Star Trek

After releasing ten films under the banner of ‘Star Trek’, along with four television spin-offs, the novelty of this once proud brand name appeared to be wearing off. This in light of the fact that the latest entries for both mediums met with less than stellar critical and commercial success (“Star Trek: Nemesis” and TV’s “Star Trek: Enterprise” respectively). It seemed that perhaps the franchise and its audience needed a break, and possibly a fresh, new approach if it was to ever find success again. Which brings us to the here and now, the summer of 2009, seven years after the last feature film and four years since the last TV spin-off aired its final episode, and we finally have a new “Star Trek” film once more boldly going where no man has gone before. Under the care of wunderkind producer, writer and director J.J. Abrams (TV’s “Lost” and “Mission: Impossible 3”), along with screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (“Transformers”), the dormant franchise has been resurrected, returning it to bask in the glory of critical praise and commercial success, an achievement that has been absent from the franchise for quite some time.

“Star Trek” focuses, once again, on the Federation starship Enterprise and its original crew of Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), Sulu (John Cho), McCoy (Karl Urban), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), and more. When a deadly new Romulan menace, led by a vengeful despot named Nero (Eric Bana), threatens the entirety of the Federation, Starfleet must rally its forces, including the recently completed Enterprise, to combat this alien danger before it’s too late.

As a fan of the majority of the “Star Trek” films (aside from “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier”), and generally enjoying the direction the latter films had been taking (“Star Trek: Nemesis” being my favorite entry thus far), I was a little unsure about the prospect of essentially restarting the franchise from scratch. However, since this approach has proven successful over the last few years with other franchises that I enjoy, for example the Batman and James Bond series’, I thought that if in fact the well had run dry in regards to further adventures set beyond the events of the tenth film, then perhaps this decision may work out alright after all. Of course that success would all depend on who was going to be responsible for taking the series back to its roots, so to speak.

Let me say that any lingering doubts or concerns I had in regards to this film and its chances for success were quickly laid to rest when word was released that writer/director/producer J.J. Abrams would be helming this installment. Abrams had proven himself quite the capable writer and producer with his various television projects and screenplays, so I knew that he would most likely not sit idly by if the story was lacking in any way. Yet, it was his work helming the very entertaining, third “Mission: Impossible” film that gave me even greater faith in his ability to guide the Enterprise back into the spotlight once more.

On top of the fact that such a multi-talented person of J.J. Abrams’ caliber would be directing the eleventh entry into the venerable series, was the announcement that the series would not only serve as a reboot of sorts, but it would still recognize the films that have come before it; instead of just ignoring them altogether which is what most of the reboots have done. Crafting this epic story was the writing duo of Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Orci and Kurtzman, along with Abrams, were sensible enough to not only cater to the hardcore fans of the show and its subsequent movies and television spin-offs, but also make the story accessible to a whole new generation of moviegoers that may not have been previously interested in anything related to ‘Star Trek’.

The plot of “Star Trek” meets all the necessary criteria for the making of a massive summer blockbuster. Featuring plenty of drama, intensity, humor, incredible action and visual effects, and even a little bit of romance thrown in for good measure, this film has a little something for virtually every possible member of the audience. For the newcomers to the series, the story doesn’t require you to have seen, or have any previous knowledge of the other films in the series. The film takes an appropriate amount of time to introduce you to all of the primary players in the film, giving them each their moment or two to shine. So, if you are unfamiliar with these iconic characters you soon won’t be, once the incredibly fast-paced two hours of this film are through with you.

Now, don’t fret any of you die hard fans out there that may not have seen this film yet, although I doubt there are all that many of you left that this statement could apply to at this point. There are plenty of insider references to previous events or famous quotes from your favorite characters for you to latch onto. Even though this film was made in a way that it could appeal to a much broader spectrum of the audience, it never faltered from supplying the core fan base with plenty of sci-fi goodness for them to embrace along the way. So, make no mistake, this entry into the ever-expanding Star Trek universe is a film that is completely deserving of carrying on the legacy of this epic series, and it never once loses sight of that responsibility.

