X-Men First Class - so much hate

X-Men First Class - so much hate

Why is there such a campaign against First Class already?

Editorial Opinion
By TheMaster - Apr 23, 2011 06:04 AM EST
Filed Under: X-Men: First Class

Two trailers in and I have noticed a vehement hatred of X-Men: First Class appearing on this, and other sites and have wondered what the problems are. I am a keen X-Men fan myself and I have to be honest that the trailers thus far have filled me with hope for the franchise. Albeit this is a double edged sword as I would be the first signature on the petition to return the rights to Marvel.

It is not all rosy, there are a few very clear mistakes and I'll deal with these first, as First Class bashing is very much a sport around here:

Taking the moniker of "First Class" when it is clearly NOT the first class that we are all aware of is an error on the part of Fox.

When I first heard about the film I expected - nee - hoped to see Cyclops, Beast, Angel, Iceman and Jean. A new set of mutants was not expected - however it is understandable why it's been done. The core fan base are familiar with both the comic book and movie incarnations of these characters and I think we can all admit we as fans can get rather stand-offish when the their movie counterparts don't match how we know the characters we know and love. Hugh Jackmans astonishing performance as Wolverine protected him from the "too tall, too good-looking" discussions but I remember them when promotional images were originally released.

Having the comic book fans doing this is bad enough, but imagine having to contend with the general theatre-going public having the same attitude - "That’s not how Angel is"...."Well if Angel was a teenager in X3 how is he there in the 60s?". We of course answer "Well actually he wasn't right in the first place". But you don't want to alienate all the fans of the cinematic version as ultimately - they outnumber us and these films need to make money! Do that and you effectively need to completely reboot the franchise. Maybe it will work - we'll have the wait for Spiderman to see, but I suspect that it will need to be even more spectacular to make you completely forget what has gone before.

The next thing to address is the choice of Mutants. I think Xavier and Magneto went without saying really. I've always been a fan of the Hellfire club and it will be great to see it as an organisation on TV. Kevin Bacon really is an underrated actor as far as I am concerned and I'm sure he will do an excellent job of Sebastian Shaw. He looks different to the comic book version but more importantly I feel is whether he captures the scheming malevolent force that is Shaw. As for the odd appearance in the trailer things have to change when they go on screen. The character standing there unflinchingly taking a pounding would simply not visually work. The choice of Mystique, I think IS a mistake. I might be wrong, but her presence does nothing to link the series forward than the presence of a Changeling or a Morph wouldn't do. Having a mutant by the name of Havok - does it NEED to be Havok? Do they need to completely adjust a characters history when I'm sure that there must be another energy flinging mutant to choose from? Azazel as a lackey of the Hellfire club? I hope there is more to this than we can know from 2 trailers. Beast I don’t mind, as the age difference can be explained between the 60s and the 2000s. I perhaps would have preferred a little bit more exposition as Hank McCoy before transformation but it’s a personal thing. Even then, they have tried taking the approach of selecting a lesser known mutant in Riptide and legions of fans aren't happy with this approach either! Either way these are characters with a smaller profile for both the general public and comic book fans and so more amenable to character adjustments.

There is no defense for those appalling posters.

OK, enough of the bashing – what’s good?
Both McAvoy and Fassbender are excellent actors and will bring significant gravitas to their respective roles. I am mildly peeved to see Xavier neither bald nor confined to a wheelchair but it does get ol’ chrome dome into the action rather than as the strategist we’ve seen previously. It allows for the character interplay between Xavier and Eric to extend beyond a single room and out into the world.

Matthew Vaughn is a director of exceptional quality who has managed to juggle a career with a few different genres successfully navigated but all with a degree of the fantastic: Lock Stock, Stardust and Kick-Ass.

Real comic book costumes! Am I the only one who is pleased to see the Yellow/Black jumpsuits (slightly changed from the original spandex!) appearing, to see the influence of Banshees original costume on the wings, or Magneto in Scarlet? Emma Frost looking like Emma Frost but with a 60s twist to fit in with the films setting. Being able to pull these things off is surely a good sign.

