“Mutation: it is the key to our evolution.It has enabled us to evolve from a single-celled organism into the dominant species on the planet. This process is slow, normally taking thousands and thousands of years. But every few hundred millennia, evolution leaps forward.”

I was planning to start my MCU (timeline order) rewatch today, but I got halfway through The First Avenger and got bored so decided to turn to an old favourite and begin my X-Men rewatch instead. This film is beloved to me, I could probably recite it verbatim with a gun to my head, and even though that is an incredibly unlikely hypothetical, I still claim it to be true.

We all have those vhs tapes/dvds you watched so much as a child you eventually wore it out, mine were Pride & Prejudice (1995), Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001), and this. My love for Hugh Jackman runs deep, Wolverine is my favourite live action superhero (and I’d say comic book hero too), and it is this film that really convinced me that I loved the genre. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films did too, but I didn’t rewatch either one because of my older brother like I did the cartoons, I rewatched them for me.

The opening sequence during the holocaust cements this story into our reality, something I’m not sure I experienced before then. Superheroes were a fantasy, but genetic mutation is science, and those things made this far more interesting.

I really wish I’d been able to watch these films in the big screen, opening weekend, in a packed theatre—it must have been wonderful.

The introductions of Anna Paquin and Famke Janssen make it even more prevalent how close to our reality this could be. On one hand you have a teenage girl kissing a boy for the first time and discovering that she cannot touch the people she loves and being terrified of that fact, and on the other a senate hearing asking those very same people to identify themselves and face ridicule and violence for just existing, and how one thing is affected by the other. Fear and shame.

Charles and Erik are the two realities that come from the oppression of a people. It is clear they were once fighting the same fight but their methods have now greatly diverged. The topic is discrimination, bigotry, and eugenics, and here we are posed those questions in what is supposed to be just a superhero movie.

“We are the future Charles, not them. They no longer matter.”

And then we meet Logan. The sound effects in that cage fight alone let you know the type of mutant we’re dealing with, but it’s the kindness he extends to Rogue that let you know the type of man it is we’re dealing with. The Wolverine is a lone wolf, he’s out for himself and himself alone, but he does have a heart. And it’s that sensitivity to Rogue’s plight that follows us through the movie.

As Professor X introduces Logan to the school and the X Men, he introduces us too. And the mystery that is Logan’s past (which is also foreshadowed by Sabretooth but that’s for a whole other film).

Then we meet my second favourite character of the franchise (Charles and Erik not included in the ranking): Mystique. She’s merely a goon for now, but she will become one of the most important characters in the franchise and it’s exciting to watch her evolution in these films. 

"You know, people like you are the reason I was afraid to go to school as a child."

I need Rebecca Romijn’s workout routine, maybe one day I’ll be able to pull off that costume…

Now, I could go on and do a play by play of the rest of the film but, those of you who’ve seen it don’t need me to prattle on and those that haven’t should get to enjoy the story for themselves. I’ll only add this: the X-Men aren’t just the typical good vs evil, their message is much deeper and their plight much closer to home than we might think and that is what I love most about them. When fiction reflects reality, maybe there’s a reason for that, and it’s something worth thinking about.

"Mankind has always feared what it doesn't understand."

I didn’t touch upon any of the technicals, but that’s not why I watch these films so I’m not going to bore you with my takes. Just know that this was a pivotal moment for the genre and why it is what it is today. It will forever be one of my favourite films of all time. 4 stars.

Movies That Made Me
X-Men Ranked (tbd)

X-Men Character Ranking:

Erik/Magneto
Charles/Professor X
Logan/Wolverine
Mystique
Storm
Jean Grey
Rogue
Cyclops 

But tbf, everyone after Wolverine is pretty equal in my estimation.