X-Men: First Class Movie Review

As I stated earlier, I always felt the X-Men franchise should have had a fourth film so the X-Men could go out with a much more epic BANG rather than what we saw in the choppy, somewhat dry third installment of the series, X-Men: The Last Stand, where we saw a lot of our favorite characters get tossed aside like bags of garbage and embraced ourselves in a somewhat underwhelming final battle between mutant kind. For what was originally planned as the final installment of the series, it didn't really do all that much and didn't seem all that epic. Sure there were parts that I thought were fantastic and a few scenes where I let out a chuckle or two, but it really didn't leave all that big of an impact on me, and it could have been done a lot better. I could only imagine how much better the film would have been if Bryan Singer had worked on it, and left someone else to work on Superman Returns. How awesome would it have been to see Sigourney Weaver play Emma Frost and for Sabretooth and Toad to come back as supporting villains! But X-Men Origins: Wolverine, critically ranted upon by many critics and considered to be worse than The Last Stand is a film that, in my humble opinion, makes up for The Last Stand's losses and was much more appealing from my perspective. Sure there were a few scenes that the film could have done without and I am aware many people weren't happy with what they did with the Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool, but as a film solely focusing on the back story of Wolverine, the character we know and love from the comics, the video games, the 90s TV show and the last three movies, played outstandingly by Hugh Jackman, it really hit the nail on the head, and greatly glorified the character for all he was worth. They didn't turn Wolverine into some whiny, disobedient twit, no, they turned him into a gallant, merciless man of mayhem, a vicious beast that didn't take crap with anybody even his allies, which was exactly how Wolverine was in the comics and the 90s TV show which I hold most dear. I enjoyed the film even though some people put it down greatly, but like the Star Wars prequels, I often find several interesting, exciting things to enjoy about this film. The action scenes were fantastic, especially the fight scenes between Wolverine and Sabretooth. The fight between Wolverine and Gambit was also mind blowing and Taylor Kitsch did an amazing job portraying Gambit in a more realistic, motion picture appropriate manner. Overall, X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a good movie, despite some very few flaws, and did a wonderful job of further tying the X-Men films together, providing some information on why some things were the way they were in the mainstream X-Men trilogy.



But we're not here to talk about those films, we're here to talk about X-Men: First Class, the latest installment in the X-Men film franchise directed by the kick ass director of Kick-Ass and Layer Cake, Matthew Vaughn.  Believe it or not, Vaughn was originally signed on to direct X-Men: The Last Stand back in 2005, but backed out at the last minute because of family problems. But Vaughn is hands down one of the best directors when it comes to superhero films, and like Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class delivers a lot of that edge of your seat action and excitement mixed in with some comical humor and suspense, which makes movies extremely worth wild. I loved this film, loved what it had going towards it, and even though it's not the best superhero film ever made as some critics put it, it's still a wickedly good flick, and if you are looking for an action film that will have you entertained until the very end, this is the film you might wanna consider checking out. I have to admit, before I saw this film, I was a bit apprehensive, for I was afraid it would bomb just like The Last Stand did, not delivering that hard-core X-Men story I have been waiting for. Not to mention that this film sparked havoc in the fan community, hard-core purists of the comic books upset about the direction this film was going in, for it was altering the original groundwork we were all familiar with and giving us an entire new back story with new characters and a new plot. This is similar with what they did in Pitof's 2004 box office failure, Catwoman, giving us an entire new story straying far from the original comics and having nothing to do with the caped crusader, Batman. But unlike Catwoman, X-Men: First Class has a brilliantly written story, beautiful acting by the actors and their respective characters, and a charm not even The Dark Knight can match up to. Say what you want about this film laying to waste previously established continuity in the last 2 films and having special effects that look as realistic as the effects on the original Star Trek, but this is certainly one of the best superhero films I have seen in recent years, and the best X-Men movie by far. Don't get me wrong, X-Men and X2 were both magnificent films in their own right, but this film really shows what X-Men films are capable of, displaying a unique, well written story and characters that all movie goers will go crazy over.

