http://amiresque.blogspot.com/2011/06/short-take-x-men-first-class.html

Jun 5, 2011
Short Take: X-Men: First Class
X-Men: First Class
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Cast: Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon, January Jones, Zoe Kravitz
Year: 2011
X-Men: First Class, as the title openly describes, tells the story of the beginnings of X-Men. On the screen, this basically translates to a group of young and attractive people getting together to save the world using their overdeveloped genes. The first “few” minutes of the film are spent jumping from 1944 to 1962 and criss-crossing between different locations several times, to give us the backstory of Charles, Raven and Erik. Charles (James McAvoy) is a genius who has the power to read and control minds. Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) is a blue-skinned, yellow-eyed, red-haired mutant who can shape shift and look like anyone (and of course why not choose to look like J.Law?). Erik (Michael Fassbender) is a holocaust survivor (surviving the evil of Sebastien Shaw, played by Kevin Bacon) who has the magnetic power to control metals.
These early introductions are put together so tightly and cover so much ground – and in such indulgent amount of time – that the film starts to feel slightly confusing. Despite that, it’s not difficult to stay focused mostly because of the intermittent appearance of Rose Byrne, January Jones and Jennifer Lawrence on the screen. But for me, the film doesn’t actually get on track until it slows down a bit to explore the dynamics between these characters. The best comes when Charles and Erik finally meet and the two actors get to show their remarkable chemistry. McAvoy proves, yet again, that there’s no logical reason why he isn’t one of cinema’s biggest superstars and Fassbender proves, yet again, that there’s no logical reason why he shouldn’t be Daniel Craig’s successor as the new 007 (and one of cinema’s biggest superstars). Among the younger co-stars, Jennifer Lawrence stands head and shoulders above others, fleshing out her character into something more believable and interesting than written for her on the paper.
X-Men, unlike most of Marvel’s recent outings, isn’t a phoned-in cash grab at all. If you like the logic of X-Men, this film is one hell of a treat. The visual effects are really neat and even though they look a little too CGI at times, they serve the story well. They also win bonus points for not forcing those horrendous 3D glasses upon us! I was most impressed with the sound work on the film though, especially during Professor X’s mind reading scenes and Magneto’s “focusing” moments. I can totally see a couple of sound nominations in their bag come Oscar nomination morning.
All that said, I can’t get past that caveat myself. I don’t like the logic of X-Men. It’s a thrilling action piece, yes, and its’ really entertaining, but as hard as I try, I can’t look beyond the giant hairy blue monster riding a plane. I can’t take it seriously when a well dressed man has tornadoes coming out of his palms and I’m not at all surprised that my friend laughed out loud at Michael Fassbender looking dead serious when stuck his arms out to pull the metal satellite dish toward him. I don’t blame the filmmakers for this. The film is almost as good as it can be. I blame myself for not being the target audience for this genre. At the end of the day, the film lacks the depth required to make it more significant or memorable for me than a good two hours at the movies on a weekend.

Grade: B-
Final Word: If you’re a fan of the series or the comic books, you’ll probably have a blast in the theatre. If you’re not into the whole superhero thing, you’ll most likely enjoy the film anyway. As far as popcorn pleasure summer blockbusters go, this is one of the better ones in recent years. And there’s also a lot of eye candy. really, a LOT of it.

*This review was from the perspective of someone who’s never watched the previous X-Men films or read the comics. Although, I am familiar enough with the series to understand the cameos!
Posted by Amir at 10:26 PM

http://www.reboundradio.com/featuredcontent/x-men-first-class-review-2/

First Class Review
Published on Jun 06 2011

Written by Troy Sauer at Troytabitha@hotmail.com

Let’s be honest. X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a crappy film and one of the worst movies of 2009. The special effects looked horrible. The script was tedious and boring. And Will I Am proved he’s no actor. What do you do when your franchise starts to stumble and the box office returns aren’t as good as they used to be? You start over, of course. Get a new cast. Bring in some hot, new talent to direct. Go in a different direction or change up the scenery. Twentieth Century Fox did all this for their latest X-Men movie. The final product is probably the best out of the franchise and a definite highlight for the summer of super hero movies.

X-Men: First Class is concerned with telling the story of how Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) became Professor X and Magneto. Before these two were archenemies, Charles and Erik were friends discovering their powers and fighting alongside each other. The filmmakers decide to take this story and set it within one of America’s most turbulent and scary moments in history, the Cuban Missile Crisis. Our heroes not only have to battle Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) and his band of evil mutants but also deal with America’s Cold War paranoia.

My problem with the X-Men series has usually been with the storytelling and direction. In typical Bryan Singer fashion, the films would start to ramp up the action and spectacle only to be slowed down by some characters philosophical outburst. I get it. The mutant thing is similar to what happened to the Jews during World War 2 or race relations in the United States. I don’t need a 10 minute speech reminding me of the moral dilemma. Thankfully, the studio decided to let Matthew Vaughn direct and provide some much needed fun to the film franchise. First Class has the perfect balance of drama and comic book action. You get all the plot details complete with political subtext, but Vaughn doesn’t sacrifice the pageantry for the message. The films climax during the Cuban Missile Blockade is thrilling and has some standout special effects. Yet, Vaughn doesn’t lose sight of the human turmoil and the consequences that may occur if our heroes don’t succeed.

