First of all, I'll get straight to the point- X-Men: First Class is a fantastic reboot of the comic book movie franchise, providing a completely unique spin on much loved characters and setting a standard for every film to come this Summer. It takes place in the 1960s at the opening of the Cold War, with the evil Hellfire Club threatening to start a nuclear Armaggedon and the first incarnation of Charles Xavier's mutant team the only ones who can stop them. At first, there's little indication of the America vs Communism tones I had expected from the trailers, but later into the movie certain events trigger more historical elements to come into play and as a result round out an already meaty package. In terms of the actors and actresses who give us younger versions of much-loved characters from the comics, credit must go to James McAvoy- who brings across a witty, romantic Xavier brilliantly- and Michael Fassbender, both equally important in showing the close yet inevitably doomed friendship of Charles and Eric, one of many strong story arcs that are developed perfectly over the course of the two hour running time. Another example of the aforementioned arcs is that of Raven Darkholme (aka Mystique), a conflicted teenager who merely wants to be normal, and who will therefore go to any lengths to acheive that goal, even if it means taking sides, a totally empathetic situation which newcomer Jennifer Lawrence portrays without fail. There are a couple of shortcomings: the Hellfire Club do little other than to pose a threat for the final confrontation and set their plan in motion, and ever-so-occasionally the brilliant special effects are hampered by the lingering sense that a lot of their budget was focused on the epic finale. However, the good totally outweighs the bad in this case, and it is simply amazing to see how magnificent a strong X-Men film can be when a new director (Matthew Vaughn, whose superb take shouldn't come as a surprise when he also directed Kick-Ass) enters the fray and the cast consists of mostly rising talent as opposed to big names who are just in it for the cash- although for better or for worse, one X-Man from the original films does make a hilarious cameo. Simply put, this is a fine rendition of 1960s America, a fine rendition of the original mutant team and an unmissable hit that has just become the movie to beat this Summer!
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Sunday, 5 June 2011
X-Men: First Class Review (5/5)
First of all, I'll get straight to the point- X-Men: First Class is a fantastic reboot of the comic book movie franchise, providing a completely unique spin on much loved characters and setting a standard for every film to come this Summer. It takes place in the 1960s at the opening of the Cold War, with the evil Hellfire Club threatening to start a nuclear Armaggedon and the first incarnation of Charles Xavier's mutant team the only ones who can stop them. At first, there's little indication of the America vs Communism tones I had expected from the trailers, but later into the movie certain events trigger more historical elements to come into play and as a result round out an already meaty package. In terms of the actors and actresses who give us younger versions of much-loved characters from the comics, credit must go to James McAvoy- who brings across a witty, romantic Xavier brilliantly- and Michael Fassbender, both equally important in showing the close yet inevitably doomed friendship of Charles and Eric, one of many strong story arcs that are developed perfectly over the course of the two hour running time. Another example of the aforementioned arcs is that of Raven Darkholme (aka Mystique), a conflicted teenager who merely wants to be normal, and who will therefore go to any lengths to acheive that goal, even if it means taking sides, a totally empathetic situation which newcomer Jennifer Lawrence portrays without fail. There are a couple of shortcomings: the Hellfire Club do little other than to pose a threat for the final confrontation and set their plan in motion, and ever-so-occasionally the brilliant special effects are hampered by the lingering sense that a lot of their budget was focused on the epic finale. However, the good totally outweighs the bad in this case, and it is simply amazing to see how magnificent a strong X-Men film can be when a new director (Matthew Vaughn, whose superb take shouldn't come as a surprise when he also directed Kick-Ass) enters the fray and the cast consists of mostly rising talent as opposed to big names who are just in it for the cash- although for better or for worse, one X-Man from the original films does make a hilarious cameo. Simply put, this is a fine rendition of 1960s America, a fine rendition of the original mutant team and an unmissable hit that has just become the movie to beat this Summer!
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