If Mission: Impossible II hadn't prevented Dougray Scott from playing Wolverine, the then-unknown-outside-of-Australia Hugh Jackman would've never be cast instead...which would've been a crying shame, as his portrayal of the character is truly iconic (I can't imagine anyone else having played the role, and whoever they recast the part with in the future will have BIG shoes to fill/a lot to live up to). From the moment he's introduced, Jackman's Logan makes a HUGE impact. We see how dangerous he is (I still remember being impressed with the close-up of Logan's middle claw slowly coming out. The practical effect for that *one* shot was much-appreciated), but he also exudes charm and the film isn't afraid to show he's kind of a jerk, as evidenced by the way he treats his young stowaway, Rogue.
I thought the whole Wolverine/Rouge relationship (he starts out not caring about her, but they gradually form a bond, and he eventually becomes a protective 'older brother'/'father'-type figure towards her) was well-done...even if it was totally different to the comics. For all the crap Anna Paquin gets for her Rogue, she and Hugh Jackman made their dynamic *work* onscreen. As a fan of Rogue from the comics/animated series, I probably *should've* been ticked off at how the movie changed her character, but just like how Jackman's Wolverine doesn't exactly resemble his comic-book counterpart, this Rogue is simply 'different', and I certainly don't hold Paquin responsible. She did the best she could with what she was given (even if she faded in and out of her 'Southern' accent half the time). I can separate the film version from the comics/animated series version (though I'd still like to see a comics-accurate live-action version someday).
I liked how she casually said "I'm Rogue." when she introduced herself to Logan and they commented on each other's names they'd given themselves (I was surprised to hear her REAL name in the film's beginning, as I'd never known it beforehand). This, combined with Logan later snorting at the names 'Sabretooth', 'Storm' and 'Cyclops', helped acknowledge the bizarreness of the characters' names without disrespecting them since Logan *himself* has one/calls the others by theirs (it also gave us the amusing "What do they call you? Wheels?" line). It was the same deal with the uniforms and Cyclops referencing yellow spandex (really, HOW would they have achieved that look *without* it appearing ridiculous? Their film costumes may be mostly black, but also have hints of colour/their comic-book costumes).
Unlike some, I had no problem with Famke Janssen as Jean Grey or James Marsden as Scott Summers/Cyclops. I always found Jean fairly 'nondescript' in the comics/animated series (like, every other character's appearance stood out, but the only thing I ever remembered about Jean was her red hair), so I thought Janssen looked 'right' for this part. Marsden (SO unlucky in films) had the whole 'boy scout' thing working for his Cyclops and I thought his antagonistic relationship with Logan proved quite fun. Obviously Marsden got screwed character development/screentime-wise, but the problem was never him as an actor.
Neither did I have any issues with Halle Berry's Storm, her accent or wig (it mightn't be the MOST-convincing, but she makes it work for her). I also didn't fixate on her "Do you know what happens to a toad" line. I think people were mostly just confused about what the *point* of it was. I read somewhere that Joss Whedon intended the line to be delivered a completely different way to how Berry did it. She said it all serious-like, whereas it was supposed to be said in a casual/dismissive kind of way (a clear case of those who used Whedon's dialogue not GETTING it at all). Whenever anyone cites that line as 'proof' of Whedon being 'bad' at dialogue, they forget he was also responsible for that one particular exchange between Wolverine/Cyclops which everyone seemed to LOVE.
It goes without saying that Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen were perfectly cast as Professor X and Magneto, bringing real weight/gravitas to their roles and the movie as a whole, ensuring that people didn't just dismiss 'a movie about mutants' as something silly. The film's opening quickly established the 'tone'; that it wasn't going to be like other cartoonish comic-book films (looking at YOU, Batman & Robin!) and they were going to 'ground' this universe despite its fantastical elements. Speaking of, I liked how they handled the squishy Senator Kelly effects. Him slowly pushing through the bars was well-done, and his blobbiness later on showed just how crazy things could get. Meanwhile, Mystique's scaly all-blue look and the effect of her shape-changing were great/felt 'otherworldly'. Rebecca Romijn deserves more credit, as she made a HUGE impact in her limited screentime (it's just a shame she was only given a single line of dialogue).
I haven't many quibbles other than the Brotherhood of Mutants felt underdeveloped (outside of Magneto). I also didn't like Toad spewing green goo onto Jean's face. It would've been slightly less vomit-like if he'd just produced it in his hand instead of basically throwing up on her. There's only really one effect that stands out to me now as 'dated' and that's after Sabretooth tosses Wolverine off the Statue of Liberty/he swings around it, as you can tell when it's the CGI version of him. Back to the 'positives': the movie moves along at a brisk pace, I really appreciated them explaining how Rogue got her signature white streak of hair and I LOVED the use of a 'theme tune' at the end of the film which acknowledged the animated series' theme without just being a carbon copy of it. It's subtle, but there are definitely aspects of it incorporated into the music. This remains one of my favourite comic-book movies ever, and I feel it doesn't get the appreciation it deserves for showing that comic book movies didn't *have* to be dark/gothic (Burton's Batman films) nor cartoonish (B&R), and that there was a happy 'middle ground'.
