Superhero flicks may be slipping somewhat lately, but they still remain big bucks—but a quarter-century ago when the millennium was new, this was no guarantee. Before RDJ came out of rehab and before we were quoting Black Sabbath lyrics, before even Raimi was making Willem Defoe iconic for a new generation, we had X-Men.
The X-Men were always something I enjoyed among the stables of lycra and capes—you had some of these heroes be all symbols of politeness and patriotism, but here were the outcasts and freaks, mutants ostracized and more often than not hunted by their own government and society. Truthfully more people probably remember the 90s animated show than the comics, but either way, it was probably a good a choice as any to adapt in the edgier zeitgeist back then. There are of course some debatable choices that we’ll get too—and for this we’ll put aside Singer’s uh, questionable and less than pleasant personal character here.
Compared to most comic book movies of the nineties, this one is a real leap forward (aside from maybe Blade, but that’s not usually associated with the medium). We go from corny neon to something opening in Auschwitz—that certainly grabbed people’s attention at the time I can tell you. With that, it’s something to consider when people discuss how this one turned the costumes into black leather and all that—it was one way to try and get over the stigma left by many a stigma.
As for the rest of the film, it honestly feels pretty low-key now by current standards—there’s no giant city-destroying action, really, and the fights aren’t supremely choreographed either. However, it is carried largely by Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and Hugh Jackman, who all became instantly iconic in their respective roles. You’re likely to hear their voices immediately when talking about Xavier, Magneto, or Wolverine—and as one certain movie pointed out lately, Jackman is probably going to be roped to doing his role as metal-clawed mutant until he’s 90.
Everyone else kind of feels along for the ride, however—be it Anna Paquin as the troubled Rogue, or James Marsden being essentially a one-note asshole. Halle Berry looks cool in the role but only really gets one somewhat infamous line. Once again, the best parts are the interaction with Stewart and McKellen, the latter selling the role as a twisted grandfatherly cult leader essentially—and for the time, he actually had some pretty decent imposing screen presence as his magnetism-twisting mastermind, be it the train scene or plastic prison at the end.
That leaves X-Men as a film carried by its star players, but probably not likely to wow fresh viewers now—everything else feels fairly mild now. Compare it to Nolan’s Batman Begins film a few years later—that one I still feel is somewhat underrated, and while flawed did an admirable job I felt of marrying ‘gritty realism’ with surreal comic atmospheres, feeling less rooted in its era on rewatch than this one does.
That’s my opinion anyway—and one thing is certain, you only get to be innovative once, no matter the inevitable reboots and recasts soon to come as movie studios fumble about just the same as comic writers inevitably did!
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