It looks like summer blockbuster season has finally started, and with it we have X-Men First Class, the latest installment into the X-Men film franchise. Acting as a prequel to the three X-Men films and (assumedly) running somewhere alongside the Wolverine film, the film details how Xavier and Magneto met and the creation of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
However, everything is stacked against the film: Wolverine and X3 were both critically derided films, and many fans have incredible doubts to this film due to it’s odd cast of characters (Azazel? Really?). The film was also reportedly rushed, with the editors given little time to cut together the final product and both McAvoy and Fassbender publicly noting that this worried them.
So did the first summer blockbuster of the year sizzle? Or is this another unfortunate fizzle for the X-Men film franchise?
Check behind the cut for some thoughts on the film. As a note, some spoilers are discussed.
It is with no hesitation that I tell you that X-Men First Class is exactly the type of movie that the X-Men franchise needed. It’s a lofty way to start off a review, but it should be said that the film has arguably managed to set a bar/standard for the rest of the sumer blockbuster/comic films by offering up a smart piece of cinema that acts more as a super powered political thriller than it does a strictly comic-related movie. While there has certainly been enough hyperbole and insane praise circulating the internet with buzz for the film, it is always pleasing to go into a film and be rewarded with a film experience that does manage to live up to the impressive hype and difficult goals given to it.
X-Men First Class is more than just a movie about two young men who meet and decide to help mutants integrate with society. While this is the film’s purpose at a glance, as the film progresses we learn ever so much more. Sebastian Shaw, the leader of the Hellfire Club, is attempting to pit the United States against Russia in an alternate reality version of the Cold War, using brute tactics and manipulation to alter history ever so slightly in order to fit in science fiction aspect that is homo superior. Through this we are given the not-so-subtle juxtaposition of Magneto’s World War II background and experience in the Nazi camps as inept leaders full of prejudice are quick to hysteria and their soldiers are left to “just follow orders” – a notion in the film that very quickly moves from “subtle theme” to “overt element” later in the theme. This isn’t just a super hero movie; it’s a statement on the times and the uneasy tension that existed in the years that this film is supposed to take place (1962ish).
That’s what honestly makes First Class probably the better of all the other X-Men films. The X-Men have always stood as a metaphor towards the oppressed minorities of our times, whoever you choose to associate them with. Full of rich characters all coping with their inability to fit into a world that hates them, the X-Men have always been somewhat reflective of their environment (although recent years have seen a bit of a departure from that, at least in an overt style). Yet, despite the best of intentions, none of the previous X-Men films really sought to work themselves to have similar bold statements; they’ve all ostensibly just been superhero films that all take after a few stories. There has been no deeper analytical quality to them, no strong statements or reflections. First Class does away with that; it looks at the 1960s and acts as a reflection of them, full of unease, incredible tension, prejudice, and yes, a bit of misogyny. It’s arguably the single most accurate superhero film ever, although not in a strictly nerd-related why, and that’s because this isn’t a superhero film. This a film with superheroes. There really is quite a difference.
It’s when we look at it from the hyper-critical nerd lens that things begin to fall apart. From a strictly X-Fan basis, the film is filled with errors. For starters, the whole Beast running scene is a tad ridiculous and unfounded within the character’s history and the film’s premise. There’s also the issues Emma Frost and her very uneven powers; when she turns to diamond, why do her clothes transform along with her? And if she’s supposed to be a telepath on the level of Xavier, perhaps even better, how is she so easily defeated/why does she never seek to break out of prison once captured? Not to mention that we saw Emma Frost in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and these two are definitely not the same person. There’s also the Darwin death scene which, given what is known about the character, seems highly improbable and just down right excessive. Oh, and Banshee isn’t Irish, for some weird reason. And then there is Azazel, who just seems to be there to … well, be there. Azazel may be the most accurate portrayal of a comic character within the film because he is literally as worthless as his comic book counterpart, only used as a tool in several scenes and spending most of the film as a background character. But the more we/I sit and analyze the things that are wrong about the film from a comic fan perspective, the more it seems like I/we are just trying to find reasons not to like the movie, almost as an excuse. Yes, some things aren’t right, but when we look at it in context of the other films then it changes a bit. Ok, so this isn’t really the first class from the comics, but it does work within the context of the film. While the running continuity between all the films is obviously in question (different Sabretooths From Wolverine and X1, a Moira McTaggert who has suddenly lost her accent and become American (apparently due to direction from Matthew Vaughan), different Emma Frosts from this and Wolverine, three different versions of Hank McCoy between this, X1, and X3 – oh, and how exactly does the opening of X3, Wolverine, and this line up?), it doesn’t take away from this film too much within it’s own continuity and by itself, actually making a good deal of nerd sense with about 85% of the film working for it (and 15% of it just me being, like I said, hyper-critical). If we try and look at this film not just as a prequel, it succeeds as a stand-alone film and a “partial” entry into a franchise.
