Featuring an ensemble cast consisting of Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Bruce Davison, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Ray Park, and Anna Paquin, the film depicts a world where an unknown proportion of people are mutants, possessing superhuman powers that make them distrusted by normal humans.

In Meridian, Mississippi, seventeen-year-old Marie accidentally puts her boyfriend into a coma after kissing him, because of her mutant ability to absorb the power and life force of others.

Adopting the name "Rogue", she flees to Alberta and meets Logan, also known as "Wolverine", a mutant with superhuman healing abilities and metal claws that protrude from between his knuckles.

Magneto uses Kelly as a test subject for a machine powered by his magnetic abilities that generates a field of radiation, which induces mutations in normal humans.

Although Xavier attempts to stop him by mentally controlling Sabretooth, he is forced to release his hold when Magneto threatens the police who have converged on the station, allowing the Brotherhood to escape with Rogue.

Xavier gives Logan a lead to his past at an abandoned military installation in Canada before visiting Magneto, now imprisoned in a complex constructed of polycarbonate.

Additionally, Shawn Ashmore portrays Bobby Drake / Iceman, a mutant student at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters who takes a liking to Rogue.

[3] Other minor roles include Sumela Kay as Kitty Pryde, Katrina Florece as Jubilee, Donald MacKinnon as Piotr Rasputin / Colossus,[4][5] and Alexander Burton as John Allerdyce / Pyro.

[8] Throughout 1989 and 1990, Stan Lee and Chris Claremont were in discussions with Carolco Pictures for an X-Men film adaptation,[9] with James Cameron as producer and Kathryn Bigelow directing.

20th Century Fox was impressed by the success of the television series, and producer Lauren Shuler Donner purchased the film rights for the property in 1994,[9][12] bringing Andrew Kevin Walker to write the script.

[13] Walker's draft involved Professor Xavier recruiting Wolverine into the X-Men, which consisted of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast, and Warren Worthington III.

The Brotherhood of Mutants, which consisted of Magneto, Sabretooth, Toad, Juggernaut and the Blob, try to conquer New York City, while Henry Peter Gyrich and Bolivar Trask attack the X-Men with three 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) Sentinels.

[20] Following the release of The Usual Suspects (1995), Bryan Singer was looking to do a science fiction film and Fox offered him Alien Resurrection (1997), but producer Tom DeSanto felt he would be more appropriate for X-Men.

[4] In 1998, Claremont returned to Marvel and, seeing how Fox was still struggling with the script, sent them a four-page-long memo where he explained the core concepts and what differentiated the X-Men from other superheroes.

[25] In late 1998, Singer and DeSanto sent a treatment to Fox, which they believed was "perfect" because it took "seriously" the themes and the intent of the Xavier and Magneto comparisons to Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, unlike the other scripts.

[12][27] Fox head Bill Mechanic argued that this would enhance the story,[12] and Singer concurred that removing the Danger Room allowed him to focus on other scenes he preferred.

[31] According to Entertainment Weekly, this screenplay was rejected because of its "quick-witted pop culture-referencing tone",[32] and the finished film contained only two dialogue exchanges that Whedon had contributed.

[33] Actor and producer David Hayter, who at the time was working as Singer's assistant, was brought in for rewrites due to his extensive knowledge of the original comics.

[34] Hayter took great pride in retaining much of the core elements from the source material, such as Wolverine's Canadian background, as the studio wanted to make him American.

[34] Glenn Danzig was invited by Fox to audition for the role of Wolverine in 1995, as his height and build closely resemble that of the film's protagonist, as described in the original comic books.

[37] With Singer taking over as director, Russell Crowe was the first choice to play Wolverine, but he turned it down,[3] instead recommending his friend, actor Hugh Jackman, for the part.

[41] Dougray Scott was cast as Wolverine in a multi-film deal but was forced to back out due to scheduling conflicts with Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) in early October 1999 and sustaining injuries in a motorbike accident.

[45] Patrick Stewart was first approached by Singer to play Xavier on the set of Conspiracy Theory (1997), which was directed by X-Men executive producer Richard Donner.

Singer noted that durable black leather made more sense for the X-Men to wear as protective clothing,[3] and Shuler Donner added that the costumes helped them "blend into the night".

[69] Digital Domain's technical director Sean C. Cunningham and lead compositor Claas Henke morphed Bruce Davison into a liquid figure for Kelly's mutation scene.

[72] However, once Fox pushed X-Men from December to July, Ottman's commitment to direct Urban Legends: Final Cut made him unable to work with Singer.

[80] X-Men was originally released on VHS and DVD on November 21, 2000 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, to take advantage of Thanksgiving in the United States.

The site's critical consensus reads: "Faithful to the comics and filled with action, X-Men brings a crowded slate of classic Marvel characters to the screen with a talented ensemble cast and surprisingly sharp narrative focus.

"[104] ReelReviews.net's James Berardinelli, an X-Men comic book fan, believed, "the film is effectively paced with a good balance of exposition, character development, and special effects-enhanced action.

"[106] Desson Thomson of The Washington Post commented, "[T]he movie's enjoyable on the surface, but I suspect many people, even die-hards, will be less enthusiastic about what lies, or doesn't, underneath".