An exciting fantasy film based on the popular Marvel comic books and its subsequent cartoon spin off. Aficionados may cast a critical eye over this big budget adaptation but for the most part it is loud, zany, kick ass fun. The movie is set in the not-too-distant future in which a race of highly evolved mutants have become the centre of public scrutiny. There are those mutants who want mankind destroyed, and those who want to see mutants and humans living in harmony.

First of all, we have the bad mutants. These are led by Magneto (McKellen), a telekinetic scholar, who plans to use his powers to catastrophic effect at an upcoming summit being held in New York. His team consists of Toad (half-man, half-reptile, played by Darth Maul himself, Ray Park), Sabretooth (a sort of hulking oath with a dodgy beard) and the sensual Mystique, whose sultry blue body can morph into just about anything. Now meet the resistance. They are fronted by wheelchair-bound psychic Professor X (Stewart), who runs the Xavier School for Mutants which also doubles as a military hanger for mutant warfare. His heroic team consist of the following: Storm, a white-haired super-vixen with climate control powers; Cyclops, whose eyes fire lethal red lasers; and Dr. Jane Grey, the school’s sexy physician whose attributes include mind control, among other things.

Then there is Wolverine (Jackman) who forms the main focus of the film. He’s a stoic, hot headed sort sporting large sideburns and deadly steel sabres which extend from his knuckles. He is the first to motivate his Xavier school chums in helping to rescue the wandering mutant Rogue, an extremely powerful young girl with healing capabilities who is kidnapped by Magneto to use as a ploy in his dastardly plans. With so much going on you might think the film would overexert itself and cause an injury. But on the contrary. It is an exciting explosion of computer-enhanced action which never lets up, and from here a franchise is born.