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That being said, X-Men First Class is really just a pretty good film. While I have lots of praise to throw at it, there are several things that don’t work, even outside of nerd-based criticisms. Several characters essentially serve no real purpose to the film, and it seems like the filmmakers really just wanted to once again put a lot of X-Men easter eggs into the film. This is nothing new; every X-Film so far has been over saturated with little bits and pieces of background elements that have operated as little jokes for actual X-Men fans that end up lost on the uninitiated. However, sometimes it does feel a tad heavy handed and over done (“We’re like G-Men without the G!”) X-Men First Class is similar to a more substance filled version of the second Star Wars prequel, Attack of the Clones – there is a ridiculous amount of foreshadow and nods to the original films in a way that’s supposed to be appreciative of fans of the series, but there are many moments when anyone familiar with the current feature film continuity will just say, “Ok. We get it.” And on top of that, as much as I want to ignore it, the timeline issues between this and the other film really do create an enjoyment void for me, because I’m the kind of viewer who wants things to add up. I can appreciate it for what it does well and even partially ignore some of the flaws of running continuity, but it would’ve been nice for the filmmakers to try a bit harder to make it all tie together.
When we look at the cast of the film, we basically get a split performance. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as the leads are absolutely astounding, making the entire film worth watching. It takes a lot for actors like Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen to be outdone, but this film shows it’s possible. Both performances feature subtle nods to their predecessors while also being entirely original; McAvoy’s Xavier is much more wild, boyish and full of life and Fassbender’s Magneto is a much more conflicted character whose actions always seem to accurately walk the strenuous border between good and evil (as opposed to McKellen’s “villain with a heart of gold” performance). If you were to take out every other character and scene not involving the two only to splice their bits together, you would probably have a perfect film. And when you look at the “First Class”, the kids of the film are an interesting bunch. Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy works as a great version of a young Kelsey Grammar, if a tad bit more charmin, Lucas Till’s Havok is as brash as you’d want him to be, and Caleb Jones’ Banshee is pretty much perfect to how the character used to be in the comics (minus the whole important Irish bit). Edi Gathegi as Darwin is great service to the neurotic character as well, and his performance makes me wish that character alone had more screen time. Suffice it to say, the heroes of the film really do shine.
The villains, though, are a different story. For the most part, a lot of the villains are really underdeveloped. Jason Flemyng’s Azazel and Alex Gonzalez’s Riptide are just there, only to act as muscle and menacing background figures (I can’t tell you if Riptide says a single word in the whole film). Zoe Kravitz’s Angel is supposed to be a more important figure than she is, but ultimately just feels like “that character” in the movie who is supposed to be kind of a jerk, as opposed to being a character with good reasons and motivations given to us throughout the course of the film. However, the two main villains – Sebastian Shaw played by Kevin Bacon and Emma Frost played by January Jones – are really what bring the film down. In his defense, Kevin Bacon is not inherently bad in the film (in terms of quality, not character); the problem is is that Kevin Bacon isn’t Sebastian Shaw. Sebastian Shaw is an eloquent yet menacing character, who really instills fear into your heart. Kevin Bacon is … well, he’s Kevin Bacon. He tries to be charming and coy and devilish, but it’s hard to look at him and see the character from the comics in his role. You just see Kevin Bacon. January Jones, on the other hand, is perhaps the worst pick for a character as interesting and complex as Emma Frost. Emma Frost is a character who has come so far from her initial villainous role in the X-Men comics, full of life, sass, and quality. January Jones is an emotionless actress who walks through scenes as if she’s bored, offering about as much depth to her role as Katherine Heigel in any film Heigel has ever been in ever. Emma Frost is a powerful and in-control telepathic woman, who makes men fall to their knees as she walks; January Jones only makes men fall to their knees due to her sucking the life out of the room. A harsh form of commentary, I know, but she is just positively dull and inherently no different here than she is on Mad Men as Betty Draper.
Continued belowIn all reality: this is a film about Xavier and Magneto, and how Xavier became Professor X and Magneto became Magneto. Everything else is ultimately erroneous and secondary, and that’s pretty damn clear.
However, if there is one positive thing to say about the film it’s that Matthew Vaughan has certainly earned a reprieve from his work on Kick-Ass. Kick-Ass to me was the type of film where I would actively and openly avoid any further work from the director, yet X-Men First Class reminds me that Vaughn is actually able to direct smart and visually arresting films, like Stardust and Layer Cake. Given the heavy expositional nature of the movie, there was a high possibility that it could drag, but despite the film’s heavy premise, the action of the film moves quickly and none of it drags. Vaughn does take periods of the movie to play on different visual performances as well, with the montages ostensibly showing “comic book panels” as a way to show passages of time and the third act of the film being full of interesting transitions between visuals. On top of that, all the ridiculous and over the top visuals that Vaughn used in Kick-Ass are nowhere to be seen here, with Vaughn instead using cues from the very big cinematically Stardust, especially when showing the different landscapes and settings of the film. Vaughn is also one of the writers to work on the script for the film, and his insistence on keeping the majority of the film tight and insular to it’s own storyline – even offering several bits of dialogue to fix plot holes between this and the other films – is not only noticeable but appreciated.
To cut a long story short, X-Men First Class stands somewhere between the realm of good and great. It’s not a perfect film, but it does many things right. It takes itself out of it’s own setting and seeks to be more than just another superhero film, which is something that all superhero films should really seek to do; that is, to show the realm of the super within the context of the real. While the villainous cast of the film is given very little depth and there are some rather big holes by the end of the film, the film’s main purpose is succeeded: we went to the movies to see the story of Xavier and Magneto, and we are given that story from start to finish with room to grow. If you go into the film expecting great performances from McAvoy and Fassbender, you won’t be disappointed in the slightest; they’re perfect in their roles. It’s just everyone else that needs a bit of work.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – See it on the big screen!
