"X-Men" Talkback (Spoilers)

[James Harvey]

Trust a few. Fear the rest.



"We're not what you think, not all of us." - Professor Charles Xavier

X-Men
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: July 14, 2000
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Tyler Mane, Ray Park, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Bruce Davison, Matthew Sharp

Plot Summary: They are the children of the atom, homo superior, the next link in the chain of evolution. Each was born with a unique genetic mutation, which at puberty manifested itself in extraordinary powers: Cyclops' (Marsden) eyes release an energy beam that can rip holes through mountains; Jean Grey's (Janssen) strength is both telekinetic and telepathic; and Storm (Berry) can manipulate all forms of weather. In a world increasingly filled with hatred and prejudice, they are scientific oddities ... freaks of nature ... outcasts who are feared and loathed by those who cannot accept their differences. Their detractors include U.S. Senator Robert Kelly (Davison), a McCarthyesque politico whose legislation is designed to "expose the dangers" of mutants. Yet despite society's pervasive ignorance, Cyclops, Jean, Storm and thousands like them survive. Under the tutelage of Professor Charles Xavier (Stewart), the world's most powerful telepath, these "gifted" students have learned to control and direct their respective powers for the greater good of mankind. They fight to protect a world that fears them. Xavier welcomes two newcomers: Logan/Wolverine (Jackman), a solitary fighting machine who possesses amazing healing powers, retractable adamantium claws and an animal-like fury; and Rogue (Paquin), an alienated teenage girl who can absorb the powers and memories of anyone she touches. As Wolverine and Rogue adjust to life among their "kind," the X-Men find themselves locked in a physical and philosophical battle with the Professor's former colleague and friend, Erik Lehnsherr a.k.a. Magneto (McKellen). One of the world's most powerful mutants, Magneto has turned his back on society, believing that humans and mutants can never coexist, and that mutants are the rightful heirs to the future. He and his evil Brotherhood - the mammoth Sabretooth (Mane), the metamorph Mystique (Romijn-Stamos) and the nearsighted, far-jumping Toad (Park) - will stop at nothing to ensure that future, even if it threatens the very existence of mankind ... or mutantkind.

Buy the movie!

Related Threads:
-X-Men Soundtrack Talkback (Spoilers)
-X-Men DVD Talkback (Spoilers)
-X-Men 1.5 DVD Talkback (Spoilers)
-X2: X-Men United Talkback (Spoilers)

Comments?

[Stupendous Man]

As time has passed Ive had to ask myself ..
was X-Men really a good movie or just the best out
of a long line of Hollywood movies that have made our
favorite pastime (comic books ) look silly ?


I remember leaving XMEN at the movie theatre feeling greatly
relieved .. this movie didnt embaress me the way
BATMAN & ROBIN did.

But the more I see it .. I cant help thinking just cause something isnt bad - that doesnt make it GREAT.

XMEN had a lot of flaws , chiefly that the Villans were handled poorly. Magnetos "plot" seemed lame and contrived.

The source material to XMEN is rich and engrossing, complicated
and relevant that to reduce it to Magneto trying to make everyone a mutant seems somehow trite.

What does everyone think ?

Has there ever been a superhero movie thats ever done it right ?

Is Spiderman our last hope?

[NewMaxFranklin]

Never underestimate the power of low expectations. I agree wih you (big time.) X-Men is not a great film. I like aspects of it, but it has a lot of glaring flaws. When it hit the theatre I saw it three times, which is something I rarely do. Then, when I watcvhed the DVD for the first time I was VERY disappointed. I still like it, but it's just ok.

It's funny. You would think comicbooks, with their fractured storylines and larger than life characters (with a structure based on movies!) would translate well into the second-most fractured medium. But, it seems it's not so.

EDITED- ----------------------------------------

I think the biggest problem with comicbook movies is that they try to include to many characters. Filmakers are some of the biggest geeks in the world. And when the three writers, the director and so on all have a favorite character or plotline from the comic things get convoluted.

They're also way to concerned with making a faithful adaptation. "We can't change this or this because the fans of the comic wil blah blah blah." Well, the fans, the real fans, with character web pages and collections a high as an elephants eye are going to gripe no matter what. So you may as well just try to tell a gripping (or a at least coherant) well-paced story with a few, well-developed, characters. If you need to change the characters a bit to do that, then do it. The fans will thank you in the long run.

Besides, the fanbase is such a small slice of the target audience it really seems silly to try to cater to them. Most of the people who will go to see this thing will have only a vague rememberace of the characters and many more will just be out to see a popcorn flick. They're not going to appreciate how much of so-and-so's family history you cram into the movie. They want a self-contained story.

