7/17/00 2:20 p.m.
Dissent X
The X-Men movie is a success.

Robert A. George is an editorial page writer
for the New York Post------------------------------------RAGGEDmail@aol.com

onah Goldberg has no peer when it comes to being a full-fledged Marvel Comics aficionado. In fact, Jonah epitomizes what was affectionately known in comic-book land in the '80s as a Marvel Zombie. The phrase referred to fans so loyal to Marvel that not only would they dismiss DC Comics (home of Superman and Batman), but could recite chapter and verse of Marvel books going back decades.

Alas, Jonah's superb powers betray him when it comes to enjoying the X-Men movie. On NRO Weekend, Jonah gave a two-part review — one for people who know nothing about the comic books, and one for the purists. He gave a perfunctory, passing-grade review for the "normal" viewers, but stated that, as a long-time fan, he "had a hard time really getting into it." I fear my friend (and, gulp!!, NRO editor) is guilty of making the perfect the enemy of the good.

Director Bryan Singer's primary job was to take a comic-book series that has nearly a forty-year back story (or twenty-five, if you take the "New" X-Men as the starting point) and do the opposite of what Jonah did. In other words, Singer had to make a movie with a Legion of Super-Geeks waiting in the wings ready to tear it apart palatable to "normal" movie-goers who lack a mutant-watching gene. Singer pulled it off admirably.

As a comic-book fan fully aware of the generous X-back story (a regular reader for about thirteen years), I was impressed with Singer's accomplishment. Has he tampered with the canon? Yes, but do the changes create a compelling storyline? Generally speaking, the answer is yes. In the comic books, Wolverine's best "bud" (platonically) is the teenage Kitty Pryde (a.k.a. Sprite, a.k.a. Ariel, a.k.a. "Kitty Pryde"). In the movie, that role is filled by Rogue. I, personally, am not a big Rogue fan (not since she was introduced by stealing Ms. Marvel's super powers — see, Jonah, I can throw down with the best of them when it comes to comic trivia). However, she has become a prized member of the X-books and makes for a better movie character than Kitty — who is relegated to a cameo appearance.

Jonah had better prepare himself.

There are rumors afoot that Marvel might be changing some of the history within comic-book series to make it more salable to contemporary readers. DC did this several years ago with its characters (for decades, Superman's adoptive parents — the Kents — were dead; then the mythology was changed and now they are alive). X-Men the movie may merely be ahead of X-Men the comic book.

The ten-minute glimpse into Xavier's "School For Gifted Youngsters" (or "Mutant High", as one character calls it) is the key scene that makes X-Men the best movie adaptation of a comic-book series. The average viewer is going to say "how cute" as the students use super-speed or literally play with fire AND ice and display other "gifts." ("Hey, no powers," one student complains on the basketball court.) But the comic fan gets to have extra fun identifying Iceman, Jubilee, and other characters from the comic books. This is an added value that one rarely gets in the average movie-going experience.

Yes, there are some compromises and omissions (according to Entertainment Weekly, both the heroic Beast and the villainous Pyro had to be excised for budgetary concerns), but the characters the film includes probably result in the best blend of character, story, and racial/gender mix. It is unfortunate that Storm's background (her life in Africa and her phobia of enclosed spaces) wasn't explored more. As it is, she ended up coming across as the "black" character, rather than one of the more complex personalities in comics. But, allegedly, the main actors are all signed up for a couple of sequels, so there's hope for greater exploration of personal histories next time around. Besides, do we really need an excuse to see Halle Berry?

Bryan Singer struck just the right tone. Given that this is a story about super-beings living in a "real" world, there is always going to be a sense of the absurd. Even though Wolverine is part of the absurdity, he comes forward as the cynical "everyman" — ready to puncture hot air when he sees it: Frankly, that's a role he plays in the comic books. The humor doesn't appear forced or devolve into campiness as the more recent Batman movies have. Instead, it naturally emanates from the characters. Singer understands that if he played this movie too seriously, it would have collapsed into pretentiousness. Yes, it's a bit daring to open a superhero movie with a Schindler's List-like concentration-camp scene. And, yes, Wolverine fills later scenes with wisecracks. Yet it works as a whole. And if you want to, you can even spend some time examining the Martin Luther King-Malcolm X (hmm....) relationship between Xavier and Magneto, but that's just an added pleasure.

I performed a little test this weekend and got the views of three different people on X-Men. One is a friend who has read the series off and on over the last twenty years. He was aware of the back history, enjoyed the little changes in the plot and thought the movie was great. Another was a twentysomething guy who had never read the books; he enjoyed the movie just on its own merits. Finally, I visited a comic-book shop. The manager looked to be in his mid 30s. He said he was stunned that they didn't screw it ("the mythology") up. "They finally made a good movie out of a comic book," he said. He recommended the movie to other fans as they picked up their comics and other merchandise.

Bryan Singer, mission accomplished.