| 90 |
Slate
It's a rich, impressive comic-book fantasy -- easily the summer's best "blockbuster."
|
| 90 |
Mr. Showbiz
The best kind of summer blockbuster -- the kind that makes you immediately crave a sequel.
|
| 90 |
LA Weekly
The film's strength and its entertainment lie in John Myhre's production design, its generally appealing cast...and, perhaps most importantly, a canny degree of self-parody.
|
| 90 |
Newsweek
Jeff Giles
For diehard fans, X-Men is full of in jokes and sly references -- For everybody else, there's the thrill of the unknown.
|
| 88 |
Charlotte Observer
Balances brains, brawn and heart in ideal proportions. The actors - some first-rate, all enjoyable - never get overshadowed by the special effects, which dazzle us without gory excess.
|
| 85 |
TNT RoughCut
One of this year's most dazzling entertainments, not to mention one of the best comic-book movies ever made.
|
| 83 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Singer deftly crafts a sleek, unusually tight film that balances comic-book adventure, pulp opera and the fear of being different.
|
| 80 |
Village Voice
When it comes to stoopid fun, X-Men could be the summer movie to beat.
|
| 80 |
Los Angeles Times
While X-Men doesn't take your breath away wire-to-wire the way "The Matrix" did, it's an accomplished piece of work with considerable pulp watchability to it.
|
| 80 |
Chicago Reader
Exciting mainly because anything can happen and does, the movie drags a bit as it approaches a climax set atop the Statue of Liberty.
|
| 80 |
Salon.com
A distinctively absorbing entertainment, offering just enough popcorn thrills for mass audiences and just enough chewiness for hardcore sci-fi fans.
|
| 75 |
New York Post
Spectacular special effects and sets.
|
| 75 |
Philadelphia Inquirer
Doesn't match up against the new millennium martial artistry of "The Matrix," nor do the special effects - but he knows how to establish characters and relationships.
|
| 75 |
San Francisco Chronicle
This feast of fantasy is worth it.
|
| 75 |
Baltimore Sun
X-Men flies to the rescue with superheroes who have real substance.
|
| 75 |
Portland Oregonian
Loaded with fine performances, traffics in audacious images and generally comports itself with a great deal more grace and gravitas than most movies with roots in fantastic themes.
|
| 75 |
New York Daily News
A solid action story with inventive battles (one on the Statue of Liberty) and satisfyingly gooey special effects.
|
| 75 |
Miami Herald
The most enjoyable piece of pop fantasy of the summer; sleek, elegant, exciting and wildly, outrageously imaginative.
|
| 70 |
Film.com
Nearly the perfect balance between straight-faced pulp action and amused wonder at the outlandish world of comic books.
|
| 67 |
Austin Chronicle
The film's greatest strength lies in its ability to view itself as a modern moral fable of sorts.
|
| 63 |
Chicago Sun-Times
I started out liking this movie, while waiting for something really interesting to happen. When nothing did, I still didn't dislike it; I assume the X-Men will further develop their personalities if there is a sequel.
|
| 63 |
Boston Globe
Recedes to a string of mere action exploits. These are proficiently executed but, for all their visual authority, not much more than routine.
|
| 63 |
San Francisco Examiner
A mixed bag with the promise of a better sequel.
|
| 60 |
TV Guide
Stylish, exciting and an occasionally poignant sci-fi adventure spectacle.
|
| 60 |
Variety
Plays like a so-so middle chapter of an epic series rather than a fitting kickoff.
|
| 50 |
USA Today
Missing are well-choreographed action scenes, likable characters and involving plot twists.
|
| 50 |
Christian Science Monitor
The mood is awfully dark for an escapist fantasy, though, and the high-tech mayhem gets repetitious.
|
| 50 |
Film.com
A very odd cinematic creature.
|
| 50 |
Entertainment Weekly
When the film version isn't assaulting you with gizmos, it's an awkward, depersonalized piece of hackwork.
|
| 50 |
The New York Times
Clumsy when it should be light on its feet, the movie takes itself even more seriously than the comic book and its fans do, which is a superheroic achievement.
|
| 38 |
Chicago Tribune
Superhero comic book movie with a script so feeble it might have been written with crayons.
|
| 20 |
Dallas Observer
An ambitious, frustrating drag.
|
| 10 |
Washington Post
Isn't juvenile, it isn't even infantile. It's prenatal!
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