DIRECTOR
Bryan Singer

WRITER(S)
David Hayter

CAST
Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Tyler Mane, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Ray Park

MPAA RATING
PG-13

RUNNING TIME
105 Minutes

STUDIO
20th Century Fox

Right away, you can tell this baby will spawn into a franchise, al la Batman. With hundreds of X-Men characters created in the comics, the film versions will have no problem continuing the story.

The X-Men comic was known for its characters and their backstories and relationships rather than its action. The same can be said for the film version.

These are characters that can be cared for and ones you want to follow. Too many times a big budgeted film will substitute characters for big action set pieces. There's nothing wrong with that, but with a comic book based film, it sure is nice to get more than a cardboard super group.

Bryan Singer, who also directed the fabulous "The Usual Suspects", makes this feel more like an exciting adventure than a popcorn flick. Substituting plot detail and characters in the place of cgi action, Singer has created the perfect starting point for the sequels to follow.

A franchise like "X-Men" deserves sequels. There's lots of stories to tell.

Let's meet those mysterious X-Men. Clearly everyone's favorite is Wolverine (played brilliantly by Hugh Jackman). This unknown Aussie stage actor nails Logan (his real name). Think of him as another version of Russell Crowe. Like Crowe, Jackman commands the presence of those around him. This guy is gonna be a huge star.

Patrick Stewart (Xavier) and Ian McKellen (Magneto) play off each other quite nicely. They don't get near as much scenery to chew as Jackman, but anytime you have two good British actors in a movie, things will be just fine.

Other standouts and surprises include James Marsden as Cyclops and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos as Mystique. Berry, Janssen, and Mane are forgettable.

Budgeted at only $75 million, "X-Men" sports some nifty effects, especially Mystique's morphing. "X-Men" is pretty to look at, but the non-cgi stuff is the real catch here.