Hey guys, Wadey here with my opinion on our opinions! This is my first editorial so please……. Be gentle.
With the First Class of the X-men premiering next week, the old hatreds have found new life. Some may take that statement the wrong way. Others will shout to the sky that the mutants showcased in the upcoming film are not THE First Class. And these are our opinions. Each opinion matters and each one must be heard. But who is to say what is a “right” opinion and a “wrong” opinion? Obviously, schmucks like Hitler and Bin Laden had the wrong idea. But they treated their opinions as facts. NON-negotiable. But most of us live in countries where we have freedom of expression. Which allows us to post our opinions on this site. But do we take it too far?
X-men: First Class is the prime example to prove my point. Last year, we all condemned this film. Fox’s previous two movies concerning mutants made my Marvel had been underwhelming to say the least. Much of this had to do with studio interference. I forget who said it, but I know he was high up in Fox. This guy stated that Fox would continue to make movies, even crappy DTVs, to keep the rights away from Marvel. This pissed most, if not all, of us fanboys/girls off the edge of reasonable return. Look around and prove me wrong.
I dismissed this film as a blatant attempt by Fox to screw us fans and weasel some money out of the unsuspecting public. The rushed production did nothing but give me good cause to ignore any news concerning First Class. Especially because it is not the First Class of the comics! There will be no Original Five here! Just some random mutants taken from Generation X and over forty years of comic book lore used practically as scripture here on CBM. I first thought First Class would be a sleeper hit, but we all have good reason to dispute the validity of that claim. The screwed up continuity, messy directing, choppy acting, and the so so effects of Wolverine combined with First Class was extremely off putting.
Then the unimaginable happened. The footage that was released with the trailer looked good. Not just good. Great. The casting looked spot on, the story appeared compelling, and the special effects needed work. We had all been through this story before. The trailer looks better than the actual movie half the time. Spider-man 3, X-men Origins: Wolverine, Clash of the Titans, even Jumper. So I was still very cautious of this little situation. But heck, I was curious.
So I then proceeded to look up anything and everything concerning the film X-men: First Class. I learned the director, Matthew Vaughn, whose credits included producing Snatch and directing Stardust and Kick-***. All great films, even though I have yet to see Snatch. I also learned that he was on board to helm X3 but walked due to issues concerning the plot and studio interference. I thought to myself, “This guy ain’t one to suffer fools.”
Fox must have granted some real leniency for him to accept a directing job. Then I took a closer look at the cast. I knew James McAvoy was Xavier and recognized him from Wanted and Narnia. Fassbender though took me a minute to distinguish. He played Lt. Archie Hicox in Inglourious Basterds and portrayed Stelios in 300. This guy was going to steal the show as Magneto. Kevin Bacon was a bleh addition and Oliver Platt as the “Man in Black?” Really? My curiosity dimmed for a moment.
Then I took a closer peek at the story. This wasn’t just X-men Begins, it was Magneto Origins as well. They were originating not as a super hero protection unit, but a CIA covert ops team? One word: AWESOME. I had already given up hope on Marvel getting the rights back for many years to come. This was the only way to make peace with First Class. I have to stop thinking of this film as an adaptation and start believing that this is a film using elements from comics. This is an artist’s interpretation. Vaughn is using his skills and knowledge to craft what he believes is a good film in his eye. Name one film he has directed that was not up to par.
Of course there will always be the die hards. The fans who will shun any and all proof that this is a good movie and worth the five to ten bucks to see it in theatres. The rave reviews have not convinced them. The clips and TV spots have not changed their view. And in my opinion nothing will. If they wish to ignore good work, that is their right. I would not want anyone to see a movie I made if they harbor hatred towards anything I did to change from the source material. I try not to respond to their incessant retorts because I cannot have an unbiased opinion until AFTER I have seen the film. I want to enjoy First Class. I also want to hate it. To have it fail so bad that Fox sells the rights back to Marvel. But as of this moment, that is a fool’s hope. So, next week I will be joining the rest of the world to go see X-men: First Class. And hope to God that its worth the money.
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Btw, thanks to Google for the images!