Welcome to summer blockbuster season. And, boy, what an opening. The latest installment of the X-Men franchise, First Class, is an extraordinary film, an utter triumph on a number of levels. Not only is it, by far, and I mean by far, the best X-Men film, it's arguably the best comic book/superhero film ever done.
The story is a prequel, based in the cold war of the 50's and follows the beginnings of human mutation and the early days of Charles Xavier's leadership of a group of young mutants. The casting here is utterly stellar headed by James McAvoy as a young Xavier who uses his mind powers to pick up chicks, Michael Fassbender as the early Magneto, Jennifer Lawernce as a teenage Mystique and Kevin Bacon as ex-Nazi Sebastian Shaw. All of the cast is good, with the exception of January Jones as telepath Emma Frost who delivers wooden lines like a playmate in her first film role.
But this film belongs, as it should, to the battling friendship of Mcavoy's Xavier and Fassbender's Magneto. As the two adult mutants who lead and train the younger mutants, they have philosophical disagreements that are fascinating to watch. Fassbender's character deserves especially high praise, a tortured revenge-driven soul who watched Bacon's nazi charcter gun down his jewish mother because he couldn't move a coin on queue with his mind. While Mcavoy's Xavier wants to make the world a better place, Fassbender only cares about using his powers for revenge on a human society that kills what it does not understand.
There is a lot of talking in this movie, more so than most superhero films, but, the dialogues are never dull, and always serve to push the story forward- a tribute to the screenwriters. The five of them(that's right, five screenwriters) offer up, in addition, a deep well-though plot along with superb characterzations- all of it working together to lift First Class beyond an effects-laden fanboy flick into a real breathing movie and, dare I say, a work of art. Tip of the cap to director Matthew Vaugh as well, for keeping all the wheels of this complicated production moving forward at such an enthralling pace.
Have you noticed how I haven't yet said a thing about the special effects? They are two effect-laden set pieces, and they are done as well as any, but they don't overwhelm the story. I would have liked X-Men if the effects were drawn with a pencil.
What 2009's Star Trek prequel did for Star Trek, First Class has done for X-Men.
It's a whole new creation. This time it was a top-to-bottom success.
Rating:
Characterzation: 31
Plot: 31
Presentation: 28
Overall: 90
