X-Men

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By Jenny Lee

Not surprisingly, Hollywood made another comic book series into a live-action film. X-Men is not really about a group of mutants trying to protect hapless humans. Rather, it's about Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) who has issues of his own on whether to join Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his proteges Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), Cyclops (James Marsden) and Storm (Halle Berry). Rogue (Anna Paquin) befriends Wolverine, but gets caught in the middle of evil Magneto's (Ian McKellan) plan to eliminate government officials from ever persecuting mutants.

In the theaters, the story wouldn't matter. The special effects would be enough to garner cheers from the audience. On a smaller screen, attention turns to the weaknesses of the movie. The scattered plot flips between Rogue's teen angst, Jean Grey's mixed feelings toward Wolverine and Magneto's lair. With such magnificent powers as reading minds, moving objects with just a thought and commanding nature, the X-Men should be having the time of their lives. But out of all the mutants, Wolverine is the only one who uses his retractable claws to the fullest. The rest of the crew is content to sit back and watch Wolverine do all the work.

Reminiscent of the Salem witch trials, the government is thinking about having all mutants register their status. Here, even director Brian Singer talks about the common theme of being an outcast in the taped interview after the credits. But who really cares when we just want to see the good guys beat the bad guys. The extra footage of certain scenes provides another reason to rent the tape. However, with a lukewarm plot, only enhanced by special effects, the movie doesn't have as much punch as it could have.