I would like to give all the credit to the director for making this a top notch film, but the other thing that makes this one of the best summer movies in recent years is the stellar acting. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are fantastic. These two prove, once again, why Hollywood is anxious to put them in every film coming out in the next few years. Fassbender, especially, gives a deep and complex performance as Erik Lensherr. You see his good side but sense the demons he carries in his psyche. His transformation from victim of a concentration camp to hero to super villain is mesmerizing. When Fassbender says, “Peace was never an option,” you comprehend the pain and torture he’s endured and realize how far this character will go to seek vengeance. The delivery is truly chilling yet sympathetic. He would certainly steal each and every scene if it weren’t for Jennifer Lawrence as Raven. Lawerence is the heart of the film. She mixes petulant behavior with charm and insecurity. As a viewer, you connect with her inner struggle and can easily feel her disappointment when she learns some harsh truths about the world around her. The rest of the cast is excellent as well, but these three really shine. Each one takes a well written part and makes it their own. After this film, you can’t imagine anybody else portraying Professor X, Magneto or Mystique. The bald guy from Star Trek, the tall white guy with a funny beard from Lord of the Rings, and the girl that was married to that one guy on that TV show with the kids don’t even come close to McAvoy, Fassbender, and Lawrence.

X-Men: First Class does something that very few comic book movies can do. The film manages to combine comic book fun with a serious message. You can look at the film as a perfect summer escape and get lost in all the grand excitement. Or you can look at the film as an exploration on the true nature of man and his inability to accept those things which are different or unique. Whichever way you decide to go, you won’t be disappointed. Comic book fans will also enjoy this film for all its subtle allusions to the Marvel Universe. While this movie doesn’t tie into what Paramount is doing with the Avengers, you will get some references to the other X-Men movies and characters in the X-Men universe. This uncanny group of mutants will provide you with everything a great comic book movie needs – brains, fantastic feats, and fun. Don’t miss this one.

http://cinemademerde.com/Xmen_First_Class.shtml

X-Men: First Class
Unbelievably good
Submitted by CdMScott on Sun, 06/05/2011 - 8:33pm

Action

Released:
2011
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, Kevin Bacon
The Setup:

How the X-Men came together and Professor X and Magneto split.
Discussion:

I have been able to get over the mental prohibition against seeing movies while on vacation, rather than always feel like I have to be DOING or SEEING something. Especially when in Fort Lauderdale, where all there really is to do is go to the beach, shop, or cruise for gay sex. I mention this because of what I was greeted by upon entering the theater, wondering if this were somehow targeted to a place like Florida (as opposed to say, New York), which was a commercial for joining the Army, tied into the new X-Men movie we're about to see. It makes the argument that X-Men are heroes with special abilities, and YOU can be a hero with special abilities if you join the Army. Okay, we're all used to things like this by now and think nothing of it, but if you step back for a second and think about it: isn't that really messed up? It's a bit like that pre-movie commercial of about ten years back that implied that if you join the Marines, you will leap through whirling blades in Matrix-like slow motion, then slay a giant fiery beast with a sword. Making matters worse, they showed the X-Men Army commercial first, then a regular Army commercial, then the X-Men Army commercial AGAIN, then the regular Army commercial again. I can only wonder how many times they played before I entered the theater.

Okay, so I have to say I was more than nonplussed about this movie. Superhero movies are wearing out their welcome, and the trend of making prequels with younger versions of the characters we know strikes of a teen-aimed marketing ploy. So, blow me down to discover that not only is this a genuinely great popcorn movie, but it easily leaps to stature as the very best of the series, and is the rare sort of movie you walk out of saying "Holy s$#!! That was SO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD!

We open with pretty much the same opening from the first X-Men movie. Future Magneto Erik is separated from his parents at the Nazi concentration camps. A little display of his powers is overseen by Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw, who pulls him aside and wants him to demonstrate his powers, but the little tyke can't do it unless angry. So Shaw shoots his mother in front of him. This makes Erik go apeshit and kill everyone and raise a major ruckus, but he leaves Shaw alone? One of the few false notes of the movie, but we DO need a villain, and finding and hunting Shaw becomes Erik's quest throughout the film.

Meanwhile young Charles Xavier meets a young Mystique in his kitchen. She's a poor and hungry mutant, and he takes her in. Before you blink an eye he has aged into the perfectly-cast James McAvoy, and she's the less-great Jennifer Lawrence. We can tell that she has a crush on him, and we're supposed to understand that she's quite a bit younger though they seem only like two years apart. Soon he achieves his professorhood, at which point he is recruited by the always-welcome Rose Byrne as a CIA agent who knows that Shaw is working with the Russians (did I mention that this is taking place in the 60s?) and plotting all sorts of evil. The movie basically imagines that the Cuban Missile Crisis was engineered by Shaw as a power ploy, and that it's resolution was actually the result of a giant mutant showdown.

Okay, I'll leave the rest of the plot for you to discover. Let's hit the overalls. For the most part, the casting is just perfect. McAvoy has the sensitivity, acting chops and most importantly soulfulness that makes him a plausible young Professor X. Michael Fassbender has the more challenging role, for he has to make us sympathize with Magneto's perspective and how it resulted in his later villainy. Ian McKellen is wonderful, of course, but his role in the earlier movies was pretty much just cackling villain. Oh okay, a bit more shaded, but you know what I mean. Fassbender brings a lot of soul to Erik, and it also doesn't hurt that he's quite pleasant to look at. I was a little bummed by the end when he finally puts his Magneto hat on, as it covers up that sweet face. It's also great to finally see their early friendship and how intimately involved they were with each other. The movie makes it out that Xavier had a large role in helping Erik channel and use his powers, which adds resonance to their later parting of ways.

