Okay kids, get ready for the first decent Marvel comic-to-movie interpretation (well except for possibly Blade). Let's start off with a few of my gripes first, my gripes have a name, and that name is Storm. Okay, we all know the storm of the comic books, the knock-you-flat-on-your-rear if you give her any lip african goddess, the Storm of the x-movie is a bit different, first off, she doesn't seem too solid, in personality or otherwise, and she certainly isn't given the best dialogue, the single worst moment in the movie is when Ororo opens her mouth and says, "Do you know what happens to a frog when it's struck by lightening?" hold on, it gets worse, "the same thing as everything else!" um, I think I speak for all x-fans when I say a resounding, "WHAT?!" And what was up with that hair, what ever happened to 'Movie Magic', the make-up artist who put that wig on Halle should be shot. Also, Toad doesn't look like the Toad of the comics, but we can forgive the looks, because all in all, he wasn't that bad a character (but of all the villains, why did they choose Toad in the first place?).

Moving on to the differences between the comic we love and the movie they want us to love, one of the few departures the writer/director (Bryan Singer) took from the original characters was with Wolverine's claws, they now come out and retract between his knuckles, again, I don't know why the decided to take this turn, especially since the claws look a bit bulky and not slim enough to be ejected through those openings. Rogue is much younger than she is in the comics, and there's a nice twist with her in the later part of the film (you can't miss it), but for one thing, she can't fly (yet?) and has taken the place of Shadowcat (or Jubilee, depending on when you started reading X-Men) with Logan. Wolverine however, despite his claw-relocation, was the star of the show, and was well acted by Hugh Jackman, another good performance was given by Anna Paquin (Rogue), and it's a good thing, because this movie was all about Wolverine and Rogue, they could have very well named it the "Wolvy and Rogue Show", which was fine with me, because there's nothing I like better than a great big heap of the ol' canuckle head.

Sure there were other characters, but they offered not much more than sidekick status, Cyclops, Storm, Sabretooth, Mystique, Toad, and to a lesser extent Xavier and Jean Grey, were given no sort of character development at all, they just, were there. I did however like the intro depicting Magneto's youth, which was the first (and only) glimpse the audience was given into the villain's past. The chemistry between Jean and Logan was very close to the feel of the comics, as was the relationship between Scott and Logan, you know, their discomfort with each other and general ill-will. Senator Kelly is also in there, but for all the hoopla concerning him (http://www.mutantwatch.com), I thought he would have had a bigger part to play in the show (I won't give too much away). Wolverine and Sabretooth act like they never met, which is probably because they haven't in the film, but I would have liked to see possibly their meeting triggering a memory in Logan, so they could explore their relationship in subsequent stories, ah well. One thing which is sure to leave X-fans with mouths agape, is the fact that in all the years we've been reading X-titles, we've never known Rogue's real name, sadly (or not) this in no longer the case, as she confides it to Logan, and us, in the film, there goes one of the big X-mysteries, only 10 billion more to go.

Ian McKellen played an excellent Magneto, even though I thought he was a bit old for the job, Patrick Stewart didn't do too bad of a job with Xavier either. They did play down Magnus's power in the movie though, which I guess was alright, but I would have liked to see him exert more of his power and force. Is this movie worth the price of admission is what you really want to know, I think it is if you're getting your student discount, or if you're a real die-hard X-fan who knows what to expect from Hollywood, personally I think the jokes and scenes that were put in just for us, the fans, to bring a smile to our hopeful faces, were worth it. For instance, keep your eyes peeled for Jubilee, and Meltdown, and you certainly can't miss Shadowcat (that is, before she phases through a door or something). Bobby (Iceman) also makes on appearance, but just that, which may leave some fans with a longing for the original team (which I thought should have been the team to make the cut for the movie, but alas, popularity reigns), if Warren and Hank had made an appearance, my day would have been made. I would also have loved to see the Danger Room, but I guess we'll just have to wait for X-Men 2, and you can BET there'll be a sequel people, they all but wrote in big fat letters across the screen, "X-MEN 2, COMING SOON!" But all in all folks, it wasn't too shabby a storyline and the acting didn't make me cringe (Batman and Robin anyone?), so rush off to your nearest multiplex, grab your buttered popcorn and large coke, and oh yeah, make sure to get there for the first showing so you can get the promotional comic and trading cards!

links:
www.marvel.com
www.x-men-the-movie.com

Justin Gosine (for Just Comics & More)