Speaking of responsibility to the series’ legacy, keeping these iconic characters alive is an all-new bunch of actors chosen to embody them in their younger years. This is no small feat when considering these roles were made famous many years ago by a talented and beloved cast of actors and actresses. Winning over the hearts and minds of new fans of the series shouldn’t be all that hard for this cast; however, proving to the longtime fans of the franchise, some dating all the way back to the original series, may prove much harder to accomplish.

Leading the cast are two talented actors, Chris Pine (“Smokin’ Aces”) and Zachary Quinto (TV’s “Heroes”), portraying the coveted roles of Kirk and Spock respectively. Chris Pine brings a normal speech pattern to Kirk, opting not to emulate William Shatner’s pause-ridden pattern of speech; however, Chris did retain Kirk’s sense of humor, arrogance, and no-quit attitude. His performance provides audiences with a new interpretation to the character while remaining true to the heart and soul of Kirk. For Zachary Quinto his portrayal of Spock was partially achieved before he ever read a single line of dialogue because he bears an uncanny resemblance to a young Leonard Nimoy (who had portrayed the character in the previous incarnation). Out of the entire ensemble cast, Quinto is probably the brightest spot in the group, as his performance is absolutely perfect for the character. Even though his performance so closely resembles that of his predecessor’s, he never once ventures into the realm of imitation as so many other actors may have been tempted to do.

Supporting the two leads, is quite the gifted ensemble of actors and actresses ranging from Simon Pegg (“Hot Fuzz”), Karl Urban (“The Bourne Supremacy”), John Cho (Harold from the ‘Harold and Kumar’ films), Zoe Saldana (“Vantage Point”), and Anton Yelchin (“Teminator: Salvation”). Simon Pegg brings a much more hilarious approach to the brilliant engineer known as Montgomery Scott, best known as Scotty, that some may find distracting due to his character being more stoic in previous appearances. However, since this film takes place at a time in the character’s life that hasn’t been explored, I for one view this as an acceptable revision. Karl Urban, much like Zachary Quinto, gives an almost pitch-perfect portrayal of Dr. McCoy. I found it interesting to see that as brilliant a doctor as McCoy was in the previous films, we get to see a slightly inexperienced version of him here, while he’s still incredibly smart, he does make mistakes and isn’t nearly as sure of his decisions as he is later on. John Cho and Zoe Saldana don’t really get to break all that much new ground with their characters, Sulu and Uhura, yet the two young talents do get a few moments to shine within the film. Most notably for fans of the original series, the various hints to Sulu’s sword fighting abilities are finally showcased allowing a new, more action-oriented side of the character to emerge. The only slight problem that I have with the casting is that perhaps Anton Yelchin was slightly mis-cast as Pavel Chekov. While he brings the character’s trademark substitution of w’s for v’s out in almost every line of dialogue he has, he doesn’t strike me as a good fit for the character. Even with that complaint, Anton did do a good job as Chekov; I just don’t see him ever becoming the man we all know.

Rounding out the cast is veteran character actor Bruce Greenwood (“I, Robot”) and Eric Bana (“Hulk”). Bruce Greenwood portrays the original captain of this starship Enterprise named Christopher Pike. He’s a seasoned veteran of Starfleet, who expects nothing but excellence from all who serve under his command. Greenwood’s portrayal of Pike reminds me of Captain Kirk in the previous films, where he was much more reserved and in control of every situation, never willing to sacrifice others for a mission that he wasn’t willing to undertake himself. As for Eric Bana who plays the vengeful Romulan known as Nero, he wasn’t given a whole lot to do with the character other than appear menacing and bark orders. There were a few flashes of character development for him, but nothing so substantial as to make him appear any more or less dangerous than any other villain you would find in a ‘Star Trek’ movie. Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t make any mention of his presence in the film; Leonard Nimoy reprises his role of Spock once again. Surprisingly, Nimoy’s appearance in the film isn’t relegated to being a bit of stunt casting for a glorified cameo; instead, the presence of the much older Spock is integral to the movie’s central plotline and provides some very fun moments within the film.

Over 40 years since the original series first introduced us to this enduring franchise, and despite a few rough patches of waning popularity over the last several years, J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” restores the series to its former magnificence. With a great story, a terrific cast, and visual effects that are nothing short of incredible, “Star Trek” has become my new favorite entry into this series, removing “Star Trek: Nemesis” from the coveted position.

