Directed by Matthew Vaughn, X-Men: First Class explores the origins of the popular superhero team. In the early 1960s, Holocaust survivor and metal-bending mutant Erik “Magneto” Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) hunts down Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), a nefarious mutant supremacist who killed his mother during the war. Shaw’s involvement in the clandestine Hellfire Club brings him to the attention of CIA operative Moira McTaggart (Rose Byrne), who reaches out to mutation expert (and telepath) Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) for help. Once Shaw’s plans for political maneuvering and global domination become clear, Erik and Charles team up and begin recruiting mutants to combat him. Their differing views on human-mutant relations, however, suggest the alliance won’t last for long.
From recent Christopher Nolan Batman series to the forthcoming The Amazing Spiderman and Man of Steel, reboots seem to be all the rage these days. In the case of the X-Men franchise, there is considerable merit. X-Men: The Last Stand, with its shoddy characterization and simplistic plotting, left a bad taste in the mouths of many filmgoers, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, though fun, did little to remedy that.
For comic book purists, X-Men: First Class is more of the same. When compared to the source material, considerable liberties are taken with both character and setting: shape-shifting seductress Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) is turned into Xavier’s adopted little sister, and the initial X-Men lineup presented here leaves out Cyclops and Angel in favor of Havoc and Banshee. Some of the changes are unsettling: Hank “Beast” McCoy’s (Nicholas Hoult) admittedly formidable intelligence is stretched to absurd proportions for his age, and the transformation of McTaggart from scientist to spy felt a little too plot-convenient.
That aside, most of the changes work. Having blue-skinned Mystique feel Xavier’s rejection, for instance, sets up her enthusiasm for Magneto’s pro-mutant extremism in later times. Similarly, the debates between Xavier, who believes humans and mutants can exist in harmony, and Magneto, who believes that mutants will never be accepted, sets up the conflict at the crux of the first three X-Men films.
The biggest asset here, however, is not Vaughn’s innovations, but the general competence and sense of purpose he brings to the film. While the pace is brisk and there is plenty of action, you never feel like you are watching a glorified cartoon. Echoes of the Holocaust and the Civil Rights struggle, combined with a Cold War setting and plot, give this a mature, weighty feel.
The acting is also top-notch. Fassbender, as Erik/Magneto, is less a man with an agenda than a force to be reckoned with. He pulls of a coup by outdoing his predecessor in the role, the esteemed Ian McKellen. McAvoy as Xavier isn’t quite as strong in comparison, but his somewhat carnal and vain take on the character forms an interesting contrast with Patrick Stewart’s saintly interpretation. The underrated Bacon is both smarmy and menacing as Shaw, and Hugh Jackman, in his brief Wolverine cameo, nearly steals the film.
X-Men: First Class is an overly ambitious work that strikes a false note at times. But it injects the franchise as a whole with some much-needed credibility and vision and opens the door for all kinds of future possibilities.
8.25
Good review Zac. Overall, I enjoyed the film, but was upset with the lack of focus on matching the chronology with the other films. For instance, Havok is supposed to be the younger brother of Cyclops, yet this film is set in the 60's as opposed to the present day setting of the other films in which Cyclops is included. The split between Magneto and Professor X happens much sooner than anticipated, especially considering how a much older Professor X and Magneto recruit a young Jean Grey at the beginning of 'Last Stand'. Emma Frost is also a fully grown woman, yet in the present day setting of 'Origins: Wolverine', she is a young girl. While Jackman's brief scene as Wolverine actually fits with the chronology (since his age is indeterminable), it is almost awkward considering the many chronological blunders. It's also hard to forget that Magneto and Professor X were supposed to have built Cerebro, yet in this film it was one of the many brainchildren of a young Hank McCoy (Beast). While it may be considered a 'reboot', it's hard to see it that way due to the fact that there are references made to the first films, i.e. brief appearances by Jackman and Rebecca Romijn, as well as the reinventing of the opening scene from the first film (which was not as well shot as its predecessor). Not knowing what this film was supposed to be in relation to the others was disappointing. On the other hand, strong performances by McAvoy, Fassbender, and Bacon along with the exceptional special effects slightly compensated for what the film lacked.
ReplyDelete