X-Men

X-Men is a 2000 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film, directed by Bryan Singer and written by David Hayter, features an ensemble cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Bruce Davison, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Ray Park, Tyler Mane, and Anna Paquin. It depicts a world in which a small proportion of people are mutants, whose possession of superhuman powers makes them distrusted by normal humans. The film focuses on mutants Wolverine and Rogue as they are brought into a conflict between two groups that have radically different approaches to bringing about the acceptance of mutant-kind: Professor Xavier's X-Men, and the Brotherhood of Mutants, led by Magneto.

Plot[]

n Nazi-occupied Poland, 12-year-old Erik Lehnsherr is separated from his parents upon entering the Auschwitz concentration camp. While trying to reach them, he causes a set of metal gates to bend towards him as the result of his mutant ability to create magnetic fields and control metal manifesting, only to be knocked out by the guards. In the not too distant future, U.S. Senator Robert Kelly attempts to pass a "Mutant Registration Act" in Congress, which would force mutants to publicly reveal their identities and abilities. Present are Lehnsherr, now going by the name "Magneto", and his telepathic colleague Professor Charles Xavier. Seeing Lehnsherr in attendance, Xavier becomes concerned with how he will respond to the Registration Act.

Meanwhile, in Meridian, Mississippi, 17-year-old Marie D'Ancanto accidentally puts her boyfriend into a coma upon kissing him as the result of her mutant ability to absorb the powers and life force of others. She runs away from home and adopts the name Rogue. In Alberta, she meets Logan, also known as Wolverine, who possesses superhuman healing abilities and metal "claws" that protrude from between his knuckles. While on the road together, they are attacked by a minion of Magneto's, Sabretooth, until two of Xavier's students Cyclops and Storm arrive and save them. Wolverine and Rogue are brought to Xavier's mansion and school for mutants in Westchester County, New York. Xavier tells Logan that Magneto appears to have taken an interest in Wolverine and asks him to stay while Xavier's mutants, the X-Men, investigate the matter. Meanwhile, Rogue enrolls in the school.

Senator Kelly is abducted by two more of Magneto's minions, Toad and Mystique and is brought to their hideout on the uncharted island of Genosha. There, Magneto uses Kelly as a test subject for a machine powered by his magnetic abilities that generates a field of radiation, inducing mutation in normal humans. Kelly later escapes by taking advantage of his newfound mutation. When Rogue uses her power on Wolverine after he accidentally stabs her in view of her classmates, she is convinced by Mystique, who disguises herself as Rogue's crush Bobby Drake, that Xavier is angry with her and she should leave the school. Xavier uses his mutant-locating machine Cerebro to find Rogue at a train station, and the X-Men go to retrieve her. Meanwhile, Mystique enters Cerebro and sabotages it.

Having left ahead of Storm and Cyclops, Wolverine finds Rogue on a train and convinces her to return to the school. Before they can leave, however, Magneto arrives and ties up Wolverine. Although Xavier attempts to stop Magneto by mentally controlling Sabretooth, he is forced to release his hold on Sabretooth when Magneto threatens the police who have converged on the train station, allowing Magneto's Brotherhood to escape with Rogue. Kelly arrives at Xavier's school, and Xavier reads his mind to learn about Magneto's machine. Realizing the strain of powering it nearly killed Magneto, the group deduces he intends to transfer his powers to Rogue and use her to power it at the cost of her life. Kelly's body rejects his mutation, and his body dissolves into liquid. Xavier attempts to locate Rogue using Cerebro, but Mystique's sabotage incapacitates him, and he falls into a coma. Fellow telekinetic and telepath Jean Grey fixes Cerebro and uses it, learning that Magneto plans to place his mutation-inducing machine on Liberty Island and use it to "mutate" the world leaders meeting at a summit on nearby Ellis Island. Meanwhile, Wolverine is still tied up, but Storm rescues him. The X-Men scale the Statue of Liberty, battling the Brotherhood while Magneto transfers his powers to Rogue and activates the mutating machine. As Wolverine confronts and distracts Magneto, Cyclops blasts him away, allowing Wolverine to destroy the machine. He transfers his powers to Rogue and his healing abilities rejuvenate her, while incapacitating himself.

Professor Xavier and Wolverine recover from their comas. The group also learn that Mystique escaped the island battle and is impersonating Senator Kelly. Xavier gives Wolverine a lead to his past at an abandoned military installation in Canada. Magneto is imprisoned in a complex constructed of plastic and is visited by Xavier, and Magneto warns him he intends to escape one day and continue the fight.

Cast[]

Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier
Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine
Ian McKellen as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
Brett Morris as young Erik Lehnsherr
Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe / Storm
Famke Janssen as Dr. Jean Grey
James Marsden as Scott Summers / Cyclops
Bruce Davison as Senator Robert Kelly
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos as Raven Darkhölme / Mystique
Ray Park as Mortimer Toynbee / Toad
Tyler Mane as Victor Creed / Sabretooth
Anna Paquin as Marie D'Ancanto / Rogue

Sequels[]

X-Men was followed by six sequels: X2 (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men: First Class (2011), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) and X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) and X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019).

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

X-Men
X-Men (2000), X2 (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants (2019), Deadpool 3 (2024)