“Star Trek” is rated PG-13 for violence, language, and sexuality.

X-Men: The Last Stand

In the last decade one genre has returned from almost certain death to become one of Hollywood’s most lucrative sources of income. That genre is that of the superhero, or comic book genre as it is most commonly referred to as. Several franchises have been successfully established within this revived genre, some standouts would be the ‘Spider-Man’ movies, ‘Batman’ reboot and the ‘Blade’ trilogy. In the midst of all of those, one franchise has stood out from all the others by taking the focus of the comic book film away from being only on a few key characters and onto an entire team of heroes. This set of movies is none other than the ‘X-Men’ franchise.

After two highly successful trips to the box office with “X-Men” and “X2: X-Men United”, both with Bryan Singer at the helm, the third film “X-Men: The Last Stand” would feature a new director. For the third entry in the series, director Brett Ratner (“Red Dragon”) took over for Bryan Singer, who left the series to direct “Superman Returns”. The decision to have Brett Ratner at the helm of such a high profile movie that was to serve as the supposed final chapter in the popular superhero trilogy, caused many a fan to become uneasy. This was caused in part by the fact that Ratner had at one point been picked by Warner Brothers to direct the newest ‘Superman’ movie; however, before much progress could be made he dropped out of the film. So, with a new director onboard that had little to no obvious experience in dealing with elaborate visual effects (not to mention the fact that he couldn’t handle one hero let alone a team), and the success of a franchise on the line, one question remained. “Could this latest chapter in the ‘X-Men’ series hope to succeed when it seemed that so many factors were working against it?”

“X-Men: The Last Stand” begins with the creation of a new ‘cure’ for the mutant gene, allowing those born with powers to choose whether they wanted to remain mutants or take the cure and become normal human beings. This ‘cure’ quickly becomes the focus for the mutant race, and serves as the potential catalyst to spark an all-out war that has been brewing between Magneto’s (Sir Ian McKellan) ‘Brotherhood of Mutants’ and Professor Charles Xavier’s (Patrick Stewart) X-Men. With mutantkind divided as to which side to choose, the battle lines are quickly being drawn, and the final battle is about to begin!

Screenwriter Zak Penn (“xXx: State of the Union”), taking over for departing writers Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris (who also jumped ship to work on “Superman Returns”), chose wisely (in my opinion) to not focus on a story dealing solely with the ‘cure’ for mutants. Granted the cure story arc was interesting and provided some very captivating moments between key characters as some felt the cure was a blessing, while others felt it was just another way for humans to oppress the mutants even further. With that being said, I don’t feel that this storyline would have been able to sustain the film throughout its entire duration. With that in mind I feel confident in stating that the film greatly benefited from the intermixing of the incredibly popular Phoenix story arc from the comic books. The Phoenix plotline, just as it did in the comics, provided some very intense moments within the story, along with numerous opportunities for the characters to explore how they feel about Jean’s miraculous resurrection and her newly unleashed awesome power. This proved especially true for Hugh Jackman’s character Wolverine, as he now finds the woman he loves may be a threat to everything else he holds dear.

Many detractors of this film felt that the movie lacked in substance, and that the film would have been better served had it focused solely on Jean Grey becoming the Phoenix. I agree that the film probably would have been even better had it dealt even more, if not solely on Jean’s manifestation into the Phoenix. However I must disagree with the first sentiment about the lack of substance. This film was the final act (or at least it appears to be) in a trilogy, meaning that in some way it ties into events that occurred in the previous two films. Therefore, this film is intended more as a means of tying up any and all remaining loose ends left over from its predecessors, while at the same time expanding somewhat on what had been laid out prior to this entry. In the case of “X-Men: The Last Stand”, the film’s story was focused on exploring what happened to Jean in the closing moments of “X2”, unleashing the war that had been brewing between the two opposing sides of the mutant race, and introducing us to the concept of a cure for mutants. If you ask me, those three aspects of the story provided plenty of substance for this film to draw from, and it did so in a satisfying way that didn’t come off as overly bloated and complicated like some third film’s in a trilogy have of late (for example, “The Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”).