As I said earlier, the original groundwork in which this film was based off of has been transfigured substantially. Jack Kirby's original team, which debuted in the very first issue of X-Men from 1963, is entirely absent from this film, and now, after watching the film, I can really understand why. Taking place in the early 1960s, this film focuses on the relationship between Charles Xavier and Eric Lensherr, who, as we all know, would part different ways and become Professor X and Magneto, for they both shared different beliefs on how mutants should live within society. Xavier believes that mutants and humans should live together in peace and harmony while Lensherr believes a war will break out between mutants and humans and he intends to gather followers and fight when that time comes. This film focuses on those particular elements, many years before Charles Xavier becomes the wise old man in a wheelchair, which in the comics was responsible for training the X-Men we all know and love such as Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Colossus. And James McEvoy and Michael Fassbender played these characters so well. Both of them did a fantastic job playing the dynamic duo that would become enemies, and I personally can't look at McEvoy and Fassbender and not see a young Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. I loved what they brought to the characters, Fassbender portraying Eric as a wisecracking James Bond like character and McEvoy portraying Charles as a optimistic, observative young man trying to help other mutants control their powers as well as his own. And I thought it was quite hilarious when Hank Mccoy asked Charles if they should cut his hair in order for him to use the Cerebro device, Charles telling them not to touch his hair, somewhat foreshadowing his future as the bald guy we all know from the previous X-Men films. The other actors do a magnificent job as their respective mutants as well. Kevin Bacon was extraordinarily menacing as the Hellfire Club leader, Sebastian Shaw, named after the actual actor, who portrayed the dying Anakin Skywalker in Return of the Jedi. Like most villains we have seen in films, he tries to be as manipulative, cunning, and resourceful as possible, offering the X-Men to join him or fall under his wrath. It's quite interesting how crude they made Shaw in this movie, showing that he will do anything to make sure his evil deeds go according to plan. I thought his relationship with Eric Lensherr was also quite fascinating, Shaw ruining Lensherr's life  and helping the audience further understand Eric's pain and animosity towards Shaw. This is the common hero villain relationship we have seen on film in recent years, but it is pulled off perfectly in First Class, for we can relate to the characters and understand why they go in the direction they go in, in this case, why Eric Lensherr becomes Magneto.

And the awesome cast doesn't end there. Jennifer Lawrence was sassy and seductive as Raven Darkholme/Mystique, who in this movie is portrayed as Charles Xavier's stepsister. She was a character who was humiliated by her true form, a scaly skinned blue mutant, and was willing to do anything to make sure her true form was hidden from the public, even from other mutants who were scared to show their true forms as well. Nicholas Hoult was incredible as young Hank Mccoy, who also was humiliated to show off his external appearance, motivating him to search for a cure to control his outer look, but still keep his uncanny abilities. Of course, we all know what happens to Hank in the process, he tests a serum on himself which in turn transforms him into a blue hairball with claws and sharp teeth. It's a prominent trademark of the classic character and something that was never touched upon in previous X-Men films, Kelsey Grammer's Beast was in his hairy blue form at the very start of The Last Stand with no real explanation on how he got that way in the first place. Nevertheless, Hoult did an awesome job as portraying young Hank in this movie, showing the character's naivety and curiosity towards mutation and physics, which was exactly how the character was in the comics. I also liked the characters of Banshee, Angel Salvadore, Moira McTaggert and Havok in this film, even though Havok, alias Alex Summers is not portrayed as Scott Summers aka Cyclops' brother as he was in the comics. I think this film did a splendid job of showing all the characters to their full potential, showing what they are able to do and what they want to prove with themselves, something the previous installments in the X-Men film saga were greatly lacking. I thought it was interesting to see Xavier train each and every member of the group, teaching them to control their abilities and use them for the benefit of mankind, which eventually allows them to stop Shaw's plans for the next World War to break out. In the last few X-Men films, we only got to see a brief glimpse of the characters and their capabilities, but in this film, we finally get to see the characters to their fullest, showing that there is more to a character than just a brief cameo and glitch of their unnatural abilities. They have a back story, a past and explanation as to how exactly they discovered their powers, how they discovered they were a mutant, and this film nails it when it comes to those elements, allowing us to see the characters exactly how they were originally envisioned in the comics and animated series.

