X-Men 2000 Superhero Film Starring Hugh Jackman

Film Adaptation of the Marvel Comics Series About Mutants

Sep 14, 2009

Humanity fears what it does not understand. The X-Men fight to protect humanity from the mutants who believe that a war between humanity and mutants is inevitable.

Set in the ‘not too distant future’ in a world where mutants exist (mostly in secret) and the majority of the human population demands that they be registered so their unusual powers can become known and controlled. The X-Men use their powers to fight mutants like Magneto who believe that a war between mutants and humanity is an unavoidable outcome of rising tensions.

The film opens with a concentration camp and a child being ripped away from his parents. In his horror he reaches out for them and somehow manages to rip a metal gate apart through some unknown means. The child survives the holocaust and grows up to become Magneto (Ian McKellen). He believes that the signing of the new ‘Mutant Registration Act’ being pushed through by anti-mutant politician Senator Kelly (Bruce Davison) will ultimately lead to concentration camps and detention facilities something that he will not allow to happen. Magneto’s former ally and lifelong friend Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) has faith in humanity and believes that mutual trust is the only way forward.

At the same time a young girl named Rogue (Anna Paquin) kisses a boy and somehow manages to drain his life force. She runs away from home and runs into a cage fighter with metal claws named Logan aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). The pair are later attacked by two mutants named Toad (Ray Park) and Sabertooth (Tyler Mane), and then rescued by the timely intervention of Storm (Halle Berry) and Cyclops (James Marsden). They are taken to the X-Mansion where they meet Professor Xavier.

Meanwhile Magneto kidnaps Kelly and uses a machine to turn him into a mutant. Kelly is able to escape after his new mutant powers start to manifest, but the process proves to be unstable. Logan joins the X-Men in order to prevent Magneto from using the machine on the world leaders gathering in New York.

Bringing Back the Superhero Movie

X-Men was the first film in the revival of the superhero genre. Bryan Singer directs an all star cast in a solid and action packed film which started the X-Men Franchise. The film will appeal to non-fans and fans alike. Hugh Jackman is perfectly cast as the gruff loner Wolverine, along with Patrick Stewart as Xavier and McKellen as Magneto.

Magneto’s motives stem from his experiences surviving the horror of the holocaust, and his differing opinions about humanity sets him at odds with his friend Charles Xavier. It is refreshing to see a relationship between one of the villains and one of the good guys in which they were friends, and over time their allegiances shifted meaning that they find themselves at odds with one another.

X-Men was either going to lead to the revival of the superhero films or it was going to be the death of the genre. Due to Singer’s direction and the perfectly cast actors and actresses and the success of X-Men the majority of the Marvel Comics have since received big screen adaptations with a mixture of successes (Spider-Man) and failures (Hulk). However, X-Men is a good film that benefits from the fine performances of its cast, and leaves the door open for a sequel.

An excellent cast and a fine director that set the standard for the Marvel Comic film adaptations.

The copyright of the article X-Men 2000 Superhero Film Starring Hugh Jackman in Film Dramas is owned by Christopher Sharman. Permission to republish X-Men 2000 Superhero Film Starring Hugh Jackman in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.