In fact, the movie does a great job all around of coloring in the earlier stories and details that were established by the time of the movies that take place later, in a way that does exactly what prequels are supposed to do: gain and give resonance to what you already know about these characters. You see the beginnings of mutants coming to realize there are other like themselves out there, the origins of the X-Men's jet, the origins of cerebro, how they all got their nicknames, the establishment of Professor X's school, all the way to how Xavier got into his wheelchair and his parting of ways with Magneto. Along the way we have a laugh-getting cameo by Hugh Jackman and a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo by the delightful Rebecca Romijn. For the most part all of it works beautifully, merges seamlessly and without forcing into the action of the other films, and avoids (mostly) the tendency to have too-pat or cute explanations that would just make you roll your eyes. I see that the story is co-credited to Bryan Singer, so surely that has something to do with it. We see pretty much every aspect of the later-period movies explained, and my only complaint is: if we had only known the movie was going to be this good, I would have been happy to spread it all out and have the separation of X and Magneto be the culmination of movie three in a prequel trilogy.

One small complaint is that the movie goes a tad overboard in its portrayal of women as sexual objects. It stands out mostly because it is so unnecessary. First, we discover that Rose Byrne's CIA agent just happens to wear a full compliment of Victoria's Secret-style under her everyday wear. I happen to have a friend who works in the bra industry, and he assures me that almost NO women in reality wear that kind of stuff as everyday wear. Byrne is able to join a bevy of similarly-attired women who are explicitly presented as high-end prostitutes to be used as the toys of powerful men. Even Jennifer Jones as Emma Frost, while presented as a powerful woman, has to run and fetch ice for the drink of her boss. The strangest touch is when a young mutant must be trained to control his destructive force by aiming it at and blowing up three mannequins. So, uh, why is it necessary that the mannequins that he VIOLENTLY BLOWS UP be of three shapely nude women in somewhat provocative positions?

One other tiny thing, which will only make sense once you've seen the movie, is that the climax flirts dangerously with comedy when you have one too may rounds through: THE MISSILES ARE COMING! Oh, no, they're going. BUT WAIT! THEY'RE COMING! Oh, false alarm, no, they're going. OH MY GOD! THEY'RE COMING AG--oh wait, no--LOOK!--oh...

Other than that, it's all just really fun and best of all, not stupid. These are real characters and they're all given compelling arcs that work together and don't seem forced. The special effects are sprinkled throughout, but never overcome the story. At the end there is a submarine thrown onto the beach of an island, and for once it actually seems to have weight. The is a touch of the James Bond villain to Shaw--Kevin Bacon is obviously having the time of his life--that makes him, and his outrageous secret lair, all quite fun. It's a blast, it doesn't insult you, it's involving, it's moving, it's epic in scope... It's everything a summer popcorn movie hopes to be and I'm not ashamed to say I spent the ten minutes after it was over saying "My God, I just can't believe how good that was."
Should you watch it?

If you like summer popcorn movies done right.

http://cinewhore.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/x-men-first-class-2011-grade-b-starring-james-mcavoy-michael-fassbender-kevin-bacon-jennifer-lawrence-january-jones-rose-byrne-nicholas-hoult-directed-by-matthew-vaughn/

X-Men: First Class (2011): Grade: B-: starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Lawrence, January Jones, Rose Byrne, & Nicholas Hoult: directed by Matthew Vaughn

Let me first throw out there that in my most humble opinion, Bryan Singer completely lacks any creative talent. THE USUAL SUSPECTS you say? Thank Christopher McQuarrie, the screenwriter who wrote the film. APT PUPIL? It was only good because it was based on a great Stephen King short story. X-MEN 2? Again, it was all thanks to the screenplay, which was written by Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, and David Hayter. Bryan Singer’s success has completely been due to strong screenplays and source materials that have made those films possible. Singer doesn’t bring any aesthetic talent as a director or at least he hasn’t displayed a unique style that has made me notice him the way I would Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, or James Cameron. We now come to X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, which marks Singer’s return to the X-MEN universe after he left it to helm the disappointing SUPERMAN RETURNS in 2006. However, instead of directing, he has opted to produce this latest X-installment and instead we have one of the most exciting (and candid) directors working today behind the camera, Matthew Vaughn (he made one of my favorite films of 2010, KICK-ASS).

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS takes us back to the beginning of the X-Men and how it all started. The film is mostly set in the early 1960’s, during the Kennedy Administration. The film starts out with parallel storylines, one following Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and the other Erik Lensherr, who will eventually be known as Magneto (Michael Fassbender). The movie begins just like the first X-MEN film, in 1944 in a concentration camp in Poland where a young Lensherr and his parents are separated and the anguish of losing his parents causes Lensherr to bend a metal gate. In the meantime, we are taken to Westchester County, NY, where a young Charles Xavier meets a shape-shifter named Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), who has broken into his parents’ house to look for food. We fast-forward to 1962 where we find Lensherr tracking down former Nazi officers to avenge the killing of his parents. At the same time, Charles Xavier has just graduated from Oxford University and he’s written a thesis about the mutant gene. This attracts the attention of the CIA, one of whose agents, Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) has been tracking the activities of the Hellfire Club. The Hellfire Club is an organization run by Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) and Emma Frost (January Jones) and it is attempting to start World War III between the Soviet Union and the U.S. Shaw also happens to be the man who killed Lensherr’s mother in the concentration camp. The CIA recruits the services of Xavier and he eventually hooks up with Lensherr. The two of them go out and find other mutants and together they form the X-Men.

