WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

jordanthomas_2009-346-914758 X-Men is packed with a talented cast of actors from Hugh Jackman, Anna Paquin, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. Adapted from the popular Marvel comic and directed by Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects) Its full of themes like tolerance and prejudice which are conveyed very well in the film. The stigma these mutants face in their daily lives are very similar to our own and we can all connect with them to some extent which is the real driving force behind the film. Although it has some visually awesome action scenes there is a lot more to it than that. There are some great story arcs focusing on the vulnerable sides of these characters rather than just their superhuman abilities. It's also great how it deals with the political side of things. Mutants can indeed be very dangerous which the politicians are quick to judge by labelling them as weapons. Deep down they are just like everyone else - They want to fit in with society and abide by their laws. Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart are really good in their roles. They really play off of each other here. Magneto (McKellen) can control all forms of metal. He is an interesting villain as he is more of an activist who fights for mutant rights though his methods can be extreme. He is just doing what he feels is fair and it's easy to empathise with him as he is older and been through some bad things in his lifetime. Charles Xavier (Stewart) can read people's minds while also manipulating them. He has also seen his fair share over the years but he still chooses to do good by giving mutants a place to live. He is all for mutants and humans living amongst each other but Magneto sees mutants as the next stage in evolution. Wolverine was born in the 1880's he has retractable claws and can heal at rapid rates. Played by Hugh Jackman he is a lost man who makes a living as a cage fighter until he's pushed away once more. He meets a girl called Rogue who can cause harm to whoever she touches. They are both welcomed to Xavier's school for the gifted discovering that they are not alone. There are a few nitpicks to mention that won't sit well with everyone - The ending gets a little silly as it has a lame fight scene complete with and a cheesy one liner from Halle Berry's character "do you know what happens to a toad when it's struck by lightning? The same thing that happens to everything else"... And some of the make-up effects look dated. But forget about all that because it's full of interesting characters, a great storyline, a nice music score and some brilliant special effects. X-Men is a film you can sit through again and again.

gcsman Contrary to the ongoing publicity from the MCU, the superhero-film genre did NOT start with Iron Man (2008). It began 8 years earlier with X-Men and director Bryan Singer's deft vision of how to take realistic people who just happen to have mutant powers, and convincingly put them on screen. My rating for IMdB really means a 7 "with an asterisk". Several years ago I would probably have given X-Men a higher numerical rating for IMdB, but of course the field has kept rising in the nearly two decades (!) since.. But that's really the whole point: this ground-breaking movie itself deserves a ton of credit for getting that train rolling. With apologies to the classic Superman and Batman films of the previous generation (ca. 1980-90), they really had no successors, and the special effects capabilities were not really up to the task. X-Men is what made this genre stick. I watched it again recently on DVD after many years' absence, and it still holds up quite well. It's just so likable. The characters are engaging like people you'd want to know better, the storyline is clear, and the ending is satisfying while obviously leaving threads for a followup. Its eagerly welcomed sequel X2: X-Men United (2003) raised the bar in every way and it still ranks IMHO among the handful of the best superhero films ever made.X-Men gets a lot of things right. For one thing, the X-Men comics from which it draws its basic elements has had a very strong cohort of female characters almost right from the beginning. Sure enough, in this movie the cast of players has something approaching gender equity with Jean Grey, Ororo, Rogue, and Mystique (Famke Janssen, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Rebecca Romijn) alongside the leading men (Professor X, Magneto, Scott Summers, and of course Wolverine -- Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Hugh Jackman). The only thing that doesn't *quite* make it to full gender equality is that the agendas driving the plot are still being set by the two older men who lead the opposing teams of good and bad mutants. Another obvious highlight is the quality of the casting. Stewart and McKellen, already well established top actors at that stage, gave the cast instant credibility are almost perfectly suited for their roles. Hugh Jackman was a revelation in his breakout role as Wolverine: the snarling, physically intimidating antihero continually plagued by the mystery of his own origin. Halle Berry, who I guess was intended to lend another reasonably big name to the list, looked the part of Storm all right but was too soft-spoken: that character needs to have a commanding, regal demeanor. James Marsden is fine as action team leader Scott Summers, though a dozen other guys would do as well. The young Anna Paquin plays a mutant who hates and is trapped by her own power. Famke Janssen, though not a great actress, nevertheless nicely puts across a charismatic warmth. In a key too-short scene halfway through, we get an early foreshadowing of her capability for self-aware self-sacrifice: the mind-enhancing Cerebro computer (straight from the comics!) has been sabotaged and puts the Professor into a coma after he tries to use it. Jean, knowingly putting her entire mind at risk, uses it to uncover Magneto's location. In X2 -- where she's really the central character -- she will choose a much costlier action to save the entire team. For the villains (here called the Brotherhood -- the "Brotherhood of Evil Mutants" as it was in the early rather simplistic X-Men comics, just wouldn't have worked -- Tyler Mane and Ray Park as Sabretooth and Toad don't have much to do before the final dust-up, but they're fine. The shapeshifter Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) doesn't need to do much either except look spectacular, which indeed she does, but in the final action scenes she has a great all-out fight with Wolverine. Storm also gets to show off her full weather-controlling power at several points throughout. The first 20 minutes or so has the difficult job of introducing not just one new leading character but an entire team of them. To get this across, we get a very nicely staged series of dramatic entries. First is the flashback to the concentration camp in 1944 where young Erik (now Magneto) has the traumatic experience that shapes his entire life. Then it's the present day with Jean speaking at a Senate committee meeting that also introduces Senator Kelly (an effective Bruce Davison) and the "mutant problem" that underlies all the X-Men movies, along with Charles and Erik behind the scenes . Then in rapid succession we get Rogue, Logan, Scott, and Storm expertly linked, and finally the X-mansion where the main plot can finally get started. A nice touch is that all the action is placed in historical context: the shadowy contest between Professor X and Magneto and their teams has already been going on for years, and this plot is just one episode in a bigger story. X2 continues the saga pretty much where this important first one leaves off. Finally, I'll repeat what I said in my review of X2: they both succeed because the storyline and the characters take center stage -- not the action scenes. X-Men doesn't skimp on action, but it's what happens *between* the action set pieces that makes a movie like this last.

