Throwback Thursday - X-Men (2000)
Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, in just a few weeks time, I'll be kicking off a theme month I've been very excited for: Marvel May. Throughout the month of May, I'll be taking a look at Marvel movies, and this year's focus will be on the six films that make up Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But for now, I thought I'd take a look at one of the Marvel movies that led to the eventual creation of the MCU, and that is Bryan Singer's 2000 film: X-Men.
The movie opens in a concentration camp during World War II, where a young boy named Erik Lensherr, after being separated from his parents, awakens his mutant power of magnetism, pulling the metal gate towards him while Nazis are trying to restrain him.
Cutting to modern times, we meet a girl named Marie, who puts her boyfriend into a coma by accident, due to her mutant powers absorbing the life out of whomever she touches. At a Senate hearing, Dr. Jean Grey speaks out in favor of mutant rights, while Senator Robert Kelly speaks out regarding the potential danger of mutants. Also in attendance are Professor Charles Xavier and an older Erik Lensherr, who is now known as Magneto. After a conversation between Xavier and Magneto, we cut back to Marie, now calling herself Rogue, being dropped off in a truck stop town in Alberta, Canada. Rogue, at a local bar, meets Logan, aka Wolverine, and the two leave the bar together after he ends up in a bar fight. Okay, she actually stows away and he gives her a lift. After the truck crashes, Logan and Rogue are attacked by a mutant called Sabertooth, only to be rescued by Ororo Munroe, aka Storm and Scott Summers, aka Cyclops.
Meanwhile, Senator Kelly is abducted by two more of Magneto's associates: Mystique and Toad, who take him to Magneto, who uses a machine to trigger mutation in the Senator. At the Xavier Mansion, Logan is introduced to Jean, Storm, Scott, and Xavier, who shows him around the mansion. The mansion is a school that acts as a safe haven for mutant children, as well as the base of operations for the team known as the X-Men. After an incident where Logan, awakening from a nightmare, impales Rogue, who absorbs his healing ability to heal herself. The next day, Rogue is convinced by Mystique, disguised as a student named Bobby, convinced her to run away. Shortly after, Mystique sabotages Cerebro, a machine used by the professor to psychically locate and communicate with mutants all over the world. Rogue, who was tracked to Grand Central Station, is approached by Logan, who convinced her to give the X-Men another chance, only for then to be attacked by Magneto, who takes Rogue.
After using the sabotaged Cerebro, Xavier is placed into a coma. Jean fixes it, and uses it to find Magneto and the others. Jean, Scott, Storm, and Logan take off in the X-Jet to Liberty Island, where Storm, Jean, and Cyclops fend off Road, while Logan takes down Mystique. The team heads up top, where Magneto uses Rogue to activate the mutation machine, and Logan fights off Sabertooth, and finally defeats Magneto, saving Rogue. Xavier, awakened from his coma, gives Logan a lead that a key to his past might be at an abandoned military compound at Alkali Lake. Logan takes off to find answers, and the movie ends with Xavier visit Magneto in his plastic prison.
X-Men was absolutely fantastic. Director Bryan Singer clearly took the material seriously, and worked to create a grounded, realistic world based on the Marvel comics. The cast was practically perfect, from Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen as Xavier and Magneto, to Famke Janssen, Halle Berry, and James Marsden as Jean Grey, Storm, and Cyclops, to Anna Paquin as Rogue, to Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Speaking of which, I, like many Marvel fans, loved Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Talk about absolutely perfect casting, this definitely is a prime example. Rebecca Romijn, Ray Park, and Tyler Mane were okay as Mystique, Toad, and Sabertooth, but both Sabertooth and Mystique would have much better actors playing them in later installments. The main issue I had was Magneto's big plot of artificially inducing mutations into non-mutants, which because of Senator Kelly and his death, we know is unstable, and the body rejects the mutation. Other than that, I really enjoyed the first X-Men, and I give it a 5/5. Without this movie, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as so many other Marvel films, would never have happened. This is Chuck signing off. See you guys next time.
The movie opens in a concentration camp during World War II, where a young boy named Erik Lensherr, after being separated from his parents, awakens his mutant power of magnetism, pulling the metal gate towards him while Nazis are trying to restrain him.
Cutting to modern times, we meet a girl named Marie, who puts her boyfriend into a coma by accident, due to her mutant powers absorbing the life out of whomever she touches. At a Senate hearing, Dr. Jean Grey speaks out in favor of mutant rights, while Senator Robert Kelly speaks out regarding the potential danger of mutants. Also in attendance are Professor Charles Xavier and an older Erik Lensherr, who is now known as Magneto. After a conversation between Xavier and Magneto, we cut back to Marie, now calling herself Rogue, being dropped off in a truck stop town in Alberta, Canada. Rogue, at a local bar, meets Logan, aka Wolverine, and the two leave the bar together after he ends up in a bar fight. Okay, she actually stows away and he gives her a lift. After the truck crashes, Logan and Rogue are attacked by a mutant called Sabertooth, only to be rescued by Ororo Munroe, aka Storm and Scott Summers, aka Cyclops.
Meanwhile, Senator Kelly is abducted by two more of Magneto's associates: Mystique and Toad, who take him to Magneto, who uses a machine to trigger mutation in the Senator. At the Xavier Mansion, Logan is introduced to Jean, Storm, Scott, and Xavier, who shows him around the mansion. The mansion is a school that acts as a safe haven for mutant children, as well as the base of operations for the team known as the X-Men. After an incident where Logan, awakening from a nightmare, impales Rogue, who absorbs his healing ability to heal herself. The next day, Rogue is convinced by Mystique, disguised as a student named Bobby, convinced her to run away. Shortly after, Mystique sabotages Cerebro, a machine used by the professor to psychically locate and communicate with mutants all over the world. Rogue, who was tracked to Grand Central Station, is approached by Logan, who convinced her to give the X-Men another chance, only for then to be attacked by Magneto, who takes Rogue.
After using the sabotaged Cerebro, Xavier is placed into a coma. Jean fixes it, and uses it to find Magneto and the others. Jean, Scott, Storm, and Logan take off in the X-Jet to Liberty Island, where Storm, Jean, and Cyclops fend off Road, while Logan takes down Mystique. The team heads up top, where Magneto uses Rogue to activate the mutation machine, and Logan fights off Sabertooth, and finally defeats Magneto, saving Rogue. Xavier, awakened from his coma, gives Logan a lead that a key to his past might be at an abandoned military compound at Alkali Lake. Logan takes off to find answers, and the movie ends with Xavier visit Magneto in his plastic prison.
X-Men was absolutely fantastic. Director Bryan Singer clearly took the material seriously, and worked to create a grounded, realistic world based on the Marvel comics. The cast was practically perfect, from Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen as Xavier and Magneto, to Famke Janssen, Halle Berry, and James Marsden as Jean Grey, Storm, and Cyclops, to Anna Paquin as Rogue, to Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Speaking of which, I, like many Marvel fans, loved Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Talk about absolutely perfect casting, this definitely is a prime example. Rebecca Romijn, Ray Park, and Tyler Mane were okay as Mystique, Toad, and Sabertooth, but both Sabertooth and Mystique would have much better actors playing them in later installments. The main issue I had was Magneto's big plot of artificially inducing mutations into non-mutants, which because of Senator Kelly and his death, we know is unstable, and the body rejects the mutation. Other than that, I really enjoyed the first X-Men, and I give it a 5/5. Without this movie, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as so many other Marvel films, would never have happened. This is Chuck signing off. See you guys next time.
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