It may be the best-selling comic book in history, but Bryan Singer's X-Men struggles to find its place in the comic book cum movie pantheon. Neither a really good movie nor a really bad one, this is one of many action-thrillers that exists in the nether world of awkward films desperately in search of what they should be. Ironically, where most flicks of this ilk falter -- in the character relationships -- X-Men thrives. Where it falls apart is in the arena it should be most confident -- the action-packed comic book universe.

Producers in Hollywood have been trying to develop this material for years and literally scores of writers have worked on it. (Lucky scribe David Hayter somehow miraculously gets all the credit.) The version that made it to the screen is based on a self-contained X-Men graphic novel and stays pretty true to the original story line. In that world, people are divided up into average humans and mutants, freaks of nature whose genetic code bestows upon them incredible and often threatening powers. Many humans are terrified of this new step on the evolutionary ladder and some, like Senator Robert Kelly (Bruce Davison), want the mutants rounded up and eventually destroyed.

The parallels to McCarthyism and even Nazism are quite intentional here and they give the film an immediately graspable dark side. It's unfortunate that the idea is abandoned as the story progresses because it could have opened the film up, offering a larger scale and a greater sense of jeopardy for everyone concerned. Here, though, the real focus is on two specific mutants, Dr. Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Erik Lehnsherr aka Magneto (Ian McKellan), men not content to sit around and wait for the concentration camps to be built.

At his school for gifted students, Dr. Xavier trains young mutants to use their skills responsibly, hoping that they will show the world there is nothing to fear. Magneto is less patient and his villainy shows itself in horrific form. In his mind, it's the mutants who will inherit the earth. Each man has gathered adult mutants of exceptional abilities to help in his struggle. Magneto's nasty cohorts include comely shapeshifter Mystique (Rebecca Romjin-Stamos), feline goliath Sabertooth (Tyler Mane) and wickedly-tongued Toad (Ray Park.) Dr. X's team is a bit more eclectic, including telepathic Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), Cyclops (James Marsden), whose eyes can blow up mountains (Holy explosions, X-Men!), and Storm (Halle Berry) who… now come on, that's a give away.

Joining the freedom-fighting X-Men early on are wandering mutants Logan aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), whose fast-healing body is reinforced by a metallic endoskeleton with retractable claws, and teenaged Rogue (Anna Paquin), who can kill with a touch. Having existed without guidance, their painful mutant experiences have alienated them to an extreme and it's this shared pain and mistrust that bind them together. Their emotional journey is also what gives the film its most moving and cohesive moments. Indeed, the filmmakers might have done better to focus on these two characters alone.

That of course brings us to the film's problems of which there are many. Unlike Superman or Batman, there's no one hero to focus on here. The result is obvious, with too many characters competing for screen time and the most intriguing stories, like Wolverine's especially, being juggled and never fulfilled. Then, of course, there's the inherent groan factor that often comes with comic book adaptations. Clearly hoping to woo the broadest audience possible, writer Hayter often lets his exposition get away from him, spending a lot of time explaining who everyone is and very little time either making things happen or exploring the more complex issues. If anything, X-Men suffers from a surprising level of inactivity, both intellectual and action, as a film.

The standout element here is the character of Wolverine and the actor who plays him, Australian newcomer Hugh Jackman. Not only did writer Hayter "get" what Wolverine was all about, but Jackman clearly did too. He is so perfectly cast that he lights up the screen whenever he's on it. That, and the fact that he's the only sarcastic one in this group of happy freedom fighters, getting away with quips like "Do you actually go outside in these things?" when he sees the X-Men's costumes. Wolverine is not only a complicated character, he's the guy you'll want to party with after the world is saved.

Had the entire film had Wolverine's combination of pain, sensuality and irreverence, it would have been a much better movie. As it is, director Bryan Singer doesn't seem to have decided what story he wanted to tell and has thus crafted a handsome looking but ultimately empty-feeling film. Afraid to send a clear message about prejudice and uniqueness, something the original comic book embraced wholeheartedly, X-Men limps where it should strut.