During its 2 hours and 20 minutes running time, a hell of a lot happens during X-MEN: FIRST CLASS. If you’re the sort of person who normally has to pee during a movie, then I suggest you not drink anything because you will miss a key part of the story. Although it’s a long movie, it’s a tightly structured and concise plot that doesn’t waste a single frame in telling its story. Each scene moves the story forward and given the fact that Matthew Vaughn only had 10 months to shoot this picture, the screenwriters and editor deserve to be commended for putting this movie together with the little time they had.

At the same time, the drawbacks to only having 10 months to make this film are clearly evident. I don’t understand why 20th Century Fox felt like it had to release X-MEN: FIRST CLASS this year, but for whatever reason (I suspect it may have partly been due to contractual obligations with Marvel), it got made in a very short amount of time. Compounding the problem is the ambitious scope of the story, which involves the Cuban Missile Crisis, parallel storylines of two major characters, CIA secret spy s$#!, and the introduction of a plethora of heroes and villains. I certainly enjoyed what I saw and I can see the resemblance to CASINO ROYALE as some critics have remarked. However, I also felt that with more time, the movie could have been finessed to have become something great. Vaughn clearly wanted to tell an epic story, but due to the little time he was given, he seemed to have opted into giving us a summary of that story rather than a fleshed-out expanded version of it. The entire movie seems comprised of “best of” moments from sequences. Consequently, the formation and training of the X-Men, Erik and Charles’ relationship, and the political sub-plot involving the CIA, the U.S. military, the Soviets, and the Hellfire Club felt rushed. Acts II and III lacks any real momentum and you don’t get a sense of the high stakes that are involved between the Americans and the Soviets if they go to war. Most disappointing are the climax and resolution, which are fortunately not as lame as the Statute of Liberty sequence in Act III of X-MEN, but it completely fails to generate the grandiose, all-hell-is-about-to-break-loose mood that it should have. Again, with more time, I think X-MEN: FIRST CLASS could have been further developed to have turned into an instant classic, but in its present form, it falls just short of that.

As to what works in X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, the casting for this movie is downright superb. I would have never thought that anyone could have matched the formidable Ian McKellen in filling the role of Magneto. Magneto is a great character because he’s not like your typical supervillain by being completely malicious. He isn’t motivated by pure greed or the urge to destroy mankind just for the hell of it. He believes in the superiority of mutants over humans, which stems in part from his tragic childhood at the hands of the Nazi. Ironically, Magneto’s views of the hierarchy between mutants and humans is the same as what the Nazis believed between the white race and the Jews. Michael Fassbender does an awesome job in portraying the character and he, along with Kevin Bacon, easily turn in the best performances of the movie. There has been talk in the past of a Magneto solo film and after seeing Fassbender play the character, I would not mind seeing that film get made. Although it sucks for Kevin Bacon to be acting more frequently these days because his fortune got squandered by Bernie Madoff, its always a pleasure to see him onscreen. Even when he’s starred in sh*#&% films (which are many), it can never be said that Bacon didn’t deliver a good performance. Bacon is perfect as Sebastian Shaw. As terrible and cold as he is, Bacon manages to infuse the character with a certain degree of likeability. What’s more, Bacon doesn’t overplay the character’s evil side. In the hands of a lesser actor, that could have easily resulted, especially when you consider that Shaw’s goal is to cause World War III, a decidedly Dr. Evil thing to do.

Not to lessen his contribution, James McAvoy also turns in a commendable performance as Professor Charles Xavier. McAvoy skillfully combines Professor X’s brashness, wisdom, and perceptiveness that gives us a glimpse of the man the character will one day be. McAvoy is perfectly cast to play the role, but more importantly, he does a fine job in bringing some of Patrick Stewart’s interpretation to the character as well.

As for the rest of the cast, with the exception of Beast, I was a bit disappointed, but fortunately not enough to detract from my enjoyment of the movie. Part of the problem is the choice of characters to form the X-Men team and the other villains. For example, I was never a fan of Mystique from the first X-MEN film and I found her inclusion in this movie to be a nod to the fans of that film. Otherwise, she should not have been a part of the original X-Men team. I was hoping to have seen more of the major characters from the comic book such as Nightcrawler, Iceman, and Colossus to name a few. The choice of villains was also disappointing. I have always liked Emma Frost, but I’m not much of a fan of her recent reinvention in the comic books as someone who can turn into crystal. However, by far the most underdeveloped characters in the entire film are Angel, Azazel, and Riptide. Their characters are one-dimensional and lame. I was especially disappointed by Azazel, who comes off as nothing more than a red copy of Nightcrawler. Of all the villains in the X-Men universe, there must have surely been much more enticing characters to include.

