X-Men

Director Bryan Singer
RT score 82%
2000

Full disclosure, the next film going in reverse alphabetical order should have been You've Got Mail so let my just say this; I don't hate the movie, in fact I consider it a good compromise film for me and my wife. But it is over long and since I was watching alone while home with the baby I thought it was justified skipping what is an overlong film featuring characters that are so likable it's almost inhuman.
Now, in the wake of The Avengers, The Dark Knight trilogy and Sam Raimi's Spiderman movies it may be hard to believe there was a time when superhero movies were considered a bad bet at the box office. Prior to 2000 though you had Batman which fizzled out with Batman and Robin, Superman which fizzled out with Superman IV and then you had one and done films like The Phantom, The Shadow and Spawn.
Then along comes Bryan Singer with X-Men and all of a sudden super hero movies have become bankable franchises.
What I believe Singer brought to X-Men (and Nolan for that matter brought to Batman) was a willingness to establish and stay true to his characters. There is nobody here who is serving the role of comic relief, instead everyone serves a purpose. And with the characters in place Singer is able to tell his story efficiently without relying on special effects (which are great here) alone to engage his audience.
The film also boasts one of my all-time favorite villians in Magneto played with cool, calculated brilliance by Ian McKellen. While Christopher Nolan's Joker may be the most celebrated villain in movie history, Magneto deserves to shine as he plays devils advocate to Professor Xaviers pursuit of peace between mutants and humans. Sir Ian is able to simultaneously portray Magneto as uncompromisingly ruthless while creating sympathy through the moral ambiguity created in a world were humans are equally aggressive toward their mutant counterparts. Magneto is at his absolute best at the train station as his tremendous power is displayed while he maintains his intellectual cool in what I believe is the films best sequence.
Of course their are hero's and Wolverine leads the way in terms of being able to kick serious butt. The rest of the X-Men are suitable and I'll refrain from picking on Halle Berry here. Ultimately X-Mens true legacy may be providing the framework for giving movie audiences an origin story for a large number of characters the audience may previously did not know or were not ready for a re-imagined version. I believe Spiderman, Iron Man, Batman Begins and Avengers all have successfully followed the lead established by Singer's X-Men.  Introduce your characters, tell a good story and set up your audience to be blown away by the sequel.