I thought the whole Wolverine/Rouge relationship (he starts out not caring about her, but they gradually form a bond, and he eventually becomes a protective 'older brother'/'father'-type figure towards her) was well-done...even if it was totally different to the comics. For all the crap Anna Paquin gets for her Rogue, she and Hugh Jackman made their dynamic *work* onscreen. As a fan of Rogue from the comics/animated series, I probably *should've* been ticked off at how the movie changed her character, but just like how Jackman's Wolverine doesn't exactly resemble his comic-book counterpart, this Rogue is simply 'different', and I certainly don't hold Paquin responsible. She did the best she could with what she was given (even if she faded in and out of her 'Southern' accent half the time). I can separate the film version from the comics/animated series version (though I'd still like to see a comics-accurate live-action version someday).
I liked how she casually said "I'm Rogue." when she introduced herself to Logan and they commented on each other's names they'd given themselves (I was surprised to hear her REAL name in the film's beginning, as I'd never known it beforehand). This, combined with Logan later snorting at the names 'Sabretooth', 'Storm' and 'Cyclops', helped acknowledge the bizarreness of the characters' names without disrespecting them since Logan *himself* has one/calls the others by theirs (it also gave us the amusing "What do they call you? Wheels?" line). It was the same deal with the uniforms and Cyclops referencing yellow spandex (really, HOW would they have achieved that look *without* it appearing ridiculous? Their film costumes may be mostly black, but also have hints of colour/their comic-book costumes).
Unlike some, I had no problem with Famke Janssen as Jean Grey or James Marsden as Scott Summers/Cyclops. I always found Jean fairly 'nondescript' in the comics/animated series (like, every other character's appearance stood out, but the only thing I ever remembered about Jean was her red hair), so I thought Janssen looked 'right' for this part. Marsden (SO unlucky in films) had the whole 'boy scout' thing working for his Cyclops and I thought his antagonistic relationship with Logan proved quite fun. Obviously Marsden got screwed character development/screentime-wise, but the problem was never him as an actor.
Neither did I have any issues with Halle Berry's Storm, her accent or wig (it mightn't be the MOST-convincing, but she makes it work for her). I also didn't fixate on her "Do you know what happens to a toad" line. I think people were mostly just confused about what the *point* of it was. I read somewhere that Joss Whedon intended the line to be delivered a completely different way to how Berry did it. She said it all serious-like, whereas it was supposed to be said in a casual/dismissive kind of way (a clear case of those who used Whedon's dialogue not GETTING it at all). Whenever anyone cites that line as 'proof' of Whedon being 'bad' at dialogue, they forget he was also responsible for that one particular exchange between Wolverine/Cyclops which everyone seemed to LOVE.
It goes without saying that Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen were perfectly cast as Professor X and Magneto, bringing real weight/gravitas to their roles and the movie as a whole, ensuring that people didn't just dismiss 'a movie about mutants' as something silly. The film's opening quickly established the 'tone'; that it wasn't going to be like other cartoonish comic-book films (looking at YOU, Batman & Robin!) and they were going to 'ground' this universe despite its fantastical elements. Speaking of, I liked how they handled the squishy Senator Kelly effects. Him slowly pushing through the bars was well-done, and his blobbiness later on showed just how crazy things could get. Meanwhile, Mystique's scaly all-blue look and the effect of her shape-changing were great/felt 'otherworldly'. Rebecca Romijn deserves more credit, as she made a HUGE impact in her limited screentime (it's just a shame she was only given a single line of dialogue).
I haven't many quibbles other than the Brotherhood of Mutants felt underdeveloped (outside of Magneto). I also didn't like Toad spewing green goo onto Jean's face. It would've been slightly less vomit-like if he'd just produced it in his hand instead of basically throwing up on her. There's only really one effect that stands out to me now as 'dated' and that's after Sabretooth tosses Wolverine off the Statue of Liberty/he swings around it, as you can tell when it's the CGI version of him. Back to the 'positives': the movie moves along at a brisk pace, I really appreciated them explaining how Rogue got her signature white streak of hair and I LOVED the use of a 'theme tune' at the end of the film which acknowledged the animated series' theme without just being a carbon copy of it. It's subtle, but there are definitely aspects of it incorporated into the music. This remains one of my favourite comic-book movies ever, and I feel it doesn't get the appreciation it deserves for showing that comic book movies didn't *have* to be dark/gothic (Burton's Batman films) nor cartoonish (B&R), and that there was a happy 'middle ground'.