the audience applauded

People are voting emotionally.

Absolutely the worst movie.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

I hadn't really paid much attention to the X-Men franchise in my younger years. I did not watch much of the animated series and did not pay much attention to the comic books. Then this movie showed up and I decided to watch it. A small sampling of the characters that dominate the mutant world of Marvel Comics but it was decent for the time. And I had not watched any Bryan Singer films until X-Men. Still, after hearing that X2 was coming in 2003, I knew I had to do a little backtracking and thought this was decent. It was good for a start. Some big names, and it was the first time I became aware of Australian actor Hugh Jackman (who played Wolverine). This might also have been the first time I enjoyed watching Sir Ian McKellen, also responsible for Gandalf from Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. But hey, if you're new to X-Men and don't know where to start, give this a go. Then go read the comic books if you want more. And if you're interested, try the others. The movies, I meant.

While 'X-men (2000)' can be lacking in action and its age is starting to show in a couple of areas, this pioneer of the genre is still an entertaining experience with great character moments. It's at its sharpest when exploring themes of civil rights, those that were at the heart of the series since its inception, and the thematic elements can be surprisingly dark; I don't think anyone expected this big budget blockbuster to begin in a concentration camp. The film is a solid start to what would become a major franchise and it's easy to forget what a monumental task it had. Setting up its fantastical but grounded world and characters while making them digestible for a wide audience is no mean feat and the fact it pulls it off so effortlessly is commendable. Its fantastic casting helped, with most of the main cast sticking around for over ten years. While the series did get better - though it also got much worse, this feature is an enjoyable and engaging one from start to finish. 7/10

This movie was a roller coaster of fun. Despite giving off many vibes of your average superhero flick, the progressive themes and brilliant social themes reverberated as strongly as it did in the comics.Casting was brilliant. Hugh Jackman, now a common household name but at the time wasn't known in the slightest, was stellar as Wolverine. Patrick Stewart, obviously, did a good job as Professor X, and Anna Paquin did a surprisingly good job performance as Rogue, really putting her down to earth and selling very realistic dialogue.On that note, the dialogue was excellent, making fun of its comic book universe while also being realistic. Special effects were pretty good, but haven't aged so well with the times, save for Wolverine's awesome 360 around the Statue of Liberty. Would be easily recommendable if not for the missteps made during the latter half, and a few mutants who only served to advance the plot and being relatively unimportant. Looking at you, Toad and the Ice guy.Despite that, recommend getting this on DVD or streaming it on YouTube in HD. Deserves your money.Rating: B+

This in addition to being the start of the "X-Men" franchise was also the first superhero film of the 2000s as well as the first major adaption of a Marvel comic. This was a pretty solid movie with plenty going for it, even if there was better to come.Of course, one of the best things about this franchise is Hugh Jackman's portrayal of Logan/Wolverine. He is a tough joker and someone you don't wanna mess with and also very interesting to watch. He was made for the role just like how Christopher Reeve was made for Superman and Robert Downey Jr. was made for Iron Man.Many of the supporting characters are also interesting. Patrick Stewart is great as Professor Charles Xavier and Ian McKellen makes for a great villain in Magneto. Mystique, Storm, Cyclops, and Sabertooth also compliment the film nicely.The film has a solid enough story and some pretty exciting action sequences. I also liked the music score.However, one issue is that a lot of the supporting characters, while cool, weren't developed quite enough. One character I didn't care for was Anna Paquin's Rogue, who was a bit whiny.There isn't really anything to make the film anything more than solid. It really kind of felt like they were holding back some with this film. It isn't surprising that director Bryan Singer considers this to be the "prologue" to the "X-Men" series.It's still a good, solid movie that laid the groundwork for the "X-Men" movies. There would be better superhero films to come, but this is still worth watching.RATING: B