X-Men is one of the most important films for me personally. It was the beginning of me recognizing differences in quality and style in the movies.
I may have not been able to express it at the time, but part of the 11-year-old me understood that it was better watching Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in this movie than whatever shlock they were putting out for kids. Something about the pacing, color choices, and general tone that I on some level understood to be more advanced.
X-Men was the first DVD I ever owned. It was baby Michael’s first movie. And after all these years, I stand by it as a quality film. I feel no need to separate my personally history with the film and pretend like that has not shaped my appreciation of it. Instead, I embrace that. The X-Men and X-Men were a big part of my childhood, and they have been an even bigger part of exploring what I like and appreciate about movies ever since. The films have perhaps been even more important for helping me understand what I do NOT like about movies. The X-Men films are, if nothing else, hit or miss. Anyway, here are my five big takeaways from rewatching the film in honor of the website’s podcast series finale.
1. The Bodies
One of the first things that stands out to you when you rewatch this film is Hugh Jackman’s physique because he looks like an actual human being instead of a roided up freak. It is just such a healthier Hollywood ecosystem when the characters – even the superheroes – resemble actual human beings. There is a place for roided up action stars, but X-Men really does not make sense as one of those places. Look what they did to our boy. They massacred our boy, etc.
2. The Sex(-ish)
One of the things you notice about this film that makes it stand out still is that the characters actually have sexual desires. This used to be a normal thing. Logan is horny and has a bit of a predator vibe. His confidence is alluring to Jean for reasons she does not want to admit. It is uncomfortable. It is a scene about adults for adults. This used to be something you expect to find in movies.
3. The Characters
These last two points connect back to an overall larger point: the characters in this movie feel recognizable as human beings. They have competing worldviews, desires, and needs. They crave sex. They look like human beings we would see in real life.
This dynamic is most apparent and important in the characters of Charles Xavier and Magneto. A common trope in these kinds of movies is both sides feel like they are artificially holding back just to hold off until the climax of the film – they avoid doing enough damage to the other side for reasons just to artificially extend the movie.
But here, there are genuine character reasons for why neither side manages to “win” until the end. Charles Xavier and Magneto have competing philosophical differences that explain why neither side wants to truly harm the other. Charles is a true assimilationist! He wants to be seen as respectable and has no desire to be doing black ops death squad shit. Magneto is a “radical” but his guiding principle is to protect ALL mutants so he goes out of his fucking way to not kill a single mutant if at all possible. There are actual character based reasons for the conflict being extended until things boil over in the end. It’s downright jarring to see a superhero film function that way.
4. Sets
Now, obviously, this movie has CGI, VFX, etc. But. Almost every single scene feels like it is set in some form of reality because of how much of the scenes are filmed on actual sets or partial sets that feel connected in any way to fucking reality. Stop filming shit in fucking parking lots and figuring it out in post. Fuck.
5. It is a movie about adults sitting and talking.
This movie, at the end of the day, is a movie about adults sitting in chairs and talking to each other. You have characters with competing worldviews and motivations with long histories together who are trying to find ways to survive, thrive, and find a way to make their world and the world as a whole a better place. These are the basics of moviemaking that for some tragic reason have fallen by the wayside.
Listen to the podcast about this re-watch below!
The Reel World 