MARVEL REVISITED #4 - 'X-Men' (2000)

“Blade” showed Hollywood that there was an audience for superhero films that didn’t have to be just for the kids. This gave other movie studios the confidence to move forward with their own superhero films. 20th Century Fox had long been developing “X-Men” for a live-action movie.

The second film that helped set off the superhero powder keg at the box office was “X-Men”, though the movie was hindered a bit by its relatively low budget. Yes, the budget was $75 million, but nice chunk of that budget was added later and allocated towards marketing the movie. Thus, this is why the third act takes place in the Statue of Liberty gift shop instead of a bigger location.

The movie starts off by stating that the world is now filled with mutants, humans with outstanding abilities that they are natually born with rather than getting them from some outside force. The “normal” humans are afraid of mutants and their potentially dangerous powers. It doesn’t help that there is a group of mutants, led by Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen), that wants to eliminate all humans and take over the world as the dominant species.

Hugh Jackman made his debut as Wolverine in 'X-Men' (2000)!

To counter Magneto, though, Professor Charles Xavier (Sir Patrick Stewart) heads up a school for gifted mutants. His adult students who now teach at the school also belong to a secret group of mutant protectors known as the X-Men. Professor X wants peace with humans and coexistence, but he also knows that he’ll have to contend with those who don’t share his peaceful goals.

While this movie is called the X-Men, we really follow two newcomers to Professor X’s school. First, there is a Rogue (Anna Paquin), a young girl who can’t be touched, otherwise she could drain someone’s life and/or mutant powers until they die. After she runs away from home, she becomes a hitchhiker with nowhere to go until she encounters Logan (Hugh Jackman), a mutant known as Wolverine who has metal claws that come out of his hands, fast healing powers, and no idea how he got the adamantium metal that is now grafted to his body.

This first movie in what would eventually become 20th Century Fox’s X-Men Universe captures the spirit of the comic books pretty well. The comics always featured a message about bigotry with the mutants’ powers standing in for someone who was a person of color or someone who was gay. The movie definitely contains this message that helps set it out above some of the other superhero films out there.

James Marsden is Cyclops in 'X-Men' (2000)!

I would say my biggest problem is that while the movie tries to stay within budget, some of the effects have definitely aged more than others, particularly a fight on top of the Statue of Liberty. Also, this was a time where Hollywood filmmakers felt that they couldn’t just translate the brightly colorful costumes from the comics into more of a real-world setting.

This is why the X-Men wear all black costumes more reminiscent of “The Matrix” than the source material. Their costumes don’t really bug me, but I know fans who were definitely irked by this back in the day, so it is worth mentioning the deviations from the source material.

One of the things that helps set this movie apart are the performances from a beyond solid cast. Stewart and McKellen are great as Professor X and Magneto, often debating Xavier’s more peaceful approach and Magneto’s more militant response. Paquin is also a highlight as Rogue, though she does have a slightly janky Southern accent that I’m glad she chose to shed somewhat in the later sequels.

Wolverine squares off against anti-mutant humans in 'X-Men' (2000)!

Finally, there is Jackman as Wolverine, the true star of the film really. This is partially helped by the fact that we get to spend more time with him and his background than the other characters, but it mostly due to the fact that Jackman was born to play Wolverine. Even 25 years later, I’m having trouble imagining anyone else in the role.

He can turn on Wolverine’s more primitive side instantly but can also smoothly transition to Logan’s more sensitive side that hides underneath the beast. It is a balancing act that Jackman would prove time and again that he was the right man for the job when they hired him only two weeks before production began when original actor Dougray Scott had to back out of the role.

Almost 25 years later, “X-Men” is still a fun blast even if it has aged a little bit over time. Sure, maybe the filmmakers were trying a little too hard to make everything look a little more “real”, but the action and performances more than deliver and thankfully, it paid off.

The movie made a respectable $296.3 million at the box office against its $75 million budget. More importantly, it once again proved that there was a sizable audience for these superhero films and it set the stage for bigger and better things in the future.