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Professor Charles Xavier (the world's most powerful telepath) takes gifted individuals and teaches them to control their powers for the good of mankind in Xavier's Academy for Gifted Youngsters, his school for gifted youngsters. Opposition to them includes United States Senator Robert Kelly (Bruce Davison), a McCarthyesque politician trying to pass legislation crafted to expose the dangers of mutants, and Erik Lehnsherr (also known as Magneto), a mutant who blames humanity for the death of his family during the Holocaust. Believing that humans and mutants can never co-exist peacefully, he builds and tests a machine that develops humans into mutants.

The movie was directed by Bryan Singer and explores the ideas of prejudice and discrimination in the United States. The screenplay was written by David Hayter (who has a cameo appearance in the film as a police officer in the Statue of Liberty area). A sequel, X2: X-Men United, was released in 2003 and a third film, X-Men: The Last Stand, was released in 2006. The film franchise also brought up interest in a solo Wolverine movie and a Magneto-centered film.