Starring Hugh Jackman, Anna Paquin, Patrick Stewart, Famke Janssen, Ian McKellan, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Bruce Davison, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Tyler Mane, Ray Park. Directed by Bryan Singer. In the not too distant future, certain human beings possess extraordinary talents in strength, touch and telekinetic powers. They are known as mutants, and are treated by the rest of the human population as pariahs, feared for their unusual abilities and what they might do with them. The United States Congress, led by a firebrand Senator (Davison), is pushing a law requiring mandatory registration of mutants. Magneto (McKellan), leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants, fears human beings will persecute mutants and aims to strike hard at them now. Professor X (Stewart) owner of a prestigious school for gifted students (ie. mutants), has more faith in human kind, and aims to stop Magneto. Joining the Professor is lightning bolt throwing Storm (Berry), lazer-eye shooting Cyclops (Marsden) and telekinetic doctor Jean Grey (Janssen), all former runaway mutants who the Professor took into his school and educated. Magneto has on his side the very big and ugly Sabretooth (Mane), giant tongue-snapping Toad (Park) and a mutant who can change herself into any other form or being named Mystique (Romijiin). High school student Marie (Paquin), known as Rogue, has the ability to absorb the power and memories of others, but cannot control it. Fearful of touching those she loves, she runs away from home to Alberta after she kisses a boy and puts him in a coma. She meets Wolverine (Jackman), a mutant making some extra money beating the crap out of local thugs in the ring. Once the locals discover he's a mutant he's forced to leave and Rogue tags along with him. But they're attacked by Sabretooth, only to be saved in the nick of time by Storm and Cyclops. The Professor doesn't know Magneto's plan for one of either Wolverine or Rogue, but he gives them refuge. Will Magneto's diabolical plan, whatever it is, succeed, or will the forces of good prevail? A constant theme of X-Men, a movie based on the comic strip of the same name introduced in 1975, is that of intolerance of those who are different, based on fear and sometimes revulsion. It can be a metaphor for racial intolerance and homophobia. In trying to promote his registration bill, the senator asked the members of congress to vote for the bill asking whether they want mutants teaching their children, echoing arguments given in the past for preventing homosexuals from teaching. In the prologue, a young Jewish boy in 1944 Poland is shown in a prison camp bending steel and moving men. The film likens the persecution of mutants to that of the Jews by the Nazis, although the comparison is not entirely fitting. Mutants are being prosecuted because of fear of their powers and the inability of humans to control these more powerful beings, not because of envy of a successful race, or somebody like Hitler needing a scapegoat to help him rise to power. The film is visually very good, utilizing both the gothic look of Batman and the cold, wet atmospher found in The Matrix. The central problem in the film involves the plot and script. Very little happens for the first hour of the film, and then all of sudden we're at the climax where good and evil engage in a final (sort of) conflict. Many action and sci-fi films are unable to sustain the basic tenets of logic, but X-Men doesn't even bother trying. Mystique is able to change into another person completely fooling a character in one scene, and then inexplicably that same character immediately knows Mystique is the fake persona in the next. The fight scenes aren't all that interesting - The Matrix and Mission Impossible 2 were much more exciting and well choreographed. Characters are batted around with enough force to kill them, but they keep coming back for more. The mutants are supposed to be human beings with unusual abilities, not superheroes who can withstand superhuman punishment again and again (except perhaps Wolverine). Several characters who die never seem to stay dead, and their is no explanation as to how these miracles occur. And who is paying for the lavish private school that houses beautiful equipment and facilities, plus a supersonic jet. There are more problems, but I won't give away what there is of the story. Unlike The Matrix, one thing X-Men has going for it is its cast. Any scenes involving Shakespearean veterans Stewart and McKellan bristle with energy, and both actors add a sense of depth to their roles. Paquin and Jackman have excellent chemistry together, and their scenes inject warmth and actual human connection into the film. They are pretty much the only two characters one can care about. The rest of the cast is poorly used, given characters inadequately fleshed out. Janssen's Dr. Grey is never permitted to assert herself in any meaningful way. Berry's Storm is a bland nothing without personality, never expressing any feelings. Only at the end does Marsden's Cyclops come out of his wooden-like shell. Romijin's Mystique never once even hints at any personality. They may be mutants, but they're not supposed to be robots. With very few sci-fi movies on the horizon it is unfortunate, but X-Men is best left unseen. If you would like to respond, please click the E-Mail Press Here To Go To The Review List Page