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Paving the Way Favorite Movie Quote: "I will bring you hope, old friend, and I ask only one thing in return; don't get in my way. We are the future, Charles, not them; they no longer matter." Any fair, reasonable assessment of a film - whether one liked it or not - should start by admitting what it isn't as well as what it is. Likewise, a film should be acknowledged - positively or negatively - when it affects similar films that follow in its wake, and I'm not just talking about its own sequels. As is well known, X-men is based on the comic of same name and its dozens of spin-offs, boasting a universe with hundreds of characters, some with histories dating back to the comic's inception in 1960, and a nearly infinite number of storylines. So rich, detailed, and populated is the X-men universe that it almost becomes more of hindrance than a help. Out of the numerous X-men, the filmmakers had to select but a few, and even some of those selected wind up sadly under-used. In a flip from the James Bond style opening action sequence, that in previous graphic novel adaptations would likely feature cheesy villains sporting explosive whoopee cushions or some similar style of nonsense, X-men kicks off its tale in Nazi occupied Poland in 1944. Amongst Jews being herded to their deaths in a concentration camp is a pre-teen whose mutation is triggered, a man that will later become one of the X-men's primary adversaries, Eric Lensherr (Ian McKellen). We hop next to the "not too distance future" with a young girl Marie (Anna Paquin) about to experience her first kiss. As we are soon told, the mutation triggers at puberty during moments of heightened emotions or stress, and Marie nearly kills her young suitor just by kissing him. Understandably freaked out, Marie runs away, adopting her pseudonym Rogue. In the very next sequence, we are present at a congressional committee on the ever more public mutant phenomena where X-man Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) speaks against the idea that mutants should have to publicly identify themselves. Cutting her short, spouting McCarthy-era rhetoric, is Senator Kelly (Bruce Davison). As we see, people are divided on what to do with mutants, but it clear there is much fear of what they don't know. Amidst the applause for Kelly's pontification, Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) intercepts his old friend Lensherr. Having witnessed the holocaust firsthand as well as the reaction to Kelly's speech, Lensherr has little faith in humanity's capability to deal compassionately with the emerging mutant population. Xavier tries to appeal to Lensherr's sense of hope, to which Lensherr responds, "I will bring you hope, old friend, and I ask only one thing in return; don't get in my way." These first three scenes/sequences say everything about why I like and respect this film. X-men isn't about people in tights running about like idiots flinging superpowers out of their rectums; like all good stories, it's about people. Director Brian Singer (The Usual Suspects) and his fellow storytellers make a point of grounding the film in a sense of realism; the protagonists and antagonists look and behave like real people. Eric Lensherr is Magneto, but the creation of his alter-ego is motivated by what he sees as necessity, and while we may not agree with his methods, there's no denying that he has a point. Singer, always watching the movie he's creating like a member of the audience, isn't afraid to have Logan (Hugh Jackman) point out what newcomers to the genre are likely thinking; when introduced to X-men Scott Summers (James Marsden) and Ororo Munroe (Halle Berry) "also know as Cyclops and Storm", and told that the man that attacked him is known as "Sabertooth" (Tyler Mane), Logan responds with a quip directed at Xavier and stating, "this is the stupidest thing I've ever heard". Logan himself is known as "Wolverine" because he has a dog tag about his neck that labels him as such, the only link to his unknown past. This foreplay, rather than just rolling over and sticking it in, allows those unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the X-men universe to take the subject matter seriously. Unlike some of the more vocal fan base, Singer seems aware of all the pitfalls regarding this type of film; in a nod to fans whining on the internet about the lack of direct conversions of all the X-men uniforms, Cyclops at one point jokes with Wolverine, "You'd prefer yellow spandex?" In behind the scenes DVD extras Singer explains to Hugh Jackman that he doesn't have the mask because Singer couldn't think of any reason for Wolverine to be hiding his identity, and if he was then why. Like it, love it, or loathe it, this serious treatment of heretofore camped-up material paved the way to the superhero renaissance of the last decade. Out of the ashes of the downward spiral of the Superman franchise, the Batman abominations, and straight to video Marvel fare like Captain America and Dolph Lundgren's Punisher, X-men opened the door to such gems as X-men 2: X-men United, Batman Begins, and Iron Man as well as the Spiderman trilogy, Daredevil, Hulk, the Blade Trilogy, Superman Returns, etc. These might not all be great films, but they're better than anything that came before X-men with the notable exception of the first two Superman films; at least someone realized that "superhero" and "serious" were not mutually exclusive concepts. Does X-men have faults? Sure it does. Thanks to a clueless, unsupportive studio, X-men was put together on a budget of about $75 million and forced to release six months earlier than originally slated, leading to inconsistent and rushed special effects. Also, while Singer is a great director that knows character, there was a learning curve for him on X-men regarding fight sequences and the use of special effects as it was his first big-budget project (with a budget not nearly big enough). In total, X-men is not great, but it is good. If grading on a curve with that which came afterwards, it rates lower, but I'm of the opinion that it was the third best superhero film at the time of its release in 2000 and paved the way for the types of films that I enjoy today. Also, since X-men hinged its story on character rather than silly costumes, over-the-top bozo-villains, and special effects, it still holds up as a good-but-not-great film today. email this review to a friend
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