Today, superhero movies are a dime a dozen; it wasn't always so. Released in 2000, X-men has been credited (along with 2002's Spider-man) as starting the onslaught of comic book film adaptions. In it, some humans ('mutants') have evolved and possess special powers. Some people are calling for mutant registration, enabling the government to keep a closer eye on these advanced creatures. Others point to history as precedent for avoiding such segregation. Tensions heighten on both sides as the world deals with this new reality, and mutual distrust is increasingly prevalent. Eventually, mutants take sides- some (led by Professor X) believe humans and mutants can peacefully coexist, while others (led by Magneto) believe war is coming, and the earth can hold only one advanced species at a time. As they battle each other, the future of mutant-human relations- and billions of lives- may hang in the balance. Who will prevail?
Suspenseful, thought-provoking, and featuring an all-star cast, there's a lot of good in X-men. Joining the aforementioned mutant leaders are comic mainstays like Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Rogue, Jean Grey, Mystique, and Sabertooth- some of whom would feature strongly the next 6 X-men flicks. It wasn't all golden, though- the movie felt both too rushed (at 90 minutes) and too long (due to slow periods), the effects weren't top notch (CG has come a long way in 15 years), and some dialogue was cheesy. All told, it wasn't a bad first effort, but I'm glad subsequent entries improved upon the first.
Rating: B-
No comments:
Post a Comment