The cast, as they have been in the previous installments, was still as great as ever; except for a couple of exceptions. Actresses Halle Berry and Anna Paquin appeared to struggle with their characters for some reason in this film. Both of their performances varied between good to being just flat and disinterested in nature. I will say that aside from her performance in “X2”, Halle has been inconsistent with her interpretation of the X-Man known as Storm; however, by this point one would have hoped that she would have figured the character out by now. As for Anna Paquin, I don’t really know what the problem was; perhaps it was her character’s arc in this film and her insecurity about being a mutant becoming more apparent given the newly discovered cure. Whatever the case may be, she clearly struggled to find a groove in her surprisingly small amount of screen time, given that the character was much more involved in the previous two films, and in the end she delivered what could possibly be classified as the most uninspired performance in the film. Like I said, aside from these two, the remainder of the returning cast members continued to deliver solid performances, even when relegated to little more than a cameo appearance (I’m referring to James Marsden’s character Cyclops).

Joining the returning members, the film featured several newcomers to the series, such as Kelsey Grammer (Beast), Vinnie Jones (Juggernaut) and Ben Foster (Angel), all of whom fit right in, as if they’d been members of the cast since the very first movie. Now, I for one never would have picked Kelsey Grammer (TV’s “Fraiser”) to embody the X-Man known as the Beast. Sure he could handle the intellectual dialogue and would sound genuine in doing so, but I wouldn’t have thought of him as being all that physical of an actor. However, there he was in some of the fight sequences right in there with the other X-Men, and holding his own without any trouble at all. It’s just one more example of how some of the casting choices in Hollywood never cease to amaze me in how spot on they are, despite all appearances to the contrary. Next we have soccer player turned actor Vinnie Jones (“Gone in 60 Seconds”) offering up his portrayal of the powerhouse mutant known as Juggernaut. Juggernaut pretty much did in this film exactly what the character is known for in the comics, essentially decimate anything and everything in his path. The only major difference between the two mediums is that there was no mention ever made to the character being the half-brother to Charles Xavier. Aside from that Vinnie’s performance was as good as expected for an actor playing a character that isn’t known for being all that much of a thinker or having any real depth to him.

Last but not least, we have actor Ben Foster as the mutant known as Warren Worthington III, a.k.a. Angel. The only thing you can say about Ben, other than the fact that he pretty much knocks every performance out of the park, is that he is a true chameleon when it comes to his appearance and presentation from role to role. In one movie he’ll have long black hair and an extremely bad attitude (“Hostage”), then he’ll have scraggly red hair, a plethora of piercings, and a heart of gold (“The Punisher”), or he will be a clean cut, blonde heir to a massive fortune as he is in this film. It’s amazing to me to see just how diverse Ben has proven to be in various movies, and each performance is always unique from the one before it. This is one actor who I believe will go down as one of the best and most talented of his generation.

The action scenes in this film are the most intense out of all the ‘X-Men’ movies. Everything is so exciting and fast-paced that you feel like you have to see the movie more than once to fully take it all in. Going hand-in-hand with the action, the special effects work is also the best out of the franchise. Not that the visuals in the first two movies were anything to look down upon. In this film there is one sequence alone, involving the Golden Gate Bridge, that is worth the price of purchasing this movie.

“X-Men: The Last Stand” isn’t a perfect movie by any means; however, it completely ties up all loose ends while still delivering to us a pulse-pounding battle that had been teased at for the last two films. Despite all the bad press this film has received among some fans, critics and so on, I personally found this installment to be just as entertaining as the first film, and a fitting end to the series.

“X-Men: The Last Stand” is rated PG-13 for violence, language, and sensuality.

X2: X-Men United

Three years after the enormous success of “X-Men”, 20th Century Fox released “X2: X-Men United”. The sequel reunited most of the original film’s cast along with director Bryan Singer. Where “X-Men” introduced us to the world of these warring mutants, “X2: X-Men United” blew that world wide open, and delivered to audiences a sequel easily superior to its predecessor.

