I'm not much of a comic book buff, but I am, in case my plethora of reviews on this website don't attest clearly enough, a fan of good cinema, so the expectations I set for X-Men were those I have for every other movie. While fans of the periodical on which it is based carp away about the shade of Jean Grey's hair and the composite personality of Rogue, I champion director Bryan Singer's sober approach to potentially gelastic material. X-Men is respectful in tone when not letter faithful to the Marvel legend, if I'm to understand secondhand descriptions of the solemn graphic serial correctly.

That mythology is reborn here as the story of Rogue (Anna Paquin), a teenaged belle who skips town after their first kiss leaves her boyfriend literally breathless, only to find herself a road companion to Logan (smouldering star-on-the-rise Hugh Jackman), an underground boxer with adamantium talons that handily protrude from between his fingers whenever danger lurks. She asks him if they hurt. "Every time," he answers, rubbing his swollen knuckles, but the look on his face elaborates: the claws have made him an outcast in a world that frowns upon mutations and calls him Wolverine.

Sabretooth and Toad, fanciful henchmen, we'll soon learn, to camp survivor Magneto (Ian McKellen), ambush the two kindred spirits in their journey. But the prime target of metal-bending Magneto's anarchic agenda is the McCarthy-esque Senator Kelly (Bruce Davison), an operator determined to "out" the mutants (he demands the naming of names). Magneto also faces opposition from former ally Dr. Xavier (Patrick Stewart), the pacifistic headmaster of a school for "homo superiors" that eagerly inducts Rogue and Wolverine as pupils.

After a record-breaking start at the box office this past summer, X-Men's popularity quickly dwindled, and I have this aching feeling that everything I love about it was responsible for its failure to retain financial momentum. The film has heroes--superheroes--but no arch villains; after having the nerve to set its prologue during the Holocaust, Singer owed us a story of some depth, yet audiences don't always want what they demand. Especially in the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. Which leads me to X-Men's dilemma that dialogue scenes are more plentiful, and more memorable, than its noisy, effects-studded ones, the same for which cannot be said of the mawkish smash The Perfect Storm. Grave, quiet moments between Rogue and Wolverine, or Xavier and Magneto, are riveting for their spareness.

I found the film engaging because it's the antithesis of what recent genre entries Spawn and the latter Batman sequels had us conditioned to, and I recommend it on the grounds that it is gentle and sincere in its confab with a generation--my generation--of dislocated youth. (I will concede that David Hayter's screenplay offers few surprises, as far as a continually developing plot goes.) Singer has also distanced himself from the stylistic curlicues (restless camerawork, showy editing) that define his own previous work, bringing X-Men's characters and concept basic--that America is a never-ending cycle of oppression--to the fore. Auteurism despite the odds.

I anticipated the arrival of X-Men on DVD as I have few other titles this year. This November 21 release is extra special in that it contains both the theatrical cut and an extended version made possible by seamless branching technology. (See below.) THX-approved (with Optimode calibration tests), this 2.35:1, 16x9-enhanced letterboxed transfer is very true to its celluloid origins, in that Newton Thomas Sigel's naturalistic colour and contrast schemas remain subdued.

Shots that rely on available light appear softer than others; compression is invisible throughout--as it should be, since the studio abandoned a DTS track in order to increase image quality. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is not very active in the surrounds, though there are a number of sounds placed subtly, realistically, in the rears (a honking horn, a police siren). Bass is at its deepest each time Magneto employs his powers of telekinesis.

Now for the added footage. If you intend to watch it incorporated into the body of the film (an "X-Men" emblem burn-in signals a new scene and shortly thereafter triggers a search pause), be warned that it is non-anamorphic, requiring God knows what kind of adjustments to a widescreen television. (5.1 also temporarily becomes 2.0.) Additionally, and this may change as finished goods are pressed in the coming weeks (I viewed a "check disc", sans silk screen and cover art, therefore it's conceivable that programming configurations will vary slightly from my copy when X-Men streets), the branched version reverted to the standard edition if I so much as freeze-framed or skipped a chapter at any given point. This was the case for both my combi-player and DVD-ROM drive.

The deleted stuff itself, which I wound up sifting through separately, is relatively innocuous; the quick montage of classroom hijinks in the final product is just as effective as, if not more than, a whole passage of Storm (Halle Berry) teaching Roman history. Plus, a little Iceman goes a long way. Other features: the Fox special "Mutant Watch", a fairly routine making-of structured around a Kelly hearing; Hugh Jackman's screen test (notable for unused conversation between Logan and Rogue); brief clips of Bryan Singer on "Charlie Rose" (more, please); Animatics (or, X-Men meets "Reboot"-- computer-generated storyboards for a couple of action sequences); a very extensive gallery of costume and production designs; two trailers and three TV spots (none of them, disappointingly, the mock-campaign ad that ran on late night cable); a promo for the soundtrack CD; and two easy-to-spot Easter eggs (in one, an outtake, we're made privy to a hilarious practical joke) within underimagined animated menus.



Recommended: Yes