X-Men (2000)

I really thought I’d hate this movie, but it was surprisingly entertaining. Superhero movies tend to bore me, as they mostly consist of bad writing, stupid costumes, and some of the worst acting imaginable. But the original X-Men manages to buck the trend, which is probably why it spawned two sequels a Wolverine movie. The film isn’t perfect—the CGI is a bit dated, some of the acting is flat, and there are still the typical action movie clichés of saving someone at the last second from an exploding vehicle that explodes for no reason.

Much of the movie is carried by Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, the perfect anti-hero for the movie. Skeptical about being a superhero, skeptical even about wearing the dumb leather costumes they wear as X-Men, and wisecracking throughout, he helps keep the movie smart and sharp. Perfect example of this: Cyclops (dude with the lasers) asks Wolverine how he should know he’s the real Wolverine (because of course there’s some shape-shifter character posing as everyone), and Wolverine replies, “You’re a dick.” Great, unexpected line, and delivered perfectly by Jackman. It was also a brilliant move to pair seasoned Shakespearean veterans Patrick Stewart and Ian MacKellan against each other as arch-enemies—it’s literally watching two masters at work in their scenes together.

Halle Berry just plain sucked in this though. Considering that she won Best Actress in Monster’s Ball a year after this, you’d think she could, uh, you know...act. But her performance as Storm was incredibly wooden throughout. Famke Janssen’s Jean Grey was a hell of a lot better, as she actually expressed emotions at some point. Maybe Storm is a robot? I really don’t know much about the X-Men.

The movie moves at a brisk pace, thanks to Bryan Singer’s smart direction and sharp editing. Bryan Singer would forget all of these techniques when he made the incredibly boring “Superman: The Return of Marketing Superman for $$$” in 2006. At 90 minutes, it’s the perfect length for an action movie, and lacks the sluggishness that plagued many of the other comic book movies that followed in this decade, like the aforementioned Superman and the seemingly interminable Watchmen.