One thing I really enjoyed about X-MEN: FIRST CLASS was the 60’s look of the film. Matthew Vaughn seems to have taken great care to recreate the mood and look of the 60s. Even the actors, for the most part, seem to have gotten rid of their modern day mannerisms in order to fit the time period. Particular scenes in the film especially capture the 60s, such as the inside of Sebastian Shaw’s submarine, the Pentagon war room, and strangely enough, the inside of a parking garage (you have to see it to know what I mean). The visual effects are decent, but again, I think that with some more finesse, the effects could have been far better. As they are now, they look like they weren’t 100% finished.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS isn’t perfect, but it’s a better effort than X-MEN and it’s far better than X-MEN 3 and the horrendous WOLVERINE. It’s a pleasing film that brings the franchise back on track. I didn’t like this as much as the critics, but because I have seen what Matthew Vaughn can do when he’s at the peak of his game, I would love to see him make a sequel to this film and to be given all the time in the world to do it. Vaughn has hinted at what he would like to do for the sequel and it sounds pretty awesome.

http://www.filmreviews.net.au/2011/06/x-men-first-class/

X MEN: FIRST CLASS
by Roy

Reviewed by GREG KING

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, January Jones, Jason Flemyng, Lucas Till, Zoe Kravitz, Caleb Landry Jones, Edi Gathegi, Michael Ironside, Oliver Platt, Alex Gonzalez, Glenn Morshower, Matt Craven, James Remar, Hugh Jackman (uncredited), Rade Serbedzija, Ray Wise, Brendan Fehr, Jason Beghe, Tony Curran, Randall Batinkoff, Laurence Belcher, Bill Milner.

This fifth film in the X Men franchise is an origin story that takes us back to an earlier time and gives us the backstory of the two central characters Professor X and Magneto. While remaining respectful of its comic book origins, X Men: First Class breathes new life into the franchise.
The film is set in the early ‘60s, a time of Cold War tensions and distrust. At the same time the world was just starting to learn of the existence of mutants, people with extraordinary powers.
Charles Xavier (played by James McAvoy) is a professor of genetics at Oxford University, who is using his telepathic powers to impress the girls. Xavier begins to track down fellow mutants, who were often treated as outcasts by those afraid of what they cannot understand. At his sprawling Westchester home he begins to train them, teaching them to harness their peculiar powers.
Erik Lehnsheer (Michael Fassbender) is a survivor of the Nazi death camps, which was where he first discovered his power to bend metal. Now, driven by rage and a thirst for vengeance, he is on the trail of ex-Nazi scientist Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). Meanwhile Shaw is a megalomaniac with powers of his own. He is hell bent on starting a nuclear war between the US and Russia, ensuring that his vision for the future of mutantkind will be achieved in a massive conflagration. Which is how Xavier and Eric come to lead a squad of mutant warriors into the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
After his work on the mighty Kick Ass last year it is obvious that director Matthew Vaughn knows how to treat a comic book on the screen. X Men First Class is a deft mix of comic book fantasy, sci-fi and exciting action sequences that recaptures some of the spirit of Bryan Singer’s first film in the X-Men franchise. This is also a much more enjoyable experience than the disappointingly average origin story featuring Wolverine.
Working from a story by Sheldon Turner and original X-Men director Singer, Vaughn and regular co-writer Jane Goldman superbly mix fact and fiction with their treatment of the Cuban Missile Crisis, ensuring that the politics don’t slow down the action. There are some spectacular CGI sequences here, but the special effects serve the narrative rather than overwhelming the material as often happens with this kind of big budget action film.
Vaughn has assembled a solid ensemble cast to bring the early incarnations of familiar characters to life, and there is even a brief, humourous uncredited cameo appearance by Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. McAvoy brings an easygoing charm to his role as the earnest young Xavier, who sees a future where mutants and humans can live together. Fassbender brings his characteristic intensity to his role as Eric, who became Magneto, who has a healthy and well-deserved distrust of humans. He even captures much of Ian McKellan’s style with his dialogue. We see how this pair were good friends until their different attitudes towards humans drove then apart. McAvoy and Fassbender bring plenty of integrity to their performances, and the pair establish a wonderful rapport.
However there are far too many characters introduced here, and out of necessity many of the young cast – particularly Lucas Till, Caleb Landry Jones, Edi Gathegi, and Zoe Kravitz – are not given much screen time to establish their characters. However, Jennifer Lawrence (from Winter’s Bone, etc) as Raven, aka Mystique, and Nicholas Hoult as brilliant scientist Hank McCoy, aka Beast, are given a fair amount of screen time to develop their characters. And Aussie actress Rose Byrne (from Insidious and the upcoming Bridesmaids) lends solid support as Moira McTaggart, the CIA scientist who enlists Xavier’s help in tracking down Shaw. Oliver Platt brings a welcome touch of humour to his role as an enigmatic CIA executive who sees the potential of Xavier’s mutants in maintaining world peace.
But it is Bacon who steals the film with his scenery chewing performance as the formidable archvillain of the piece, a larger than life villain straight out of the Bond canon. As his telepathic assistant Emma Frost, January Jones (from tv series Mad Men, etc) is alluring even if given little of note to do.
As with Christopher Nolan’s superb retooling of the Batman legend with Batman Begins, and J J Abrams breathing fresh life into the Star Trek franchise, X Men: First Class is the perfect way in which to reboot this Marvel franchise that had shown signs of becoming tired and stale.

***1/2

http://esimoy.livejournal.com/39787.html

For X-Men Franchise, A 'First Class' Reboot

[info]esimoy
June 5th, 4:42

Class Of '62: Michael Fassbender proves his blockbuster mettle as Magneto in X-Men: First Class, a swift and stylish relaunch that lays out the Cold War-era origins for Marvel's superheroes.
Murray Close/Twentieth Century Fox

Class Of '62: Michael Fassbender proves his blockbuster mettle as Magneto in X-Men: First Class, a swift and stylish relaunch that lays out the Cold War-era origins for Marvel's superheroes.

