Hey folks,
By the time you read this, X-Men will probably have made close to $60 million on its opening weekend.
I've never been a big fan of this comic book. When I was really into comics and reading lots of DC and Marvel books, this was never one of them. There were too many weird alien storylines and time travel paradoxes for me to even want to bother keeping track of who's who and what's what. I would occassionally read some of the one shots and mini-series based on the book...and those always seemed fun to me because they got right to the point.
And that's why this film works...it gets right to the point. It strips these comic creations of 40 years of baggage and gets right to their essance.
The most interesting bits always dealt with the coming battle between mutants and normal humans and the film plays on that at every turn. On one side is Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) who is the Martin Luthor King, Jr. of the mutants. On the other side is Magneto (Ian McKellen) who is the Malcolm X willing to fight mankind "by any means necessary". Professor X has a school for gifted kids where mutants can go to hone their powers and not feel like outcasts. It is in this oddball place where Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), a mutant who doesn't remember his past) and Rogue (Anna Paquin), a teenager whose powers are just blossoming, find themselves after teaming up because all they have is each other.
Professor X seems to have three other mutants who are ready to help in his fight, Storm (Halle Berry), Jean Grey (Famke Jenssen) and Cyclops (James Marsden). They bring the team total to six member which is a lot less confusing than the who knows how many tended to appear in the book. And while some are missed (Beast and Nightcrawler) others make small cameos (Iceman and Kitty Pryde) setting up their status for a sequel.
The basic plot involves Magneto's attempts to use a machine that will turn world leaders into mutants so they will no longer fear them, but be part of them. And thankfully, this team actually works as a team (even while keeping the various egos and foot-stepping in place). Everyone seems to get their time on screen with the majority of the story belonging to Wolverine and Rogue (as they are the outsiders being brought in). There are no wasted moments and the film seems realistic. The creative team involved has treated their subject matter with the respect it deserves without resorting to rubber nipples and kevlar buttocks.
It's going to be interesting to see where these guys go for the next film (and there will be a next film) and it'll be even more interesting to see this on DVD as the director claims to have cut 45 minutes out to keep it short and sweet.
While DC Comics has had hits with their two big guns (Batman and Superman), they've let the creative steam run out and allowed Hollywood to run rampant over them. And no one else has really gotten off the ground properly.
Marvel Comics on the other hand, has had consistent bad luck in live action. Beyond a decent Doctor Strange TV movie and The Incredible Hulk TV series, everything has sucked big time. Last year's Blade started the reverse, but he's just a minor character. This film opens the doors for the rest of Marvel's big guns to make an appearance soon. Hopefully, next summer we'll get Fantastic Four, followed by Sam Raimi's Spider-Man at Christmas.
Now if only Artisan would do Captain America right, I'll be very happy.
More on these subjects later in the week.
Be seeing you.
Joel
Luthor 2000
