considering when the film was made. 

Overall

Overall, this film was really the first mainstream Marvel film and is a great film, if you are a fan of these characters then you will know how enjoyable a film this is. But if you haven't got on the X-Men train then I would say this will be a great time for you to give it a go.

Rating - 8/10