The X-Men movie franchise was getting a little stale especially with the redundant Wolverine movie. But thank you movie gods for giving Matthew Vaughn the chance to reinvent the franchise with a burst of creative energy that is X-Men: First Class. The entire cast was very impressive and I think everyone did a good job. James McAvoy is a perfect younger Charles Xavier. He plays him with this womanizing swagger but also with the wise persona that Patrick Stewart had in the original X-Men trilogy. Michael Fassbender is a revelation as Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto. Since Magneto is a Holocaust survivor and endured some horrible incidents, who ever portrays him has to make us empathize for him. Fassbender does just that and more. You feel for Magneto and you also understand why he is doing what he does. It was pretty cool seeing Magneto traveling the world hell bent on revenge on the people responsible for his mothers death. Fassbender played him with this James Bond-esque style (watch out Daniel Craig!) as he was slick and instead of having cool gadgets, he uses his magnetic powers.
Kevin Bacon was a pretty good villain. He was mean, lean and determined on starting World War 3. The only thing I didn't like about his character was that his mutant power was kind of lame as he could absorb energy (does't sound too bad guyish). His sidekick is Emma Frost (played by January Jones). She has the power to turn her body into crystallized armor and is also a telepath. Let's just say Jones isn't the greatest actress in the world but hey she looked good in those outfits! Jennifer Lawrence portrays a younger Mystique and she brings some very human characteristics to the shapeshifting mutant. She is self conscious about her appearance and rightfully so since her normal body is a blue almost alien looking thing. Lawrence brings the problems of any teenaged girl to a young Mystique and does it very convincingly. Nicholas Hoult was also pretty good as a young Hank McCoy/ Beast. He also has some self conscious issues about his appearance and you see him and Mystique form a bond which is eventually broken by Magneto. At first I didn't really get what Beast's power was but once he underwent his furry blue transformation it was pretty clear and pretty badass. Overall this is a very good ensemble cast. There is also a very brief appearance by a certain clawed fellow which makes the film even better.
I have to give some major props to director Matthew Vaughn. He took a dying franchise and re invented it in a very good way. Another amazing feat was that he basically had only a year to put the whole film together and I found that to be very impressive. He obviously has a knack for comic book films since he directed last years Kick-Ass which was also a good movie. I am also grateful that the studio didn't make the movie in 3D. The story Vaughn cooked up for this one was excellent. Seeing how Charles Xavier and Magneto first met was an interesting story point that the original X-Men movies seemed to ignore. Starting out as allies to bring together mutants to save the world sounds textbook at best, but these actors bring the story to life and most of the time it is compelling and heartbreaking to see these two friends eventually turn against each other because of their differences. It was also pretty epic to see the young mutants take sides once Charles and Magnetos differences were out in the open. You also get to see how Professor X winds up in that wheel chair. That aspect of the movie was handled very well.
The special effects were some of the best I have seen in a long time. Especially the grand finale when you see the mutants working as a team using all of their powers, that scene was just awesome. This movie answers a lot of questions that the original X-men movies ignored. How did Professor X end up in a wheel chair? Whats the purpose of Magneto's helmet? These are just a few of the questions that are answered very well in the movie.
X-Men: First Class is smart, sexy, funny, big and simply just epic. Even if you are not a fan of the X-Men comics (me) I urge you to see this movie, its that good! I really hope they make a sequel because they have a lot of storys to choose from and a lot of mutants to use. I am confident that if Matthew Vaughn returns to direct, the primary cast returns and they throw in a few new mutants, the sequel will be just as good or even better. This is by far the best X-Men movie in my opinion.
A-