As a movie fan (and now critic) I feel that transforming a comic book into a live action film is a very big task. First you have to strike a balance of entertaining the comics fans while bringing the new movie audience up to speed on the comics characters and  premise. Then there is the task of making the film true to the premise, look and feel and storylines of the comics. Finally, there is the struggle to turn comic fiction which is mostly appreciated by male teens into something that a general audience will find entertaining. Except for a plot that becomes childish towards the end, the X-men film succeeds in all of the above.

I am only slightly familiar with the X-Men comics. Except for some small details that only die-hard X-Men fans will be upset about the film is true to the comics. 

The story takes place in the not-to-distant future. A small percentage of the human race has begun to mutate into beings with extraordinary powers. Fear of these new and mysterious mutants has prompted alarm in the US Senate. Senator Robert Kelly (Bruce Davidson) would like to launch a full investigation into the whereabouts and powers of these mutants. The setting is reminiscent of real-life fear and loathing campaigns the government has been involved in such as the McCarthy Hearings of the 50's and the current debates about Gay rights. Patrick Stewart play professor Charles Xavier the wheelchair bound psychic mutant who the name X-Men is derived from. Xavier runs a school for mutant children where he teaches them how to control their powers as well as tolerate the human race which despises them. Two of his older students are Cyclops (James Marden) who had the power to shoot a laser beam from his eyes and Storm (Halle Berry) who can make the forces of nature obey her will. Along comes the outsider Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) with the power to instantly heal his wounds as well as having retractable metal claws in his hands. After a life of being shunned by mankind Wolverine struggles to accept Xavier's tolerance for humans. The arch-rival of Xavier is Magneto (Ian McKellen) who has the ability to move and bend metal objects. Magneto was once an old friend of Xavier's. Magneto's hatred for mankind has driven him to lead a  campaign for mutant domination over the human race. He has his own band of mutant followers who include Sabretooth (Tyler Mayne), Toad (Ray Park) and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos). Mageto's quest for Mutant domination causes confrontations between Xavier's tolerant mutants and Magneto's contemptuous mutants. This leads up to a big showdown which takes place inside and on top of the Statue of Liberty.

What makes X-Men so good is it's in depth look at some of the characters. Although there are too many characters to really get to know, the audience can really feel Wolverine's disdain for his treatment by humans. You can also feel the suffering of the mutant Rogue (Anna Paquin). Her power can cause her to accidentally kill someone by coming in direct contact with there skin. The characters Xavier and Magneto are also more closely examined then characters in most Hollywood superhero flicks. Director Bryan Singer does a good job doing what makes a comic book successful. He introduces us to characters that we get to know and like so much that we will continue to follow them issue after issue (or in this case movie after movie).

Almost all of the acting in this large ensemble cast is top notch. A special mention must be made of newcomer Hugh Jackman.  His portrayal of Wolverine both in personality and physically is the closest I have ever seen an actor capture the persona of a comic book character. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen do excellent jobs as usual, portraying the arch-enemies Xavier and Magneto.

Because of all of the character background given there is not a lot of time used for action sequences. Although the fight scenes between super heroes and super villains are spectacular they lack the scale, artistry and any new visual effects to make them classics. The plot starts off very interesting with the realistic mutant prejudice theme. The solid cast and script help out in that regard.  My biggest disappointment with the film is that the plot which at first is very thoughtful, turns into the typical comic book fantasy story. This said, X-Men is still a cut well above many other comics turned movie like The Punisher, The Phantom, some of the Batman films (to name a few). With it's large assortment of superheroes and villains who you actually might care about, X-Men leaves you wanting more. The makers of the film have left plenty of room for more. There are further character backgrounds to explore and a set of two opposing mutant groups left entirely intact. This movie screams of a sequel.

RATING

Reviewed by Eugene Accardo