X-Men: First Class

Director: Matthew Vaughn
Genre: Action
Running Time: 138 minutes

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some sexual content including brief partial nudity and language

With: James McAvoy, Kevin Bacon, Michael Fassbender, January Jones, Jennifer Lawrence

(Recommended)

There's much to admire about X-Men: First Class, a combination reboot and prequel for a three-film mutant-superhero series that peaked with its rousing second entry, then hit the wall in a by-the-numbers adventure that languished between workmanlike and perfunctory. Yet it's not the artistry of X-Men: First Class that's particularly striking; though it's finely crafted, the film feels less the product of a visionary director than of the Marvel movies machine working at maximum efficiency.

What's really awe-inspiring about X-Men: First Class is akin to what's startling about watching a sideshow strongman lift a refrigerator over his head. Just re-energizing a moribund franchise would be enough of a burden, but director Matthew Vaughn and his battery of screenwriters have also been tasked with rebuilding the entire X-Men universe from scratch.

Origin stories can be deadly ? we're looking at you, Star Wars prequels ? because they're about setup more than follow-through. By that measure, X-Men seems especially perilous, given its many dozens of specialized mutants and the convoluted allegiances and rivalries among them.

It's a headache just to consider the logistics of squeezing all that business into one movie, but the small miracle of X-Men: First Class is that it pulls off this herculean feat without breaking a sweat. Rather than feeling hampered by the need to introduce the likes of Magneto and Professor X to an audience that knows them through three previous blockbusters ? to say nothing of comics, video games, action figures and other ancillary products ? the filmmakers seem to have seized the opportunity to start fresh with a new cast and a cleaner, stronger mythology.

Harnessing a wealth of pulpy energy from real human events, X-Men: First Class cleverly incorporates the X-Men into a shadow history of the Cold War and the Cuban missile crisis. But first, it turns to the ultimate pulp villains ? Nazis ? to raise the stakes all the more. Flashing back to Auschwitz, it recaps the tale of young Erik Lensherr, who discovers the powers that will later transform him into Magneto when Nazi doctor Sebastian Shaw, played delectably by Kevin Bacon, guns down his mother. From that moment on, Erik's anger and impulsiveness will contrast starkly with his future friend and eventual nemesis Charles Xavier, aka Professor X, who manages his telepathic powers with intelligence and restraint. (Sometimes to a fault.)
Fassbender (left), Caleb Landry Jones, James McAvoy, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence and Lucas Till are all mutants ? but not always on the same side.
Enlarge Murray Close/Twentieth Century Fox

Fassbender (left), Caleb Landry Jones, James McAvoy, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence and Lucas Till are all mutants ? but not always on the same side.
Murray Close/Twentieth Century Fox

Fassbender (left), Caleb Landry Jones, James McAvoy, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence and Lucas Till are all mutants ? but not always on the same side.

Jumping ahead to 1962, with James McAvoy as Xavier and a mesmerizing Michael Fassbender as Erik, the film brings the two mutants together in an effort to avert global catastrophe. After a postwar lay-low in Argentina, Bacon's Sebastian has assembled a team of mutant ne'er-do-wells, including the telepathic Emma Frost (January Jones in brittle Mad Men form), and sets out to provoke a U.S.-Soviet nuclear conflict that will thin the ranks of ordinary humans. Recruited by the CIA for a "Division of Mutant Powers" aimed at countering the threat, Xavier and Erik put together a mutant army of their own, mainly stocked with young, unrefined talent ? mutants we'll come to know, but before they're called such names as Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast (Nicholas Hoult) and Havok (Lucas Till).

On top of everything else, X-Men: First Class introduces an experimental serum designed to turn the mutants into ordinary humans ? but really, the Cuban missile crisis is effective enough at stoking the identity issues built into the X-Men mythos. As evil plots go, the idea of escalating Cold War tensions in an effort to eradicate humanity is pleasingly outrageous, but it also complicates the mutants' struggle to integrate with other people or reject them entirely. This division among the mutants will likely be central to future X-Men movies, and First Class sets the table swiftly and clearly.

In the end, that clarity is the film's greatest asset, because it's a giant contraption built from an awful lot of moving parts. That Vaughn and company have time to sprinkle in witty references to X-Men marginalia ? and delight, too, in the shagadelic details of the swinging '60s ? speaks to the integrity of their blueprint. With X-Men: First Class getting the heavy lifting out of the way, the sequels will presumably cut loose ? but it won't be easy for them to have this much fun doing it. (Recommended)

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/06/02/136829667/for-x-men-franchise-a-first-class-reboot?ft=1&f=1045

http://a-little-hope.com/blog/2011/06/movie-review-x-men-first-class/

Movie Review: X-Men First Class
By
Hope
– June 4, 2011

While I think I should have brushed up on my X-Men movies before going, it was really good. I could tell there were certain places that things from the other X-Men movies were being referenced because of the laughter in the theater. I didn’t pick up on all of them but I did a few

I really liked the cast. They jelled well together and I found myself wanting more of this cast at the end of the movie. Not that the “older” cast isn’t great

I give it 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Description from Netflix.com:

2011 PG-13
In this exciting prequel to the X-Men series, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) — the future Professor X and Magneto — are best friends dedicated to harnessing their powers and promoting the education of fellow mutants during the turbulent 1960s. The duo works together to stop a powerful adversary that threatens mankind, but their ideological differences drive them apart and turn them into ferocious enemies.

Cast:James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, January Jones, Jason Flemyng, Nicholas Hoult, Kevin Bacon, Zoë Kravitz
Director:Matthew Vaughn
Genres: Action & Adventure, Action Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Comic Books and Superheroes, Blu-ray
This movie is: Exciting, Imaginative, Suspenseful
Availability: DVD and Blu-ray availability date unknown

http://herrwozzecksfilmreviews.blogspot.com/2011/06/x-men-first-class.html

Saturday, June 4, 2011
"X-Men: First Class"
So... there is lots of Marvel Universe stuff that's going down over the course of this coming summer.