“X2: X-Men United” basically picks up where “X-Men” left off, Wolverine is still searching for some hint as to who he really is, Magneto is locked away, while Professor Xavier and the rest of the X-Men are trying to ensure peace between humans and mutants while maintaining a low profile. Meanwhile, secretly waging a personal war upon all mutants is a renegade Colonel named Stryker (Brian Cox), who is determined to see all mutants dead or dying, and if some normal people get in the way, so be it. To stop this madman and his powerful forces, the X-Men must stand together, alongside their sworn enemies if necessary, or else mutantkind’s days are numbered.

“X2: X-Men United” provided moviegoers with everything that was great about the original film, plus so much more. Boasting even more action, a story on a much grander scale, more impressive special effects, and not to mention more mutants, there was no doubt in my mind that “X2” would have what it takes to soar to even greater heights than its predecessor.

Written by screenwriters Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, and David Hayter (“X-Men”) the story for this sequel continued many of the threads left dangling at the conclusion of the first film, while going off in an all-new and exciting direction (especially for fans of the comic books) for some of the characters. The first film spent much of its time focusing on Wolverine’s decision on whether or not to side with the X-Men against the villainous Magneto, in this film the focus still remains somewhat on Wolverine; however for this film to succeed the scope had to be increased, and “X2” never fails to meet that requirement. This time the story delves deeper into the relationships that comprise the team, and introduces some rather intense moments and new challenges for the characters to deal with. Within these challenges and the understandably heightened drama, one can definitely take note of the fact that the stakes were much higher in this installment and the decisions and actions being taken were going to have some very far reaching consequences for all involved.

The original film was a surprising movie for many people because of the amount of time spent within the story developing the characters, something that had generally been unheard of in many comic book adaptations. “X2” took the already established characters and dug even deeper (as I stated a moment ago), while at the same time introducing us to a couple of new main characters. I was surprised by the fact that in a two hour movie, the writers found enough time to continue exploring the already established characters left over from the initial film (of which there are several), while still managing to give us new characters to enjoy without skimping on their development as well

I found it fascinating how the inclusion of someone as bitter and bigoted as Colonel Stryker (Brian Cox) for the film’s primary villain worked as well as it did. His character if handled improperly could have ended up being just a militarized version of the Senator Kelly character from the original film; instead, he was a multi-layered character that didn’t just hate mutants because of what they could do or the fact that they were different. No, his reasons were much more complicated, and it was because of how richly developed his character was that he was such an interesting and without a doubt fearsome foe for the mutants. Brian Cox as an actor always delivers great performances in every film he appears in, and whether they are large or small roles, his character is always memorable (“The Bourne Supremacy” is an example of a larger role or “Braveheart” for a smaller example). As Stryker, Brian plays him as a patriot who only wants to eliminate the mutant problem for the sake of national security, but at the same time subtly conveys the sinister nature inherent in his crusade for what is essentially a mutant genocide without ever going over-the-top or venturing into your prototypical villain territory.

The other new character was the teleporting mutant known as Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming). While I’ve never been all that fond of the character in the comics, I must say that this film managed to make him a really intriguing, complex character and not to mention make teleporting one cool power to have (this had more to do with the incredible work of the visual effects team than anything else). In the comics Nightcrawler never seemed all that useful other than getting the team into a room that they couldn’t bust into as easily, but this film actually made him a useful addition to the team, and even a mutant that could be feared if provoked into action. As far as Alan’s portrayal of the character I would have to say that he did a great job with the role, and gave the character the perfect balance of self-doubt, faith, and quirkiness that allowed for such a strange creature to seem so real to the audience.

The rest of the cast for “X2: X-Men United” (meaning those reprising their roles from the first film) gave strong performances with only a minor gripe here or there, and some even improved upon what they had done prior. Hugh Jackman as Wolverine had already given the definitive performance as the character, but in this film he takes it even further by getting to explore some new territory with the hero. For instance we finally get to see what Wolverine can really do when allowed to cut loose (which made for an incredibly entertaining action sequence), also some new revelations about his past prompts him to doubt the kind of man he was prior to the hero he has become and to wonder if he really wants to know the secret behind his past.

