X-Men: First Class (***)
Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer
Lawrence, January Jones, Rose Byrne, Nicholas Hoult, Oliver Platt, Zoë Kravitz,
Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Till, Edi Gathegi, Jason Flemyng, Álex González
Seen: June 3rd 2011
*** Out of ****
X-Men: First Class takes the franchise through another origins story, this
time it’s superior to 2009’s Wolverine origin story. Director Matthew Vaughn,
fresh of the ragingly entertaining Kick-Ass, kicks things into gear with a
satisfactory but not perfect X-Men movie. The problem prequel/origin movies are
saddled with is that viewers are waiting for certain events to occur to ensure
continuity of the larger series as a whole, and while the story might be
interesting, the viewers know where it should end in a ball-park sense. A few
small elements in this movie reminded me of elements from Bryan Singer’s movies
– and they didn’t quite add up. Like Magneto acquiring his helmet to block
mental interference from the likes of Charles Xavier – was Xavier not surprised
to learn of this development in the Bryan Singer movies? And the friendship
between Xavier and Mystique – this storyline requires much more confidence
between these two characters in the Bryan Singer movies, not true?
But that aside, First Class starts with a few quick flashes from 1944,
where the young Erik’s back-story is told (including possibly a frame-by-frame
remake of the scene from the original X-Men), and where he meets Sebastian Shaw
(Bacon), leader of the Hellfire Club and a very powerful mutant, able to absorb
energy and use it as he sees fit. This is played off against scenes featuring
the young Charles Xavier meeting Raven Darkholme in his home in 1944, and
welcoming her to their comfortable lifestyle, taking her into their home. In the
movie’s main timeline, 1962, we are introduced to these characters again, now
young adults, going about their lives and headed towards collision. Erik
Lensherr (Fassbender) has been “hunting” Nazi’s (one such find for him is
worked into the movie, brilliantly so) and Charles Xavier (McAvoy) is finishing
his thesis on mutation while his foster sister Raven (Lawrence) still lives
with him.
On course to an introduction with the mutant world is CIA agent Moira
McTaggert (Burns), who stumbles across Shaw; Emma Frost (January Jones), the
White Queen, a telepath who can change her body to diamond form; Azazel
(Fleming), the father of Nightcrawler, who we’ve met in X2; and Riptide (González),
who can produce whirlwinds from his hands. This find prompts her to find Xavier,
and together they start recruiting mutants; Xavier finding them using an older
version of Cerebro. Again the mutants are in two groups, those who believe they
can live with humans, under Xavier; and those who believe extinction of either
humans or mutants inevitable, under Sebastian Shaw. While Lensherr, or Magneto,
is on Xavier’s side, his ideologies link up more to those harboured by Shaw (and
by the future Magneto who almost manages to exterminate all humans in X2).
The movie is a highly enjoyable spectacle, with all characters given
an opportunity to exhibit their powers: Mystique, Angel (Kravitz), Beast
(Hoult), Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), Havok (Till), and Darwin (Gathegi) all
make an appearance. The introduction to all of these characters is relatively
perfunctory, as by now the world either knows them or can quickly deduct their
powers. The action is well choreographed and the story is effectively told in a
complex yet easily understandable and devious plot driven by Shaw’s maniacal drive
to spark World War III. There are moments bordering on ridiculously stupid (an
aerial battle between Angel and Banshee), moments feeling like some old school
Bond action, and some deliciously dark characterisation as Magneto moves closer
to what he eventually becomes. Michael Fassbender is brilliant as Magneto, and apart
from some scene stealing from Kevin Bacon as the evil Shaw, he alone caries
this movie with the rest of the cast being relatively breezy in their
interpretations of their respective comic-book characters, even James McAvoy
seems slightly lightweight in bringing to life a wise-beyond-his-years Xavier.
While this movie doesn’t equal the greatness of Bryan Singer’s first
two X-Men movies, I would say it is definitely better than the third movie, The
Last Stand, and much better than the disappointing X-Men Origins: Wolverine. X-Men: First
Class is a worthy and very enjoyable entry into the X-Men universe, and I am
excited for the next instalments now that the introductions are (once again) done
with and the story can be the main focus.
Comments