juneb-38007 How can anyone watch this guy's movies. .....he is an accused pedophile..watch this documentary and see..it's a shame what these high payed directors do and no one confronts them. Finally Carey Feldman is speaking the truth, and so are other children actors. These kids are damaged for life. This needs to be brought to the forefront.Watch "Documentary -'An Open Secret:'   Hollywood Pedophiles" on YouTube https://youtu.be/IoRkFTYtbuU

Brandin Lindsey X-Men is a 2000 film based on Marvel's X-Men comic book series. The plot follows a drifter named Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman, who is soon introduced to a young woman, nicknamed Rogue. Wolverine quickly realizes why the girl wants to stay with him: they are both mutants, or people who are born with supernatural abilities. The misfit duo's genes soon bring them in the middle of a clash between two organized mutant groups: Charles Xavier, played by Patrick Stewart, and his mutant X-Men against Magneto, played by Ian McKellen, and his Brotherhood of Mutants. Action and heroism follow that lead to an epic battle of mutant against mutant.The film takes many liberties from the comic books, but it seems to work well in this setting. The movie has all the action and fun you'd expect from the X-Men, including a smug Cyclops, the rebellious and awesome Wolverine, and an interesting cast choice of Halle Berry as Storm. The special effects are good, the movie keeps an exciting pace, and the story is interesting.The problems with this movie mainly consist with the poor dialogue. This is the part of a comic book movie that needs to be the least like a comic book. Corny one-liners, puns, and melodramatic dialogue take away from the seriousness established in the conflict. Some of the fighting scenes are a little silly, especially the ones including the shape-shifting mutant, Mystique. My final complaint, which I make in hesitation, was the way some of the plot devices were handled. I cannot elaborate too much on this without giving anything away, but one example I can make is the villain's cliché "doomsday" weapon. Where did it come from? How does it work? It's just there to be there, to be the conflict and the problem that has to be addressed.Despite these flaws, the film is still entertaining and enjoyable. Action-packed and full of your favorite characters from the comics, this movie is mostly for the fans. Outsiders are in for a corny ride that the action may not justify.