For Shawn Ashmore, his character of Bobby Drake/Iceman was given so much more to do this time around. Before he was used as nothing more than the nice boy at school for Rogue to identify with; however, in this film he has become her boyfriend and is beginning to find his way on the path to becoming a future X-Man. If I had one minor complaint about Shawn’s performance it would be the fact that sometimes Bobby comes off as being a little too timid and insecure. Granted those attributes would be due to the writers, which of course took their cue from the comics to an extent, regardless the character at times appears too weak that you almost wonder what Rogue sees in him.

Unfortunately in a film packed with this many characters some get put on the backburner and aren’t given the screen time their character deserves. This would be the case for the mutant known as Cyclops (James Marsden). In the original film, Cyclops was given several key moments to shine as one of the integral members of the team; however, in this installment he is relegated to a handful of scenes. It’s a shame that a character as fun as Cyclops can be, and with as rich of a history as he has in the comics that the writers didn’t choose to do more with him. I guess sometimes the story just doesn’t work as well with some characters as it does with others. Even with the truncated role, James Marsden still brings the character to life in a manner perfectly befitting his comic book counterpart.

Lastly, director Bryan Singer (“X-Men” and “Superman Returns”) deserves mentioning as his hard work allowed for this film series to raise the bar in terms of what comic book movies should aspire to. With “X-Men” and especially with “X2” he proved that audiences want more than just visual effects extravaganzas and big fight sequences, they desire a story that sucks them in and remains grounded in a reality similar to our own, along with fully developed characters that they can invest in and relate to.

“X2: X-Men United” was an excellent movie and comic book adaptation rolled up in one. While “X-Men” was a really good movie, this one blows it out of the water with great ease. Granted there are a few minor complaints about some character treatment, but by and large everything in this adaptation worked brilliantly. Just like “The Dark Knight”, “X2: X-Men United” is a comic book sequel that transcends the stigma of being just another run-of-the-mill comic book movie and stands proud as one of the best ever made.

“X2: X-Men United” is rated PG-13 for violence, language, and mild sexuality.

X-Men

In the year 2000, Marvel Comics in association with 20th Century Fox officially ushered in the current age of superhero movies with the successful box office smash “X-Men”. Truthfully, out of all of their vast properties to adapt for the silver screen, the X-Men seemed in my estimation to be one of the riskiest endeavors for Marvel in terms of being a hit. I felt it was a risky choice if for no other reason than the fact that the X-Men universe is so rich and diverse that it would seem almost impossible to winnow it down to a manageable level that could easily fit into a 90 minute or two hour running time. Yet, despite a few minor flaws in the story and/or some tweaks to some characters, the difficult task was accomplished in an extremely impressive fashion under the watchful eye of talented director Bryan Singer (“The Usual Suspects”).

“X-Men” is the story of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), a mutant who has the unique ability to heal from any wound along with unsheathing razor-sharp adamantium (an unbreakable metal) claws from his hands, as he struggles to find the truth about himself, while helping a young mutant named Rogue (Anna Paquin). During their journey the two encounter a team of mutants led by the enigmatic Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), who believes that somehow both humans and mutants can find a way to peacefully co-exist with one another. However, for every school of thought there is an equally strong opposing viewpoint, and this one is led by a powerful and extremely angry mutant named Magneto (Ian McKellan). As battle lines are being drawn, Wolverine and Rogue find themselves stuck in the middle of a war they never knew existed, and are forced to choose a side to stand with before time runs out.

The story for “X-Men” as written by David Hayter (“Watchmen”) provided a very nice and neat introduction into the expansive universe that these iconic characters inhabit. While this initial film featured a relatively focused story that revolved around the two pivotal roles of Wolverine and Rogue and their quest for answers and acceptance, it hinted at the potential for a much bigger story to follow on a much grander scale. For most franchises to succeed, especially those that could be deemed risky, you need the initial story to be a little smaller in scope in order to draw your audience in and establish the groundwork of relationships with which further sequels can build upon. Writer David Hayter understood this and crafted a very tight and concise script that moved along at an almost relentless pace, yet without really skimping on too many of the details. For comic book fans there were numerous nods or references to either events or characters from the comics, but this movie wasn’t just for the fanboys. The wisest decision that 20th Century Fox and Marvel made was to make these characters as accessible to those outside of the world of comics as possible, but at the same time not making such drastic changes so as to alienate your core fan base. All of this was achieved with the story for “X-Men” and as I said a moment ago, it served as the perfect jumping point for this series to expand from.