The plot of this film is also something to write a book about, and the timeline and locations of this film perfectly fit in with this plot, showing the vital global events and occurrences that were going on around the time. Taking place in 1962, this film shows the catastrophic effects of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the impact it had on all American people, which motivated the X-Men to take action and prevent the missiles from getting to Cuba and causing massive mayhem on American soil. As a matter of fact, the entire film feels like one of those flashy, vibrant, swinger movies from the 1960s, films like the James Bond series and Planet of the Apes to name a few.And I personally love to compare the characters of Charles Xavier and Eric Lensherr to people of real life history, individuals who were most prominent during the 60s. Charles Xavier is like Martin Luther King Jr., trying to get humans and mutants to cooperate together in a non violent manner like King tried to get the white man and the black man to cooperate together in a non violent manner. Eric Lensherr is like Malcolm X, believing mutants are more superior to humans and that mutants should fight against humans in order to gain their independence, just like X believed the black man was greater than the white man and that they should fight against the white man to gain their independence. The story of First Class parallels this flawlessly, and shows how Xavier and Lensherr's relationship really went downhill, turning from best friends into enemies. The plot of the film was well written, and put us at the edge of our seats, wanting more action and wonder, which the film, inevitably delivered one piece at a time. It was like Spider-Man 2, it's fast paced and has a lot going towards it, making us wonder exactly what will happen next and who will be the next to go, for no story is complete without some sort of dramatic death scene. And seeing Eric put on the Magneto helmet for the first time really makes your heart pound, for you know what monstrous villain he will become, and the struggles that lie ahead because of the mayhem he causes. It's always something to see a good guy turn to the dark side and become the merciless villain we all know and love from previous installments of a franchise. Whether it's Darth Vader, or Hannibal Lecter, or even the Joker, it's always interesting to see how a villain comes about, and to see the struggles and hardships they go through to get to that point of tyranny. Magneto's story is a prime example of how a good man can turn into one of the most feared figures in all the world.

Now even though this is a remarkable film, it is still without it's flaws, flaws that many films suffer from. The special effects were a bit cartoony at times, and really looked unrealistic at some points, particularly in a scene involving some fish and a few of the flying sequences. But, hey, it's not the absolute worse and are ten thousand times better than some of the effects in Wolverine. Remember the scene where Wolverine held his new claws out in front of his face? How cheesy was that! It was quite obvious they were made within a computer. There were also several plot holes opened up in this film that make us debate as to which continuity this film actually falls under. In my eyes, this film is just a prequel to the first two X-Men films, totally ignoring the consistency and concepts present in X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. After all, Emma Frost, played by January Jones in this film is only a teenager in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which is said to have taken place 20 years after this film, and Charles Xavier is still walking at the beginning of The Last Stand, while he is crippled in the last few minutes of this film. But maybe Hank Mccoy's beastly plague will be cured by the time we get to X2, where he makes a brief appearance on a television screen in a bar and perhaps they will in turn remake the third installment in the X-Men film series, giving us an appropriate send-off for the X-Men with a much better take on the Phoenix saga. Who knows? If Bryan Singer can do it with the Superman film series, he can obviously do it with the X-Men franchise, which has so many interesting stories and mythology to be made into some high quality motion pictures. And even if First Class brings up a lot of things that leave us pondering, it is still a fantastic movie, and I am looking forward to the sequels that will follow this epic masterpiece, for Fox envisions this in an epic new trilogy. So maybe we will get to see the original X-Men team at some point and a whole slew of mutants to follow them and to fight against them, for the X-Men universe is filled with so many possibilities, as well as twists and turns, nobody knows exactly what they will do next with the X-Men film franchise. But whatever it is, as long as Bryan Singer and Matthew Vaughn work hard on it, it is bond to be something as breathtakingly awesome as X-Men: First Class. If you are a big fan of X-Men, a big fan of comics, or a person just looking for a hell of a lot of fun, don't hesitate one bit to see this incredible film, X-Men: First Class, because you will not be disappointed and it will leave you with a satisfied feeling inside just like it did with me. I loved every minute of it and I am looking forward to seeing it again very soon.

Oh, and by the way, a familiar face makes an appearance in this film, doing what he does best and delivering a hilarious line of dialogue to the film's main protagonists, but I will not get into that, I'll leave you to see the film and find out who it is yourself!