As the number of comic book movies produced continues to skyrocket, the actual quality of them has only plummeted. Most are content to rest on their 3D special effects to get by. Others are just tired retreads of the same basic story, with only the costumes changing. No other superhero franchise has been around as long as the X-men. Four films in and even it was starting to show signs of age after the disastrous X-men: The Last Stand and the boring Wolverine spinoff. A fresh start was necessary, and Matthew Vaughn, who just recently deconstructed superheroes to death with Kick-Ass
last year, was just the man to do it. X-men: First Class isn't like any other superhero movie you'll see all summer. It's smarter, hipper, and just plain better than the rest. Making the wise decision not to relaunch the franchise, instead offering us an early glimpse at the origins of the merry band of mutants and their fearless leader, Professor Charles Xavier(James McAvoy). This sets the film firmly in the 1960s as the world is embroiled in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It's also a time of rapid social evolution, and the perfect backdrop for the emergence of an entirely new species. The film begins with a brief prologue of an adolescent Erik Lehnsherr aka Magneto(Michael Fassbender), who watches his mother murdered by the Nazis as a way of jump starting his latent magnetic abilities. As he grows up, Erik never loses the anger from that moment, and begins a bloody quest to exact revenge on all those who wrong him, especially the evil scientist in charge of it all, Sebastian Shaw(Kevin Bacon).
On the other end of the spectrum is Xavier, born to wealth and privilege, but always with a kind heart. His telepathic powers seemingly always a part of him, one night he walks into his kitchen and finds his mother acting strangely. He immediately figures out she's an impostor, and comes to discover that the woman before him is actually a blue skinned, shape shifting little girl named Raven(aka Mystique, played by Jennifer Lawrence). The two live their lives together as brother and sister, with Charles also playing a guardian role to the impulsive young woman. A graduate from Oxford in the field of genetics, Xavier is recruited by the CIA to investigate the recent emergence of super powered mutants across the globe. It's there that his path crashes with Erik's, and the two reluctantly agree to work together to take Shaw down, who has gathered a sinister cabal of mutants to form the Hellfire Club. His plan is to use the global climate to provoke a nuclear holocaust.
It's in the relationship between Erik and Charles that the film truly thrives. The figurative(and sometimes literal) chess match between the two has always been the core of the X-men story. The two are literally different sides of the same coin, and the script by Jane Goldman plays this precisely. Xavier envisions a world where humans and mutants work together and co-exist in peace. Erik sees things differently, forged in the fire of tragedy, he sees mutants as the rightful heirs to the planet. Humans don't need to be extinct, they just need to know their place, and he'll see this vision fulfilled by any means necessary.
Their clashing philosophies are visited upon the youthful recruits to the cause: cosmically powered Havok; the insect-like Angel; the evolving Darwin; sonic screaming Banshee; and the bouncy genius known as Beast. One of the things that has separated X-men movies from the Batmans and Spider-Mans is the team dynamic. Is there anything cooler in all of comics than watching a team come together for the first time? Even in these simple geek out moments, X-men: First Class hits all the right notes. For a film with so many characters, everyone gets their moment in the sun to shine and show off their powers. The only exception might be Rose Byrne as CIA agent Moira MacTaggert, who perhaps gets a little lost in the shuffle due to her being a human. Expect her presence to only grow in future films.
If it takes awhile to wrap your brain around the feel of the film, then that's understandable. This is a very different movie than any other comic book film we've seen. It'll have some comparing it to a superhero James Bond flick, and that description certainly fits. The tone is slightly tongue in cheek, a bit kitchy, but the stakes are taken deadly serious. The down moments have a Mad Men quality to them, with the guys dominating most scenes, and January Jones as Emma Frost vamping around in a short white mini skirt. It's just short enough that I could care less how stiff of an actress she is. This being an origin story, expect long sequences of exposition and explaining, but they never bog the pace down in any meaningful way. If there's a complaint it's that people who don't know the X-verse that well may be confused by all these new characters flying around. Like that spinny guy in the purple suit, or the orange guy who looks like Nightcrawler. There's a reason he looks like Nightcrawler, but I'm not telling!
X-men fans are notoriously critical of continuity. I count myself as a loyal member of that group of nitpickers as well, always waiting to "X" out any flaws in red ink. Fortunately X-men: First Class fits the rest of the movies like a glove, even with a few ultra cool cameos that I wouldn't dare spoil here. Vaughn and Co. have covered all the bases to make sure this is the best superhero movie ever.
None of this would matter if the performances weren't believable. McAvoy is excellent showcasing a different side to the Xavier character than we've seen before. While he's still just as doting and analytical as ever, he's also got a zest for life(and women) that wasn't apparent in Patrick Stewart's rendition. Michael Fassbender is simply electric as Magneto, a far cry from the ancient Ian McKellen version. Magneto is a primal force of nature here, with a ferocity that is often terrifying. Even Kevin Bacon works, even though he's clearly doing his best impersonation of a secondary James Bond villain. If you look at it that way his performance can be a lot of fun. Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence continues to never have a false moment as Mystique, the character who perhaps undergoes the most radical changes of all. Also Nicholas Hoult is spot on as Henry "Beast" McCoy, conflicted over the power his mutation grants but resentful of the way it makes him appear to others.
"Best superhero movie ever". High praise? Maybe, but it's also an accolade well earned. Unlike Christopher Nolan's nearly flawless Batman movies, X-men: First Class proves you can reinvigorate a comic book property without having to go grim 'n gritty. You can be intelligent and have fun at the same time. It's rare that any prequel adds this level of depth and flavor, so much so that every X-men movie we've seen before is instantly better with this added context. This summer will be dominated by other superhero movies begging for your dollar, but if you have to pick only one make sure it is X-men: First Class.
