Grade: B-

Verdict: A respectful adaptation of the comic book series.

Details: Starring Hugh Jackman, Anna Paquin, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence. 1 hour, 44 minutes.

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Review: It's not a bird; it's not a plane. It's a guy with bushy hair, a bad attitude and metal claws that spring like stilettos from his knuckles.

That's Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), one of the team of super-powered mutants known as "X-Men," who protect the very humans who despise them. Even if you've never read the top-selling Marvel comic books, you can have some fun watching this darkly glamorous film version, directed by Bryan Singer ("The Usual Suspects").

Laced with melancholy and peppered with lively action sequences and computer-
generated effects, "X-Men" doesn't quite achieve the pulp grandeur of, say, the first "Batman" movie. But, luckily, it doesn't try to blend superheroes with witless camp, the way the franchise-killing "Batman and Robin" did.

A loner down to his (metal-enhanced) bones, Wolverine, aka Logan, grudgingly befriends runaway teenager Rogue (Anna Paquin), a fellow mutant frightened of her own powers. Both man and girl are trying to understand who they are, what force has made them different. You could call this an X-istential action flick.

The main plot kicks in when they wind up as guests of Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), a telepath who runs a university and shelter for other mutants. (There's a whiff of "Harry Potter" in a scene of young students flirting with each other, using their powers.)

Xavier's adult team includes Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), a telekinetic; Storm (Halle Berry), who can control the weather; and Cyclops (James Marsden), whose eyes blast energy beams.

They're soon locked in battle with some bad mutants, led by Xavier's longtime friend Magneto (Ian McKellen), who controls electrical fields and metal. (Translation: He can gesture with one arm and flip a car into the air.) His evil army includes the hulking Sabretooth (Tyler Mane), long-tongued Toad (Ray Park, aka "Darth Maul") and

Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos), a scaly blue shape-shifter who can take anyone else's form. Magneto's master plan: To conquer humankind before a reactionary congressman (Bruce Davison) can pass laws restricting mutants' rights.

Yes, David Hayter's screenplay works on a none too subtle metaphoric level, comparing the feared mutants to other outsiders, such as the imprisoned Jews of World War II and the immigrants who came as huddled masses to New York. It's no accident that the film's climax occurs at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The movie's anti-prejudice theme lends extra resonance to the kabooms and special effects. It also helps explain the X-Men's longtime popularity: The comic's core fans, teenagers, often feel like oppressed, excluded mutants themselves.

After a slow and mournful first third, the movie kicks into more predictable gear with action scenes and effects that range from eye-popping to merely OK. The rivalry between Wolverine and Cyclops lends some extra energy, and the script demonstrates a sense of humor at timely places.

"Do you actually go outside in these things?" Wolverine asks, glancing at the team's black vinyl costumes.

"Well, what would you prefer?" Cyclops retorts. "Yellow spandex?" Fans of the comics will recognize the in-joke.

Hard-core X-philes may complain that the movie focuses too much on Wolverine and Rogue, reducing the others to supporting parts. That's true; Berry and Marsden in particular are underused. But a movie needs a focused story line or it gets too diffuse.

The film's finale feels a little rushed, as if trims were made to lower the overall running time. The canny, comic-book angles and contrasts that Singer uses in the first hour give way to more conventional camerawork. And if the script has a real miscalculation, it's the overuse of shape-shifting Mystique; she becomes a too-easy plot device, like those prosthetic masks in "Mission: Impossible 2."

Among the cast members, the glowering, little-known Jackman is the one most likely to go from no-name status to marquee hunk. He's well-backed by the touching Paquin and those Shakespearean-trained antagonists Stewart and McKellen.

"X-Men" never comes close to classic status. The best movie to work this superhero turf lately was the shamelessly entertaining "The Matrix." But Singer and his collaborators treat the comic's mythology with seriousness and respect (unlike other recent, slapdash comic adaptations "Spawn" and "Blade"). It's an engaging popcorn movie in a summer that's littered with duds.

— Steve Murray, Cox News Service