X-Men 1.5

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In a time when race and religion don't separate people, but extra powers and mutated characteristics do, two longtime friends, Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) part ways, only to become rivals over the issue of how much patience they should have with "normal" people. Living lives that scare most humans lacking the "X-factor" (a special power such as telekinesis), they fight over changing the general population into mutants. Xavier decides to help mutants in a special school while waiting for humanity to be more accepting, while Magneto opts to change all "normal" people into mutants in order to create a mutant-only world. Leading a group of four powerful X-Men (and women) to rescue one lost girl (the mutant Rogue, played by Anna Paquin)--and the entire population of New York--Xavier recruits a new member to their group: Logan (Hugh Jackman), better known as Wolverine, joins the team with much reluctance, only to prove very valuable to the rescue effort.

Each member of the X-Men has mastered their special gift--the ability to create a storm (Storm, played by Halle Berry), telekinesis (Dr. Jean Grey, played by Famke Janssen), eyesight carrying laserlike destructive power (Cyclops, played by James Marsden), the ability to heal nearly any wound he sustains (Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman). The chemistry among these four sets the stage for some expert teamwork--and some hidden romance. The mutants' ensemble work drives the action sequences, such as in a train station battle with Magneto's crew--including Sabertooth (Tyler Mane), Toad (Ray Park), and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos)--that unleashes a lot of destruction, thanks to the striking special effects.

You don't have to be a fan of the hugely popular X-Men comic books to enjoy Bryan Singer's film, which is loaded with creativity, cool effects, and characters complex enough to lift it above run-of-the-mill action films. And Singer sets the stage admirably for the sequels that could turn X-Men into the strongest comic-book franchise since Batman. --Sandra Levin

Description

Don't just relive the spectacular action... take it to the extreme with this all-new 2-Disc Collector's Edition release of X-Men, packed with hours of never-before-seen bonus features! Go beyond the movie with the Enhanced Viewing Mode, incorporating more than 60 extra minutes of deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes footage as you watch the film. Listen to in-depth audio commentary from director Bryan Singer. Learn all the most revealing production secrets, from Casting and Costumes to Scenery and Special Eftects, through brand-new featurettes. And get an exclusive sneak peek at the making of X2. This is X-Men like you've never seen experienced it before!

Customer Reviews:

In Retrospect, the Father of Modern Comic Book Films.......2007-05-25

The first X-Men film is not really perfect, but in terms of it's timing and what it meant might be coming down the pike with regards to cinematic interpretations of comic books (specifically Marvel comics) it is pretty darn close to perfect. Lets face it, this is the harbinger of the comic book movie age that has, like it or not, made some exciting and high-grossing films. I personally think the majority of comic book movies fail and could care less about how much money they make, but X-Men is a bit more than that. It's a very good movie too.

I didn't get a chance to see this in theaters but that actually served the film well in terms of how I viewed the hype. I didn't care because so many did...that's the old punk in me in guess. So I waited and received the film as an early Christmas gift the following year. I actually watched it Christmas eve and found it to be incredibly refreshing and enjoyable.

It begins by showing us a young boy being separated from his parents at a German concentration camp in Poland. His parents are going into the camp and will be killed. The boy is desperate to save them and as the German soldiers hold him down he reaches out and somehow begins to bend the metal gates that close in his parents before being struck down by the [...] of one of the soldiers' guns. The boy is Eric Lehnsherr, one of the great all-time Marvel comic villains known as Magneto. In one fell swoop, Bryan Singer does something that I've always been glad X-Men writers did consistently, and that is allow us to sympathize with this villain.

We are then introduced to the primary plot of a modern day Senator bent on the granting the government the ability to force registration of all mutants. Then it shows how telepathic and mind manipulating mutant Charles Xavier and his old friend and rival Magneto fundamentally disagree on how mutants as a race must react to this oncoming repression. This is followed by the introduction to our primary protagonists; Rogue, a young girl who drains the life of all people her skin makes contact with, and Wolverine, an enhanced mutant with the ability to heal himself enough that his body endured somking of skeletal replacement surgery. His skeleton is made of an indestructible metal and he also has claws made of this metal that break through his skin anytime he wants to kill someone. Great characters that Anna Paquin and Hugh Jackman are able to portray well here. Again, Singer introduces these characters with relatable depth.

