[aintnosin]

Just popped my "1.5" disc into the player tonight.

I rate this one slightly below the original Superman and above Spider-Man among comic book adaptations. I thought it did an excellent job of bring forward the personalities of its large cast.

Of all the lead mutants, I thought Halle Barry had the weakest character, having almost no development. She was just a special effect in a white wig.

Ian McKellan gives a sympathetic, understated (for a superhero movie villian) and literate performance. Patrick Stewart is every bit his equal, although the script never really gives Xavier the same depth as Magneto.

I wonder how many of these character deficiencies would have been corrected by a longer version of the film? I wish we could have gotten a real 1.5 version of the film. Hopefully they'll flesh out some of the characters in X2.

I was a little queasy at first at the thought of a big-budget comic book feature using the holocaust as a backdrop, fearing it would be exploitive, but the theme was handled tastefully and integrated well into the story of the film.

I also liked the way, intentional or not, that the letter X was subtle worked into the production design even away from Xavier's headquarters. There was the twisted gate at the concentration camp and criss-crossing beams in the hall way where Xavier and Magneto have their first meeting at the beginning of the film.