----------------------------------

Batman Mask of the Phantasm ****
The Mask ****
Batman Beyond ROTJ ***1/2
Blade ***1/2
Ghost World ***1/2
Akira ***
Superman ***
Blade 2 ***
Batman Forever ***
Ghost in the Shell **1/2
Superman 2 **1/2
X-Men **1/2
Batman **
Batman Returns *1/2
Batman and Robin 0*

[Sandoz]

And let's not forget other cr@ppy comic book movies like The Punisher, Generation X, Captain America, and that horrible Nick Fury TV movie with David Hasselhoff as the lead...

The majority of films based on mainstream comic books (X-Men, Batman, etc.) fail because it's difficult to make the transition from comic book to movie. Something that may seem cool in a superhero book may be unbelievably goofy on the big screen. X-Men, while not a bad movie, wasn't very good either. The only thing I really liked about it were the cameos. (More Jubilee! More Shadowcat!) The plot was incredibly contrived, and the characters were dumbed down, or made completely unlikable. The casting was somewhat off as well (Halle Berry in a white wig? Come on...) and the whole concept of "mutants" seemed too goofy to believe, unfortunetly.

[Evil Dr. Reef]

I'd say it's a combination of the two. X-Men is certainly not the best movie in the history of cinematography, but as far as comic book movies go, it's definetly the best so far.

[Storm]

Evil Dr. Reef I agree with you

[Gyro]

Hey, I liked X-Men. It was better than I expected. The only problem I had with it was that Rogue was so young. She should have been the same age as the others. It may not have been as good as other movies, but it was certainly enjoyable.

[CadaverousEyes]

What's so lame about trying to turn everyone into a mutant? He just wanted them to walk a mile in his shoes before passing judgment. He wasn't aware that it'd actually kill them. And Sinister tried to do the same thing...

It was good, but face it, there's never going to be a "classic" based on a superhero comic book. (Unless it's the Watchmen and really well done). Superman comes close, but most of its merit comes from being the first of its kind and the fact that it's Superman.

[RogueMartian]

I have to disagree. I liked X-Men a lot. Many people I know, who don't like superhero movies or are not into comics or cartoons liked it too. By no means is it the best movie of all time, but it is still very good.

[JohnStewart-GL]

I think it was the best movie base on a comic book id ever seen. ithe only thing that bothered me was rogue be so young.

[Bird Boy]

I loved XMEN. Sure, it had it's flaws, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the recent crop of Superhero movies we were getting...

I've watched the X-MEN DVD about 10 times now, and I still enjoy it more everytime. It's just one of those movies that fun for me to watch. That's it...it's just a fun movie..

for me anyway..

-BB

[LightAngel]

Sure, it had some altered some things from the comics, but doesn't any movie do that when its being adapted from something. I liked the plot of the movie, and I loved the cast they got for it.

[Joe Wagner]

X-Men was a great movie. I loved the movie and saw it numerous times in theaters - granted, being the X-Men didn't hurt at all but this quickly shot up as being one of my favorite movies of all time. Sure it could have done one or two things better (like getting rid of Storms awful line to Toad) but it just presented such a great story and did it with so many characters that it worked out great and everyone had a role in the movie. It seems very few movies (and not just comic ones) can get this down right and X-Men did it throughout the entire movie.

-Joe!

[mbaker]

I thought the film was pretty good, (The basic idea remained intact) Looking back at the comics, I can now see that some costumes don't always translate in the real world. (Mystique could use A white gown, or an assasin outfit, but that's just me.) Helly Barry didn't look too bad in her wig, but I do question her academy award speech, and how she handled it. L At least X-Men didn't turn out like Batman Forever, or Batman & Robin.

[James]

Fair point SM, but I recall going to the cinema and enjoying the film regardless and that, in my book, is all that counts. It was fun, straight forward and dealt with a difficult subject with intelligence. To wit; the characters didn't look silly.

Yes it had a few disappointing aspects - when related to the comic. Magneto's brotherhood were woefully under characterised, however as a film, they did their job.

I like lists, so I'll make one as well!

Ths list works on reflection of the films success in itself as well as in relation to it's source!

1. Return Of The Joker
2. Mask of The Phantasm
3. Superman 2
4. Batman
5. X-Men
6. Flash Gordon
7. Superman
8. Dick Tracy
9. The Mask
10. Batman Returns

Hopefully Spider-man and X-Men 2 will fit in there somewhere eventually!

[Gyro]

Originally posted by SJJ
Hopefully Spider-man and X-Men 2 will fit in there somewhere eventually!

I'm sure they will. Especially the Spider-Man movie.

