X-Men

Movie Name: X-Men
Year of Release: 2000

Director: Bryan Singer

Stars: Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Tyler Mane, Rebecca Romijn, Ray Park, Bruce Davison, Matthew Sharp, Brett Morris, Shawn Ashmore, Shawn Roberts

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
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Synopsis:

Following the little seen but well received "Apt Pupil", director Bryan Singer shifted his focus from independent and smaller scale films, to what has become a successful career directing big budget films. "X-Men" is an adaptation of the Marvel comic book which was created in 1963, which followed the adventures of a group of super powered young men and women, who had abilities that set them apart from everyone. This group was directed by Professor Xavier, and though they fought to protect humanity from destruction, the very humans they defended didn't trust them. The film follows the story of two random people who meet under dire circumstances: a young girl by the name of Marie and a rough loner by the name of Logan. These two strangers have different abilities, and become the target of other super powered mutants, who have their own agendas. To their aid comes a group with Professor Xavier as their leader.
The immensely successful "X-Men" series started by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, has been a part of pop culture ever since it debuted in 1963. After a few cartoon series, the film adaptation was one where Bryan Singer adopted the serious tone that Tim Burton had already created with his dark take on "Batman". Bryan Singer uses this first installment in the successful series to introduce the characters of the different mutant groups, sadly never giving much for each of the characters to do, save for Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, who ends up being the center of the story. The film successfully creates an interesting dynamic between Ian McKellen's Magneto character, and Patrick Stewart's Professor Xavier, something that continues in the far superior sequel, but aside from this highlight, the story on this first installment is meager in development. Both Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart give strong performances, while the remainder of the cast has either nothing to do (Halle Berry) or are miscast (Anna Paquin). An interesting first stab at an iconic property that has since become a better (and uneven) series of films.