X-MEN: FIRST CLASS(2011)

(Directed by Michael Vaughn)

"It has......class?"- Signed by MartialHorror. 

Plot: A prequel to the original trilogy about how Professor X and Magneto meet and become friends(and later enemies) while trying to stop a Nuclear war between Russia and the United States.

Review:

“X-Men: First Class” is a return to form after two disappointing sequels. If you’ve read any of my reviews, you know that I’m a sucker for big, dumb blockbusters. So while a step down, I even joined the previous two sequels. Yet that doesn’t stop me from yearning for more intelligent blockbusters. They aren't easy to make, however, as screenwriters are usually too rushed to provide anything other than “shit blows up” in their scripts. Are you the same way? Because not only is “X-Men: First Class” quite possibly the best in the franchise, it also might be up there with the best films of 2011.

The film takes place during the Kennedy administration, where tensions between Russia and the U.S are escalating. War seems inevitable, but both Governments scramble to avoid it. Things aren’t helped by the arrival of Sebastian Shaw(Kevin Bacon) , a ruthless mutant who might be pitting the two titans against each other. When a C.I.A agent named Moira(Rose Byrne) witnesses the abilities of a few of Shaw’s henchman, she recruits Xavier(James McAvoy), a talented professor whose obsession with mutants is stemmed from him being a mutant himself(he’s a telepath). He agrees to help her out and along the way he meets Erik(Michael Fassbender), a bitter mutant with the ability to manipulate metal. Erik wants Shaw for more…personal reasons. Together they must unite and bring together a team so they can stop Shaw and hopefully stop the War by doing so.

How should I begin with this review? I suppose I should start with the films main draw: Spectacle. The visual effects are great, as one expects from a movie of this caliber. There are a few off moments, but there are far more jaw dropping moments where the films production values are stunning. Furthermore, unlike “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”, where the extent of the mutant powers seems to be “we know kung fu”, this film has plenty of mutant powers unique to the individual. This leads to plenty of diverse action sequences, so the action never becomes redundant or boring. The director is sure to minimize the shaky camera crap so that all of the action is crisp and easy to watch while being both exciting and memorable.

Yet to me, what makes the film great is how the director makes us feel what he wants us to feel. Michael Vaughn previously directed “Kick-Ass”(my 3rd favorite movie of 2010), a movie that is visceral and stylish with its action, funny and lighthearted in its comedy and tear-jerking and heartbreaking in its drama. It juggled with action, comedy and drama with perfection. “X-Men: First Class” benefits from that same strength. The film is full of clever humor and amusing in-jokes(awesome cameos!), so when they weren’t fighting, I could sit back and chuckle or downright laugh at how funny the movie was. Yet when it wants to be sad, I was devastated. A good director directs the cast and crew with precision, a great director directs the audience along with that. Michael Vaughn is a great director.

So the film dazzles us and appeals to our emotions, but does it challenge us? I think so. The film is subtle in some ways yet heavy handed in others. “X-Men” has always been a metaphor for homosexuality, although last time I checked I’ve yet to see a group of homosexual radicals trying to wipe out heterosexuals..... While this film continues to promote this theme(“Mutant and proud”) , it focuses more on showing that deep down, we’re all the same. The Russians aren’t portrayed as being any worse off than the Americans. Both countries are scared, exhausted and can be both brave yet cowardly. Indeed, a stark feeling of doom dominates the film. Will America/Russia become more like the Nazi's when it comes to the mutants? Will the Mutants eventually wipe out the human race? It asks these questions but doesn't answer them, making everything seem even more unsettling. When Erik has his epiphany that will turn him into Magneto, he never seems to realize that he’s doing EXACTLY what the Nazi’s did to him. I often wonder how he would react if Mutants did wipe out humanity. Would he be shocked when the mutants go to war with eachother over religion, race, land, politics, whatever? The film shows us that everyone is capable of doing good and bad, mutant or not.

Are there any problems with the movie? I can see many being underwhelmed with it. While the film focuses more on the characters than before, it’s mostly restrained to Xavier and Erik. Everyone else does feel kind of underdeveloped, although this is a problem with all ensemble films. This does hurt the credibility of the characters relationships. Yet what bugged me the most was how this film completely breaks the continuity of the previous films(wasn’t Frost a kid when we last saw her which was like……20 years after this movie?). It establishes relationships that are never even touched upon in the other films(Mystique and Xavier/Beast) and I have no idea when the opening of “X-Men 3” fits into here. As the director said that it does take place in the same continuity as the other films, I have wonder if he didn’t even watch all of them. Nevertheless, while these faults- for me- kept “X-Men: First Class” from being perfect, I didn’t feel they stopped it from being great.

I loved “X-Men: First Class” because I was invested in the characters, loved their dialogue and how they were portrayed by their actors, and loved watching them participate in excellent action sequences. It wasn’t just a movie for me as much as it was an experience. I laughed, I sniffled, I cared and my jaw hit the floor. To me, that’s a great movie. It was what I thought “Thor” would be and if it’s not the greatest movie of the year, I’d at least say it’s the best movie of the summer so far……Although granted, this summer has kind of sucked……

Violence: PG-13 worthy.

Nudity: Some sexuality, but also PG-13 worthy.

Overall: “X-Men: First Class” is a must see if you liked any of the previous movies. It’s one of the best- if not the best- of the franchise.

3.5/4 Stars