Occasionally I wonder if I’m the only one who has watched the trailers. The action looks fantastic! The costumes are spot on and some of the sets look amazing. The 1960s setting adds a nice twist, and a throwback to the original X-booksl

We haven’t got that long to find out either.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Was Partially Written In Claudia Schiffer's Hospital Room Due To Rushed Production
Related:

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Was Partially Written In Claudia Schiffer's Hospital Room Due To Rushed Production

Matthew Vaughn Reveals Scrapped Plans For X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Trilogy And Who He Was Going To Cast As Wolverine
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Matthew Vaughn Reveals Scrapped Plans For X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Trilogy And Who He Was Going To Cast As Wolverine

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TheMaster
TheMaster - 4/23/2011, 6:43 AM
My first article, I would appreciate your comments
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 4/23/2011, 6:53 AM
Gr8 first article dude!

I'm a huge X-MEN fan and thats why I hate FOX and the slap in the face they keep making!

First Class:

BigK1337
BigK1337 - 4/23/2011, 9:09 AM
I think the answer is pretty simple, it is hard to trust Fox after the last time they made a X-Men movie that would get the franscise back on track.

When they made Wolverine, every fans jump up with exitement that Fox made a new X-Men movie to help fans forget about what happened in X-Men 3. Instead the movie was an extreme (an I mean EXTREME) disappointment to all our expectations.

I guess to a lot of hardcore X-Men fans, this movie could be Wolverine all over again; all the good stuff the movie could over will only fall short.

Plus, the movie doesn't even know what it is. It says it is a prequel, but the movie destroys too many continuity. Then it says it is a reboot, inspite of the connections with past X-Men movies.
Its all just a big mess.
Shovel415
Shovel415 - 4/23/2011, 9:15 AM
I want it be good, I really do. But, I gave up on X-Men after X3 and X-Men Origins.
But...it's Matthew Vaughn..so, you never know.
TheAmazingSmitty
TheAmazingSmitty - 4/23/2011, 12:50 PM
The mutants that they've picked for this movie are going to play a part in the story and are also going to be great to watch. Take Riptide and Darwin, for example. Their powers are going to look crazy on the big screen!
marvelguy
marvelguy - 4/23/2011, 11:34 PM
Again, I say that enough with these characters already. What fourth time's a charm? The X-Universe is as vast as any. There are plenty of toys with which to play. Move on.
If they must go on with this, are they going to tie it to the other three movies? Are they going to "Star Trek" it to fix it? Are they going to make sequels that lead up to the first three a la "Star Wars?"

Those questions are the ones that might get me in the theater. Otherwise, I will wait for it to hit the cheap rental list.
HarrisonBergeron
HarrisonBergeron - 4/24/2011, 12:12 AM
@MovieTheaterLad- That is quite possibly the worst argument I have ever read. Because there are multiple choices as far as continuity goes it is ok to make up a new continuity that has nothing to do with any of the previous continuities? And still brand it as being based on the originals?

The Marvel/Disney movies manage to pick and choose which parts of the established continuities they use all while adding very little in the way of non-comic continuity, and they manage to make comic fans and non-comic fans alike happy.

Your argument basically refutes itself, there is an infinite number of story lines and continuity choices to choose from, so why does Fox feel the need to make up something new? If they have that little faith in the source material, then why did they choose to start the franchise in the first place?
TheMaster
TheMaster - 4/24/2011, 1:26 AM
@TheIntruder - thanks for the correction
Moakynubs
Moakynubs - 4/24/2011, 12:34 PM
People hate it because of the team. The team makes or breaks anything X-Men. If this movie had Cyke, Iceman, Beast, Jean, and Angel, everyone would love it.

But it doesn't.
DarrkEvil
DarrkEvil - 4/25/2011, 9:23 AM
I have faith in this movie..more than Thor and cap combined ! x-men assemble !!
TesDaGreat
TesDaGreat - 5/10/2011, 7:31 AM
grawls24
grawls24 - 5/10/2011, 9:13 PM
Ugh I personally am gonna WATCH the movie before I make any judgments.

U cant say whether a movie is crap or epic BEFORE you see it

The hate should be turned to someone who actually did ruin a franchise.....Sam "I kill all villians" Raimi
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