My original review of the film X-Men was written almost 10 years ago, from the perspective of someone who hadn't seen very many comic-book films and wasn't a particular fan of theirs.  My draw to the initial X-Men film had to do with seeing Patrick Stewart at a Star Trek convention at he brought the trailer for this first picture in what would become the franchise.  At the time, the effects and story blew me away.  It was a movie trailer that did what most of them fail to do which is to make the audience hungry for the complete film.

For anyone who isn't knowledgeable about the story in the X-Men comics, have no fear.  There's enough background in this first film that people can learn who the mutants are and where they came from.  The film opens with an opening narration about the acceleration of human evolution which was resulting in the "mutants" cropping up amongst the population, followed by a pretty powerful depiction of the mutant known as Magneto's (portrayed by Ian McKellen) early years.  There's also a bit of background on the mutant who would be known as Rogue (portrayed by Anna Paquin) prior to her encounter with Wolverine (portrayed by Hugh Jackman) and the two of them being taken in by Dr. X (portrayed by Stewart).

The acting is terrific as all the actors put a distinctive personality on their roles.  Patrick Stewart does an incredible job as Dr. X. This was a part made for him. Ian McKellen is just as good as his nemesis Magneto. Newbie Hugh Jackman is incredible as Wolverine and ends up being the main character of the movie. There's a reason he took such a prominent place in future films in the franchise.  The supporting characters work quite well within this setting.  Famke Janssen manages to be both beautiful and smart while all the time still being unsure of her ability to control her mutant abilities.  This is a good foreshadow of what was to come for her character, which is something appreciated upon rewatching the film after having seen later films in the series.  Halle Berry is good as Storm as I imagine it's not easy to illustrate controlling the weather when you really don't know what effects are going to be put in by the special-effects team.  James Marsden is highly underused as Scott Summers/Cyclops, as I think was the case throughout his time in the films.  Rebecca Romijn almost steals the villainous side of the aisle from Ian McKeller as she's sexy and beautiful as well as being a fantastic actress in the role of the shape-shifting Mystique.

The story is a good one in that the "bad mutants" are not evil purely for the sake of being evil. I could understand - and even sympathize - with why they felt the way they did. Living in the world we do and seeing all the hate that is around, I can understand their feelings if not their actions. You could substitute any one of a number of groups who have had hate directed at them over the years for "mutants" and see that humans haven't truly learned from our mistakes, changed, or evolved at all.

Creativity is the name of the game in depicting the mutants. The special effects can make or break the movie and I'm happy to say they are very well-done. Watching Mystique morph from one form to another keeps you on your toes in every scene. Storm controls the weather and the lightning is very natural. At the school they show various mutants and their powers (such as going through walls) and it flows very well.

The blu-ray release of this film is a pure gem to behold.  It's a dual-disc release with the first disc being a 50gb dual layer disc and the second being a 25gb single layer disc.  Both are presented in 2.35:1 widescreen and available with a variety of sound options including 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.

The clarity of the picture is amazing.  Right from the first scene where we're introduced to Magneto in the concentration camp, I noticed a difference in the picture quality.  Instead of the darkness hiding facial features, I was able to pick out faces and expressions better than I have in the past.  The lighting shows up fantastic, especially in the scenes where the light is something other than white.  The sound quality is superb and even across the board -I didn't find myself continually adjusting the volume as I have with other blu-ray discs. 

There are enough extras here to satisfy those of us who live for these additions to our films.  Audio commentary by Writer & Director Bryan Singer and Brian Peck as well as numerous featurettes and behind the scenes footage.  There are deleted scenes and interviews, theatrical trailers, and more.

If you're upgrading to Blu-ray and wondering if X-Men is worth the purchase, wonder no more.  It's one that should be high on the list, particularly for people who enjoy science fiction, comic book, or action films.  The film s high quality all on its own and the attention it's given for the Blu-ray release just adds more reasons to purchase it.


Other comic book super-hero reviews:

Batman ~ Batman Returns ~ Spider-Man ~ Spider-Man 2 ~ Wonder Woman: The Complete First Season ~ Wonder Woman: The Complete Second Season



© 2000 Patti Aliventi

Recommended: Yes