X-MEN

Marvel Mutant Mayhem!

Hard to believe, but the X-men were not always the best at selling comic-books. After debuting in 1963 in a series drawn by comics genius Jack Kirby, they were cancelled within a couple years, revived (with art by Neal Adams), then cancelled again. For much of the 1970s, the mutants existed only as guest-stars in other books.

This is when I first became a fan, gobbling up the stories in Marvel's cost-efficient series of reprint titles. Then, writer Len Wein and artist Herb Trimpe put a character named Wolverine - a Canadian superhero in a silly costume - in an issue of The Incredible Hulk. The little guy struck a chord, and Wein brought him back when he and artist Dave Cockrum revived the X-Men with a new international group of heroes a year or so later. The format was the same - the adventures of a secret outlaw group of super-powered mutants, operating from the cover of a New England private school for "gifted youngsters", and fighting to protect themselves, as well as the human race that feared and hated them - but this time there was more excitement and passion at work.

This time, the group became a big hit - even bigger when writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne took over the title - and they've been a best-seller ever since. I stopped reading the comics around a dozen years ago, during a time when the writers seemed more interested in creating new and marketable characters with each issue - and the artists seemed more interested in drawing pin-up pages (higher priced on the original art market) - than in telling a decent, coherent story. But I've always believed in the basic concept of the series, and loved the complex and personable characters.

Comics fans of my generation surely share my dread at the release of any comics-based movie. We grew up hoping that movies could be made out of our favorite series, but knew that there was no way that any special effects could match what was printed on the page. Even if they could create f/x good enough, Hollywood considered comics as camp material and nothing more.

But now, the rules have changed. Not only are the f/x good enough and cheap enough to bring to life anything that can be imagined, but the writers, directors and producers are comics fans, wanting to put those fantasies on film as much as the fans want to see them.

Which brings us back to X-Men, a big-budget production that's been bouncing around studio offices for decades. Surely, if it ever got made, they'd screw this one up. There's too many characters with too many complex concepts and relationships. Heck, every time I hear Hollywood people talk about making a Fantastic Four movie, they complain about all the characters. Well. over the decades there's probably been hundreds of X-Men.

I can hardly trust my senses. Director Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects), along with writers Tom DeSanto and David Hayter (and an army of f/x-men), have managed to condense the comics into a movie, and get just about everything right. Fans will pick nits over what's been changed or left out, but basically this is better than any X-Men movie I could expect.

The key to the adaptation is simplicity. The very first X-Men comic featured a new student admitted to the school, an introduction to the other characters, and an epic battle with mutant villain Magneto (played here with great authority by Sir Ian McKellen). The movie works by using this basic plot as a framework, then not getting bogged down in the details.

First the backstory is established. The atomic age - and other factors - have triggered a change in human genetics, bringing forth human beings on the next level of evolution. Mutants - some of whom have miraculous abilities. Two of the most powerful mutants - Magneto, a Holocaust survivor with the ability to control magnetic fields, and Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), the world's most powerful telepath - find themselves on opposite sides of the issue of their existence. Magneto feels that the human race is ready for extinction, ready for replacement by Homo Superior, and plots against them with his Brotherhood of Mutants. Professor X wants to co-exist in peace with humankind, guiding the younger mutants through his school and protecting humans from attack via the X-Men.

Senator Kelly (Bruce Davison, Willard himself) campaigns in congress for passage of the Mutant Control Act, which would require all mutants to be registered and "controlled" by the government.

We're introduced to two lost souls: Logan (Hugh Jackman), a fierce animalistic warrior who contests in ultimate fighting matches under the name Wolverine, whose past is shrouded in amnesia, and natural strength and healing power has been surgically augmented with a metal skeleton and retractable claws. And Rogue (Anna Paquin), whose touch can incapacitate another while temporarily giving her their abilities and memories.

On the road together, the pair is attacked by savage Sabertooth (Tyler Mane) and creepy Toad (Ray Park from The Phantom Menace), members of the Brotherhood. The two evil mutants are driven off by weather-controlling Storm (Halle Berry) and the optic beams of Cyclops (James Marsden).

The pair is brought to Professor Xavier. Rogue is offered a place to learn to use her power surrounded by other youngsters with similar problems. Wolverine is offered help in finding out about his past. Though ever distrustful, Wolverine decides to throw in his lot with the X-Men for the time being. Rogue begins to find a home within the school.

Momentary peace is disrupted by the plans of Magneto. A genius at physics, he's constructed a machine that can harness his own powers to mutate the genes of human beings, making them mutants. After demonstrating the machine on Senator Kelly, he plans to turn it on a United Nations gathering near Ellis Island.

Though there are a lot of characters and story ideas floating through the script, Singer focuses on Wolverine (inarguably the most popular character in the series) most of the time, giving the audience the viewpoint of the outsider as he's shown the mutants' world. Magneto's Brotherhood has hints of being more disjointed and widespread, but only a few agents are used. Other characters from the series show up in the background, or in cameos, but don't interfere if they have no purpose in the story. This focus, set within a world rich with possibilities, is what makes the movie work.

Another thing that the picture has going for it is excellent casting. Most of the principals seem to have been born to play their roles. Paquin is younger than the Rogue in the comics, and Marsden is too short - but what better Professor X could there be than Stewart? What better Sabertooth than Mane? Even model Rebecca Romijn-Stamos as Mystique the shape-shifter, near nude under blue paint and appliances, resists the temptation to vamp it up and delivers a great deal of chilling intensity.

And he may have been the producer's second choice, but Hugh Jackman is a miracle in the role of Logan. I could never think of any actor right for that character, but this guy - known only for playing Curly in a TV version of Oklahoma! - has everything about Wolverine nailed. Some may say he looks too young - but how old would a guy who heals instantly look? Some may dislike the black leathery costumes - but hasn't his costume changed a few times in the past? Heck, he even makes the goofy haircut work.

If I had to think of a few complaints, I'd say something about how occasionally we get sidetracked a bit by the ever-tempting details and the pace slackens. But Singer always has it under control. In an era where a summer blockbuster is expected to go beyond two hours running time, Singer pulls the reigns, keeping his feature to a smart 90 minutes. This is a guy who can keep a project under control.

I want to see it again tomorrow. And I want to see a sequel the day after.

Superheroes and supervillains; kung fu; p-stars Singer, McKellan and Stewart.

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