Bringing the film to life was director Bryan Singer, who with this movie brought to comic book films something that had been noticeably absent for many years…a semi-grounded sense of reality not too dissimilar from our own (apart from the whole super-powered thing mind you). Previous to this film (and for that matter the first “Blade” film), the only truly successful comic book movies were those in the initial Batman franchise, and in each of those movies we found a very eccentric, gothic-inspired reality that was more outlandish and showy. For me I appreciated the fact that Bryan chose to steep these films in a reality that was much more recognizable to our own rather than one much more fantastic. By doing this we are able to better relate to the characters, and therefore become immersed in the story, allowing for a much easier suspension of our disbelief (which every fantasy and/or sci-fi film relies upon).

Besides the look and feel of the film, Bryan also excelled in creating some really fun, entertaining action sequences that at times felt like they were the very panels of a comic book coming to life. As a fan of comic books and some of the comic book films that had come prior to this film’s release, I was pleased to watch an adaptation that knew how to blend the action elements together with intriguing character development. Generally these types of films had been written off as no more than summer fluff at the box office, and nine times out of ten this had been proven true. Not since 1989’s “Batman” (to my recollection) had a comic book movie effectively blended those two all-important elements together to such a great degree of success. So, for this adaptation to buck the established order of things (so to speak), and actually include a coherent story rife with interesting characters along with the obvious entertainment factor inherent in most visual effects movies was a bit unheard of. Thankfully, Bryan Singer and his writer David Hayter, along with everyone else involved in the decision making behind the scenes of “X-Men” were smart enough to create a film that stayed somewhat true to the notion that this was a summer blockbuster, but also a movie that contained some great drama and could please audiences for years to come beyond its stay at the box office.

Starring in this film is quite the varied group of talented actors and actresses ranging from veterans of both stage and screen, such as Sir Ian McKellan (“Apt Pupil”) and Patrick Stewart (“Star Trek: Nemesis”), to some of Hollywood’s great beauties like Famke Janssen (“Taken”) and Halle Berry (“Swordfish”) to relative new faces like Anna Paquin (“Fly Away Home”) and Hugh Jackman (“Someone Like You”). What was great about this cast is that each member brought a seriousness to the role and portrayed these comic book characters as if they were any other dramatic role, opting not to play up the camp factor that would have been the order of the day in previous years past (for example the much maligned “Batman & Robin”). For a majority of the actors and actresses chosen for the various mutants, and humans for that matter, the casting appeared to be strokes of genius and good fortune combined, as each one looked as if they had manifested directly from the comic book page.

Perhaps the biggest surprise casting choice, for me at least, would be a then unknown Hugh Jackman as the fan favorite Wolverine. Having not seen Jackman in anything prior to this film I wasn’t sure if he could do justice to the clawed hero; however, I was completely blown away by the intensity and ferocity that Jackman brought to the role. His portrayal is so spot-on that it reached the point that his interpretation became almost universally accepted by the comic book fan community as being the one true Wolverine. A move that is surprising given that this community is generally extremely finicky about sticking to the details of their beloved heroes, not to mention the fact that Jackman is over 6’ tall, lean, yet still muscular rather than being a short, and semi-stocky, but extremely muscular guy that would more closely resemble his comic book counterpart. With that knowledge one could see how surprising it is that his portrayal was so easily accepted, but I guess when it’s clear that he’s the ideal person for the role, some details can be overlooked for the greater good of the franchise.

“X-Men” was a very well written, directed, and acted movie that gave comic book fans and audiences in general something that everyone could enjoy. For comic book fans there were some minor gripes about changes made to some of the characters origins, but nothing significant enough to take away from how great this movie was, or what it would mean for other comic book characters being brought to life on the big screen. Even after all the comic book movies that have bowed since this film’s opening, “X-Men” still remains one of my all-time favorites of the genre, a fact that I don’t see changing anytime in the near future.

“X-Men” is rated PG-13 for violence and language.