In short, Magneto wants to destroy humanity and the X-Men must stop him in an environment where they are not appreciated in the least by the public. Singer attempts to make sociological insights on those terms in addition to bringing great character depth. When you consider the number of characters and the length of the movie, these are not easy tasks to say the least. Then again, when watching the Usual Suspects it's quite obvious Singer has a knack for just this sort of thing.

X-Men is a very good movie but I won't give it five stars because it also contains some fairly annoying dialogue that I absolutely refuse to forgive. For example, the character Storm asks the villain Toad what happens when a toad is hit by lightning and answers her own question by saying "the same as everything else." It's not funny or witty. It serves no purpose other than to make Storm look like a big cheese ball, and that isn't really fair. Not to mention, who really cares what happens to a toad when it gets electrocuted and why is that even a question to begin with? Let's just watch the lightning bolt strike and see toad explode. That is really just a nit-picking though, as X-Men is still a very good movie and it actually gets more and more important in terms of movie history with time.

I must have received a bootleg version.......2007-01-09

The additional features on this disk don't work. When trying to access them, your given a totally different thing. I think this package was actually a bootleg version, cuz the package and other disk features are different from the BlockBuster rental version.

Great action film!.......2007-01-03

No need to go over too much or to spoil anything, because other reviewers have probably already done that. Fast paced, well shot, great acting, wonderful story, and wonderful direction. Recomended.

An Adventure Movie For The Intellectual.......2006-11-27

I saw a picture on a TV guide (I believe) in 2000, with a picture of a man with three blades coming out of his hand. At first, I thought it was an ad for the newest Nightmare On Elm Street installment, until I noticed that it was Hugh Jackman in the upcoming movie "The X-Men". My mind gave the famous line of Emily Litella: "Well, that makes it completely different. Never mind." After all, I had read and loved the X-Men comics when I was younger, and knew enough to know that Jackman was playing the Wolverine.

This movie was as good as I could imagine it, and even better. It had the special effects and action you would expect in a comic book adaptation. But the movie appealed to the mind as much as to the eyes and nerves.

This movie (and actually, the whole series) deals with the issue of prejudice and how to deal with it. In these movies, it is mutants that are the victims of this prejudice. The story line says it is a spurt of evolution; there is nothing to scientifically verify this. Nevertheless, the mutants are feared and persecuted.

There are mutant protagonists, led by Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), and mutant antagonists, led by Magneto (Ian McKellen). The difference between them is the response to the persecution. The protagonists seek to live quietly and peaceably with humans, having Xavier's school as a place for protection and refuge. The antagonists are ready to wage war with the persecutors.

In this first installment, Magneto's goal is to transform humans into mutants, which he does to a Senator who wants to have mutants registered (not unlike the Jews in Nazi Germany, a comparison made in the first scene of the movie). The problem is that humans are unable to withstand the change and end up dying.

I avoid detailed plot descriptions in my reviews so I spoil as few surprises as possible. I will say, though, that Magneto survives the first movie, not unlike Darth Vader surviving in the Star Wars movies. One thing I like about the movie, though, is that Magneto is not the type of villain you want to see killed. Magneto and Xavier are not true enemies, but adversaries who would admit the other is really a friend. I am the type of person who would rather see a villain reformed than executed.

This movie is PG-13. The Senator's death, among other scenes, keep this from being a family movie. However, I have no problem with teenagers seeing this movie.

I needs me some Kelsey!!!.......2006-08-16

It was a lot better than I thought it would be and has definitely raised the bar for all other Marvel movies to come,in every aspect of film making. Sure it was different in someways than the book, but it could stand alone from them and more importantly it was good. As much as I liked the cheesy 70's and 80's Marvel movies(like Dr. Strange starring Peter Wooten in the title roll, thank you very much), Marvel movies to come will have to measure up to this one. And that's a good thing because sometimes Marvel doesn't place as much emphasis on story telling quality as it does on marketing. But they made one stupendous,unforgivable error. They left out Hank McCoy,aka The Beast! Woe betide them! I'm looking forward to a sequal, and I'll really enjoy it more if it contains the only X-Man who can fight crime in his swim trunks,differentiate between Keats & Yeats,type his doctoral thesis with his toes, the thinking man's Tarzan...........The Bombastic BEAST!!!

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