[spyke]

I thougt the x-men movie was overated. I thought the movie was just "alright", you know, better then all the live action batman movies, but not as good as the first two superman movies and both of the blade movies. The blade movies, in my oppinion, are the best live action movies based off of a comic book characte. Heck I'll even say that I don't the x-men movie was that much better then the punisher movie and I enjoyed the punisher movie a lot more then I enjoyed the x-men movie. What I realy find sad, is that marvel is trying to make the comics reflect the movie.

[James]

That's an interesting outlook.

I must say i have greater respect for the X-Men movie than Blade simply as it deals with more complex issues.

Blade, in some respects, was made to be translated to the big screen. The premise is straightforward, the scenerio is - as far as action flicks go - believeable with the realm of fiction. In all honesty, it's got all the ingredients there.

X-Men is one of those concepts which just simply insn't designed for any other medium. Too complex for movies, too action based for novels, too adult for cartoons (let's face it, how many times does Wolverine end up looking like blustering bag of wind in the toons? How many times can he threaten people with the unleashing of his claws yet fail to do anything more than rip open doors with them?).

I think the film was very well done considering the baggage the concept brings - excellent in fact, beyond my expectations. But simply, I enjoyed it. It flowed, the actors seemed at ease, it played homage to the comic enough without being burdened by it's creation. It did a very good job.

So I think comparisons to Blade are unfair. SpiderMan - or even X-Men 2 - are going to be better films to judge it by.

[spyke]

Originally posted by SJJ
That's an interesting outlook.

I must say i have greater respect for the X-Men movie than Blade simply as it deals with more complex issues.

Blade, in some respects, was made to be translated to the big screen. The premise is straightforward, the scenerio is - as far as action flicks go - believeable with the realm of fiction. In all honesty, it's got all the ingredients there.

X-Men is one of those concepts which just simply insn't designed for any other medium. Too complex for movies, too action based for novels, too adult for cartoons (let's face it, how many times does Wolverine end up looking like blustering bag of wind in the toons? How many times can he threaten people with the unleashing of his claws yet fail to do anything more than rip open doors with them?).

I think the film was very well done considering the baggage the concept brings - excellent in fact, beyond my expectations. But simply, I enjoyed it. It flowed, the actors seemed at ease, it played homage to the comic enough without being burdened by it's creation. It did a very good job.

So I think comparisons to Blade are unfair. SpiderMan - or even X-Men 2 - are going to be better films to judge it by.

I've always thought that x-men should have never been made into a live action movie, simply because a live action movie could not do the x-men proper justice and would cost a heck of a lot money in order to do so. I thought x-men would work better as an animated film. That being said, I thought the movie did a good job of capturing the concept of the x-men and properly portraying all the characters with the limited $70 million budget they had to work with. I just did'nt find the movie very exciting in terms of action and I to, also thought, the plot by magneto, to turn everyone into mutants, was also silly.

I will also have to disagree with your statement, that the x-men are to adult for cartoons because wolverine can't carve anyone up. Although you can't show wolvie graphicly stabbing/carving someone to bits and having blood splater everywhere, there are a few tasteful ways that you can have/show wolvie cutting/slashing bad guys (but not killing them, just wounding them) and get it past the network censors. The "OLD SOLDIERS" episode of x-men TAS (which had wolvie and captain america fighting nazi's in WW2) showed wolvie using claws on the nazi's in a very tasteful manner. I would also like to point out that the legend of prince valiant cartoon, that aired on the family channel durring the 90's, showed people getting stabbed,cut,and shot with arrows in almost every episode and many people/characters dying as a result of their injuries, and it was all done very tastefuly without showing any blood (except when one character got shot in the shoulder with a crossbow, which was an anti gun episode, similar to the episode that they would do on gargoyles a couple of years later). You can also use the technique that is used in many anime movie and tv shows, you know when you see a character swing a sword and all you see is a black background and the flash of a sword streaking throug the air and the next thing you see are the people, who got cut, drop to the ground. You can even add the moaning sounds of the injured victims to ensure the viewers that they are still alive.

[Barb Gordon]

Wow, until now I had never though about it that way. Quite a good question. I would have to agree that low expectations due to under caliber comic related films was a factor. I was glad, after see X-Men, that is didn't turn out like the later Batman films and other films like it. But I do also think that it was just a pretty good movie, which really helped it along obviously. Whenever I watch it now, I'm still really satisfied with how everything was done...of course, I may only be thinking about that because I'm subconsciously comparing it to other movies. Stupid psychology class...from last year,lol. Hmm, think we'll see anything like that with the upcoming Spiderman movie?

Barb^-^