X-Men is a paradoxical big budget sci-fi film as its best moments are not the large visual spectacular but the instead it's the film's smaller character moments. After all, it's hard to get excited by the giant electromagnetic wave set off by Magneto which changes people into mutants because, well, mostly because it doesn't make any sense (that and the effect is only so-so on its own). The scenes where Wolverine shows his paternal-like care for Rogue however read extremely well.
Of course, this is mostly because Hugh Jackman plays Wolverine as a rich, deep character. They could've cast someone who fought better (although Jackman does a good job with the brawling) but I doubt they could've cast anyone who could've embodied the animalistic-human diachotomy that Wolverine embodies. Of course Jackman, isn't the only good actor in the film. Shakespearean actors Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen devour every scene they're in (the only real disappointment is Halle Berry who's Storm feels flat and lifeless... with a horrible wig to boot).
X-Men is full of small moments, good decisions by the actors. Look at the disdainful way Magneto says out "land of tolerance, land of hope." Or when Rogue and Wolverine are talking in his camper, she says, "something happens when people touch my skin... they get hurt." Jackman responds with a small nod and an eyebrow raised as he says "fair enough." It's a small triumph, I admit but it is symptamatic of the caliber of Jackman's acting.
The film doesn't just have good acting, the fight scenes are top notch. Ray Park actually makes the Toad cool, something Marvel's been trying to do for more than than three decades with little success. Instead of being a grovling lickboot, he is spry and dangerous. As I said earlier, Jackman does a good job as Wolverine engaging in a bit of fisticuffs. Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, who I doubt was hired for her acting skills, did a good of making Mystique a formidable opponent. I must give props to the fight cheorographer for his good job of coming up with different fighting styles for each character based on each person's power and personality.
I must admit I was a little disappointed by Tyler Mane's Sabertooth. Not for anything he did really, more of the direction the filmmakers chose to go with the character. I prefer him to be a mix between a rapid bear and Hannibal Lecter. He is savage but he is also intelligent, and it is his intelligence which makes his savagery all the more terrifying. Instead they just emphasized his beast-like nature, making him a dumb brute. He is scary and intimidating but not nearly as mcuh as his comic book counterpart who would not only kill his victims but destroy their lives in front of them (i.e. kill friends and family, destory homes, et cetera).
All in all, this is one of the better comic book films. I still remember how long I'd been looking forward to it (there had been talk of this movie in form or another pretty much the entire time I'd been reading comics) and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. Even if the film has some problems (and it does) it's still a great movie on its own and even better the more X-Men lore you know.
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