X-Men

Starring Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, Halle berry and Hugh Jackman

Directed by Bryan Singer

Good news…no wait great news…I freakin' loved it.

Yeah you heard me I dug the hell out of it. Before it started I had butterflies, something I hadn't had since SW: EP1. Well after SW I had a lot of reservations, after this…none.

Believe it or not talk-backers I can assure you, this is as legit of a review there has been. No loopholes, no nothing, I saw the freaking film, hands down.

By the way were talking X-Men here.

Gosh where to start? This is one difficult movie to classify. It's not a wildly insane action film, it's not a drama, it's not over the top, but it's not dull. It's the characters that I have grown up with brought to life. It's powers that I could only dream of as a 13 year-old, now before my very eyes. I think this movie really won me over when Professor X is trying to convince Wolverine to stay at the school, during his voice over we are shown young mutants learning, playing basketball, socializing, and using their powers in the context of these things. A young iceman hitting on Rogue, Jubilee sitting at a desk, as ridiculous as mutants seem this part made me really believe something like this could happen. Singer did his job…he built a stepping stone from which the best comic book film series ever could evolve from, and I really hope it does.

The movie is not perfect, but it worked wonders for me. In a way though X-Men fans are cheaters. We are already comfortable with the characters, we already know and love them. Every X-Men fan in attendance loved it and will see it again, the non X-Men fans although a bit confused about what they saw, decided they liked whatever it was. A friend of mine completely out of the X-Men "target group" said that although she hated the Batman series, and although she didn't love the movie it was watch-able (that may not sound flattering to you, but coming from her mouth it was!).

Wolverine is the star and that's obvious from the start. Hugh Jackman is awesome, I love the man. His physic is not Wolvering, but hey this isn't the comic book…he walks talks and acts like I imagine Wolverine would, he is as hard as nails but we can sense a heart inside all that metal. He has the best lines in the film and pretty much the only humor as well.

Anna was great as Rogue. She played the part as it was written, wonderfully. As it was written. She doesn't look and act like I wanted Rogue too, but then again this is a younger Rogue, before she has really "blossomed" into the southern belle she is in the comic.

Jean Grey and Toad were the surprises of the film. I didn't think Famke would be important, but I enjoyed her. Especially her screen time and her "tension" filled dialogue with Logan. Toad on the other hand I was almost sure I would loathe. I mean of all the choices, why Toad? He was played wonderfully by Ray Park, kind of a trickster, with mad fighting skills. The tongue I thought in the trailer looked a bit far-fetched but in the context of the movie I didn't have any problem believing it at all.

Cyclops and Storm were a lot like Mystique and Sabretooth. Not much said, not much done. I personally liked the choice of Marsden, preppy, straight edged, once again the way Cyclops should be played. His part though is basically to hiss at Wolverine when he gets mushy with Jean Grey. Storm…what can I say (and I hate to beat a dead horse) the wig looks like shit and the accent isn't noteworthy either BUT she has some sweet action scenes (never did I think calling down thunder would be so cool). Mystique very cool, very Robert Patrick-ish, not much said but a lot done. Her involvement leads to a very fun mistaken identification fight, and Stamos makes the blue scaled woman look hot as possible. Sabretooth certainly looks like Sabretooth should, but all you get out of him is grunts and roars. There is no prior involvement with Wolverine even hinted at, which upset me a bit. I think their rivalry should have been made a bit more clear, their fight scenes would have come off a bit more intense if such. Hopefully THE SEQUEL will touch up on that point.

Now people may complain about some characters development but this is a huge cast, we can't delve into the deepest darkest secrets of them all. There should have been a tad bit more on history I believe. Example the films a bit short (something I'll talk about later) we got time to do a quick introduction to AT LEAST every X-Men. We see Magneto and Rogue only, maybe a quick shot of a young storm standing in the rain and making it clear up, or Cyclops discovering his power at prom (something I think was in an earlier draft). This couldn't have made the film too much longer and would have made us a bit more attached to the characters.

Magneto's intentions and beliefs are made very clear, and McKellen is awesome again. Proffessor X is kind of just there. I love Patrick Stewart and he is Proffessor X, I just wish he could have been a bit more active, you'll see what I mean. But when he talks to Magneto through….wait no spoilers, anyways damn it's a sweet scene.

For the first hour we take it easy in X-Men, we get to know the characters, we get to like them, and we get to grasp the different tone of the movie. After Bryan introduces us to all this he kicks our ass with action and teamwork that only the X-Men themselves could bring to the table. This is what I love about the film. Every character is just getting to know each other, they are just getting used to their own powers, and that is why the sequel could blow us through the roof. Please see this movie several times, if only to get it the momentum it needs to get the sequel a go. The end gives us a hint of what these sequels could bring to us, and what a geekasm it could be (sorry for stealing the phrase Harry).

Could it have been better? Yes…but I'm so pleased it didn't disappoint me that I'm in love with it… Yes there are some underdeveloped characters and critics will probably tear it a "new one"… No you shouldn't complain, because it is the perfect start to our favorite heroes… Yes it is a bit short, I wanted so much more at the end, it left me salivating for more(whether this is a good or bad thing you decide i.e. was it because it was too short? Or because it made me just flat out want more...or both? hell if I know)

In finality I must say to completely disregard my review, tell yourself I'm full of shit and I didn't really see the movie. I went in with no expectations after lukewarm reviews, I told myself I'm about to see my X-Men get butchered…that was until I heard *snikt…

And so goes THE JUICE

Damn I want some more X-Men!

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