So what better way to do stuff than to keep up with it, right?

This, of course, brings us to today's movie.

X-Men: First Class

It is the Cold War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis is on the verge of becoming reality. Behind the scenes, however, there seems to be something strange brewing: a new kind of people, the mutants, who have powers beyond those of normal men. The CIA has thus adopted an initiative to help them, with the bulk of the efforts led by Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender). With the team that they have built up, they set out to avert a world on the brink of war.

So yes, we get a whole lot of set-up for the X-Men universe.

Honestly? It's all incredibly entertaining to watch unfold.

Action? Honestly, it's bigger than any X-Men movie that has come to us so far. It's big, it's grand, and some of the set-pieces are absolutely jaw-dropping to behold. It also gives us some great showcases from leading man Michael Fassbender, as he and McAvoy both get a lot to do in the action scenes. Actually, just about everyone gets a lot to do in this movie's action scenes, and they are all incredibly exciting affairs. The characters, too, are engaging, and this only makes the action that ensues better when we like these characters so much.

And of course, the acting manages to help in making the characters so incredibly engaging. McAvoy perfectly embodies Xavier's fairly naive quality, and Fassbender pretty much nails Magneto with all of his hidden rage at the world that only rarely bubbles up. The two leads themselves are engaging, but pretty much the entire supporting cast is also incredibly engaging. I need not mention the astoundingly incredible Jennifer Lawrence: anything I said about her in Winter's Bone applies to her portrayal as Mystique as well, as she embodies everything about her character in this movie, but the other supporting cast manages to play their parts with great aplomb. The only possible exception would probably be January Jones as Emma Frost, but she did not get all that much to do to begin with.

If there's one issue I would have to bring up... well, it's a pretty big one. A big part of the X-Men franchise deals with how the mutants are hated just because they are all different. And as you'd expect, this movie has to deal with that given that it documents the falling out of Xavier and Erik. Unfortunately, this issue isn't tackled with as much aplomb as it really should be. There are times where the characters change allignments without any real build-up to said alignment switch, and the morality tends to come across as slightly overblown at parts. Thus, it is a major flaw in the story of this movie, and it's an issue that could have been handled much better than it ultimately was.

But don't let that stop you from seeing X-Men: First Class. Apart from the whole 'mutants are different' aspect of the movie, everything else about this movie works incredibly well. It has engaging characters, charismatic actors in their shoes, and everything else just fits incredibly well. It's an entertaining movie, and one of the best ways to start the month.

3/4

It has a few flaws, but it's still worth checking out.

This is Herr Wozzeck Reviews. I'll see you guys next time.
Posted by Herr Wozzeck at 23:10

http://robsmovievault.wordpress.com/2011/06/04/x-men-first-class/

X-Men: First Class

There are two major conflicts running through X-Men: First Class. One is interesting, though we’ve seen it before, and one is near-fatal to the film. The first conflict is the ideological loggerheads between two powerful mutants — Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), a telepath, and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender), who can manipulate metal with his mind. Charles is aware that normal humans hate and fear mutants, but wants to help humans anyway. Erik is likewise aware, but gradually decides that he would rather not. The second conflict is one of tone. X-Men: First Class, set during the early ’60s leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis, breathes heavily about matters of major historical import — Erik as a boy survived Auschwitz — but also wants to be a poppy summer-fun blast in which mutants sprout wings or blue fur and flit around the sky like fireflies at dusk.

The result is a weird and unstable experience, and I wish I could say I gave in to the lightweight escapism. But when you present me with the Final Solution and the spectre of nuclear annihilation — which actually almost happened, with or without mutants — I have a hard time switching gears for the goofball scenes of young mutants in training, roughhousing with their budding powers. I don’t mean to be a killjoy; I just mean to say that historical high seriousness and retro pulp don’t blend well — you can see the seams. The first two X-Men films, directed by Bryan Singer, took themselves seriously — gloomily so, at times — but at least felt consistent. The stakes were high, and Singer, an openly gay director, plumbed the metaphor of mutants as persecuted homosexuals, but when the action beats came they felt rooted in something personal. Here, the historical import seems like a tacky backdrop for tackier action.

Charles and Erik (who will later triumphantly assume the dorky name “Magneto,” snarkily given to him by Jennifer Lawrence’s shape-shifting Mystique) enter into an increasingly uneasy alliance when Erik’s old foe from the Auschwitz days, Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), plans to use his own mutant powers and mutant minions to provoke nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia. The resulting radiation will kill off all the humans and empower the mutants. So Charles and Erik build their own team, made up mostly of disaffected youngsters with strange powers; perhaps significantly, perhaps not, of the two mutants of color, one dies early on and one turns to evil.

Michael Fassbender emerges as a cool, 007-like presence, the only real adult in the movie; James McAvoy seems to keep himself amused. For the most part, though, the large cast gets lost in the bombast, and January Jones as Shaw’s telepathic right-hand woman Emma Frost gives yet another dead-eyed performance in which she seems to be reading her lines phonetically. The director (and one of four named writers) of X-Men: First Class is credited as Matthew Vaughn, which I find hard to believe. Can this be the same man who gave us last year’s sarcastic, taboo-breaking superhero satire Kick-Ass (not to mention the enchanting comedy Stardust)? This film is a complete regression for Vaughn, who seemed to be forging a career as one of the few iconoclasts working in big Hollywood movies. There’s more outlaw excitement in any of Hit Girl’s scenes from Kick-Ass than in all of X-Men: First Class.

