The X-Men Review by Tim Wick
How do you like your popcorn?
If you like your popcorn with just a little bit of salt and no butter, then
you should probably skip X-Men. Though most will expect it to be a simple
little summer popcorn film, especially given that it comes from a comic, they
will find that this popcorn has just a little bit of a bite.
I've been trying to find out the exact year, but I know the X-Men debuted in
the mid 60's around the time of the growing civil rights movement in the US.
Although the aspect was not quite as pronounced in the original comic, the
conflict between mutants and humans was very much a reflection of the
conflict currently existing between the races.
Given the decidedly serious undertones of the comic, it should be expected
those undertones be present in the film as well. Many movies based on comic
books have failed to reflect the serious undertones in those comics.
Hollywood just seems to view comics as little better than pulps and they film
comic movies with that kind of mindset. I had feared X-Men might have gone
the way of previous comic adaptions.
Fortunately, it did not. Though I - as an X-Men geek - could argure some of
the finer points of the movie, the fact is that as a summer action film and
as a comic adaption, this is a great movie.
Brian Singer, who also directed The Usual Suspects among other films, has a
respect for the fact that the film is about characters, not fights. If we
care about Wolverine, Rogue and even Magneto, we will care about what happens
to them over the course of the movie.
Central to the story of the X-Men is the philosophical conflict between
Magneto and Professor Xavier. Both men are powerful mutants trying to deal
with the fact that mankind fears and hates them. Magneto feels that the only
reasonable response is war where Charles feels the opposite. Done well,
Magneto should be an anti-hero rather than a true villain. Though Singer
might have pushed Magneto a bit too far in the direction of villain, there is
enough sympathy in the character to make the philosophical conflict work.
You certainly don't want to see Magneto succeed, but there is no questioning
that his basic motivation is not too far from the mark.
The real problem this movie could have had (at least for me) was the fact
this it's central characters were Rogue and Wolverine. As an X-Men geek, I
wanted to see these characters done well because they are my favorite. Aside
from an understandable re-write of Rogue's origin, both characters were well
done.
Hugh Jackman was a perfect choice for Wolverine. They sort of fell into him
when their first choice (Dougray Scott) was tied up filming Mission:
Impossible 2. Boy did they get lucky. For most of the movie, he is a caged
animal just looking for the next opportunity to fight for his release. His
energy manages to counteract the underdeveloped characters of Storm, Cyclops
and Jean Grey.
Anna Paquin, who already has an Oscar to her name, is Rogue. In the movie,
Rogue is our typical teenager who has just discovered an awful truth about
herself. Where Wolverine has known and been living with the fact he is a
mutant for years, Rogue has just started dealing with this horrifying fact.
She is the person who is there to remind us that it's all well and good to be
a superhero, but how good is it when you can't even touch another human being?
None of the characters in the film are living the perfect life. We are meant
to know that being a mutant isn't such a great deal, it is a burden. For
Cyclops, he can't hide his mutation because he has to wear a special visor
just to go out in public. For Professor Xavier, it is the weight of
protecting mutants from a paranoid society and a paranoid Magneto. In a very
real sense, it's not great to be a superhero - it sucks.
I could nitpick a few details that I think should have been done differently,
but I can't really do that without putting in more spoilers than I think
should be in a review. My biggest wonder is about the characters of Storm,
Cyclops and Jean Grey. Their characters are painted in broad strokes and I
get the feeling much of their development was left on the cutting room floor.
Rumor has it 40 minutes were cut at the last minute and I wonder if much of
that was character development. Personally, I can't wait for the DVD.
I was really hyped about this movie and that can be a dangerous thing. In
the case of Gladiator, I was ultimately let down. This film may not be
perfect, but it was fun and true to the original feel of the comics. The
leads have already signed on for another three films. As long as Singer (or
whomever) retains the gritty look and feel of this film and remembers that
being a mutant isn't all that great, I can't wait for the next one.
Michael Lee also wrote an X-Men Review
|
