Throwback Thursday: Does the original X-Men movie hold up?

Does X-Men still hold up?

At the end of the day, the first X-Men is still good.

Like every movie (except for V for Vendetta) it had its flaws. Some of the characters didn’t get the unforgettable moment they could (or should) have. Some actors like Famke Janssen as Jean Grey don’t get the celebratory recognition they deserve. There’s also Sabretooth who had a good line (“Scream for me”), but was kind of forgettable.

Nonetheless, it’s still good. Not only that, it shows how much staying close to the characters can make fans of the comics happy without sacrificing the project.

X-Men was crucial to the Marvel Comics movies going forward. It was the movie that continued what Blade started. If this hadn’t done well, Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man may not have followed. Moreover, it began Hugh Jackman’s road to becoming a household name.

Is this one of the best comic book movies of all time? Of course not. We’ve had a lot of advancements in writing and technology since this movie came out 19 years ago. What we can say is that X-Men will go down as one of the game-changing classics right alongside the likes of Iron Man, Batman (1989), and Christopher Reeve’s Superman.

Do you think X-Men still holds up today? What did you enjoy most about it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!