X-Men (2000)

Director:

Bryan Singer

Writers (WGA):

Tom DeSanto (story) &
Bryan Singer (story) ...

Release Date:

14 July 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Evolution Begins.

Plot:

Two mutants come to a private academy for mutants whose resident superhero team must oppose a powerful mutant terrorist organization.

Plot Keywords:

Mutant | X Men | Senator | Superhero Team | Superhero

Awards:

11 wins & 23 nominations

Cast

Hugh Jackman	...	Logan / Wolverine
Patrick Stewart	...	Professor Charles Xavier
Ian McKellen	...	Eric Lensherr / Magneto
Famke Janssen	...	Jean Grey
James Marsden	...	Scott Summers / Cyclops
Halle Berry	...	Ororo Munroe / Storm
Anna Paquin	...	Rogue / Marie D'Ancanto
Tyler Mane	...	Sabretooth
Ray Park	...	Toad
Rebecca Romijn	...	Mystique (as Rebecca Romijn-Stamos)
Bruce Davison	...	Senator Kelly
Matthew Sharp	...	Henry Gyrich
Rhona Shekter	...	Magneto's Mother
Kenneth McGregor	...	Magneto's Father
Shawn Roberts	...	Rogue's Boyfriend

Also Known As:

X-Men (Canada: French title)
X-Men 1.5 (USA) (DVD box title)
X-Men: The Movie (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:U | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37616) | Ireland:12 | Iceland:12 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:TE | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:G | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:7 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | Brazil:12

Filming Locations:

Ajax, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

After knocking Storm down an elevator shaft, Toad (Ray Park) kicks away the bar that was holding the elevator doors open, grabs the bar, spins it over his head and then holds it in an attack posture in the same way he does with the double-ended lightsaber as Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999).

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Magneto tells Prof. Xavier that the plastic prison won't hold him and the war is coming, the shot from behind Magneto's head shows his mouth still moving, even though he has stopped speaking.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Prof. Charles Francis Xavier: [narration] Mutation: it is the key to our evolution. It has enabled us to evolve from a single-celled organism into the dominant species on the planet. This process is slow, and normally taking thousands and thousands of years. But every few hundred millennia, evolution leaps forward.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Jay Leno Show: (#1.4)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

FOX NEWS UPDATE

Not a "Comic-book Movie"

There's no doubt about it, X-Men is not a stereotypical "comic-book film". Whenever a movie is made that is based on comic books, there is always a fear that it can and will be typically pigeonholed into the "comic book film" genre and that the movie is basically made for the fans of that comic book. Comic-book films are usually unrealistic and unappealing to the general audience.

Bryan Singer, however, did a wonderful job at making X-Men a movie that will not only overjoy the fans of the comic book, but also the general movie-goer as well. The movie is grounded, without the flighty unrealism of comic book material, and it delivers a message about prejudice that has always been what X-Men were about: fighting for a world that hates them.

The performances are outstanding, especially Hugh Jackman who, in my opinion, did a dead-on Wolverine, and Patrick Stewart, who never failed to show the peace and self-control that Professor Charles Xavier always strove to maintain.

Aside the characters, the plot was original (I couldn't tell you what was going to happen in the end by the middle of the movie) and most importantly: the world was REAL. The only suspension of disbelief that is required is the assumption that these genetic mutations can happen, and did, causing these extraordinary people. Honestly, I was a little disappointed that the colorful high-flare costumes were omitted, but I instantly forgave Singer when I realized why. It was simply to add to the realism.

All in all, X-Men was excellent. If you're a fan of the comic book series as I was, then you'll endlessly enjoy seeing these characters come to life. And if you've never been exposed to the comic book, this movie will give you an entertaining way to be exposed to its message about fear, hatred, and prejudice.