Save for a few hairdos and JFK on the tube, the ’60s milieu isn’t very convincing; the movie itself, meanwhile, feels as though it were made in 1996 or even 1986. A lot of that is due to Henry Jackman’s painfully cheesy score, but part of it is down to Matthew Vaughn’s passionless, visionless direction. Vaughn was supposed to direct 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand but dropped out two weeks before filming started; did he take this movie on to prove he could’ve done better with the earlier film, or did he forget in the intervening five years why he’d wanted to make an X-Men film in the first place? X-Men: First Class has been getting something of a free ride from the fanboy press, who respect Vaughn for his past films and are grateful that someone tried to make a better movie than The Last Stand and the oafish Wolverine. But loyalty to a director and relief that a film doesn’t stink on ice aren’t enough reason to excuse mediocrity.

http://rowenet.wordpress.com/2011/06/04/x-men-first-class-movie-review/

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS – Movie Review
June 4, 2011 Jordan Rowe Leave a comment Go to comments

I’ll be the first to say that I love a good, unique comic book movie. Emphasis on the word “unique,” though. The fact of the matter is that comic book movies are made so frequently that I’ve lost a lot of interest when I see a trailer for some newly adapted superhero or a sequel to something that might have been good the first time around, but wouldn’t need a successor. Judging by the trailers to X-Men: First Class, however, I was thinking it wouldn’t fall into the clichés. And does it live up to my excitement? Well, sort of.

X-Men: First Class is the fifth film in the X-Men series. It’s set in the 1960s and it follows the origins of Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender), formerly referred to as Charles and Erik. We get to see all of the first-draft mutants, including early versions of Beast (Nicholas Hoult) and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), banding together for the first time during the Cold War.

Watching the movie, I admired how director Matthew Vaughan (Kick-Ass) handled the 1960s setting, as well as the characters. There are a large amount of mutants in the mix, however none of them were overshadowed. They all had an equal amount of screen time and were interesting to watch.

That might as well be due to the actors in the movie, however, who do a very nice job for the most part. The standouts for me were James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Kevin Bacon as one despicable baddie.

However, the problem with X-Men: First Class is that I always felt a layer of glass between the film and me. I never felt like I was really with any of these characters or wildly invested in the story. And while I think the characters and story are both handled well, there should have been a stronger connection.

Also, I am constantly seeing full 5/5 ratings for this movie, and I’m not exactly clear why. I’ll admit that it is a very good comic book movie. Heck, it’s one of the better ones I’ve seen in recent years. However, it didn’t really blow me away as much as other comic book movies have. I never felt the wow-factor that I loved feeling in movies like The Dark Knight and, ironically, Kick-Ass.

Overall, I’d be lying to myself if I said I didn’t enjoy the movie. However, I don’t think it’s much more than just a very well done popcorn movie.

FINAL RATING: 4/5

Share your thoughts in the comments below! The film is in theaters now.

http://kelevra27.wordpress.com/2011/06/04/x-men-first-class-review/

X-Men: First Class Review

June 4, 2011 – 5:48 pm

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, and Kevin Bacon

Plot: In 1963, Charles Xavier starts up a school and later a team, for humans with superhuman abilities. Among them is Erik Lensherr, his best friend… and future archenemy.

The X-Men franchise whether is be the comics or movies has become one of the most popular and iconic franchises in the recent years. When news broke out that a new X-Men movie was being made and would be a reboot of sorts AND it would be called First Class many fanboys were uneasy and then when they released the names of mutants involved they raised the hands in a “what the hell.” However, I always knew this movie would be good with a great cast and with Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, last’s year comic book movie Kick-Ass and ironically was supposed to direct X-Men 3) in the directors chair this movie was bound to be good and it was.

James McAvoy plays a Charles Xavier is of course different than the one we know he’s walking, drinking, womanizing and all of that with a full head of hair. The other half of the film is Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr and something that I thought was interesting, Vaughn actually starts the film with a recreation of the opening of the original X-Men movie, as the child Erik first finds his powers when trying to save his mom in a Nazi concentration camp. When we meet the adult Erik, he’s going around the world being a Nazi hunter with a mission to find and destroy the man who made him what he is today — Kevin Bacon’s Sebastian Shaw, another mutant who taught the young Erik that only through torture and pain can he fully manifest his powers.

Of course, Xavier is the polar opposite. He’s all about peace, love and harmony, and when his and Erik’s paths cross, they bond despite their differences. The comparison can be made with Malcolm X and Martin Luther King views of course the views this time is whether mutants should take over or slowly get humans to accept them. Fassbender and McAvoy share the best scenes and steal the movie, but between the both of them Fassbender is the one who steals most of it. Meanwhile, Bacon and his brood of evil mutants known as the Hellfire Club which are sort of like the comics are planning to spark a nuclear war between the United States and the USSR. Then comes the recruitment of the X-Men which involves using Cerbro built by Nicholas Hoult, who was actually pretty good as Hank McCoy aka Beast, who suffers from an inferiority complex despite being super-smart, super-fast. Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique is good girl here instead of being on the other side like the last X-Films and is Xavier’s closest friend.

The rest of the team includes Zoe Kravitz as Angel who is kinda just there, Edi Gathegi is Darwin who can really adapt to survive, Lucas Till is the Havok who cannot his powers and Caleb Landry Jones as the sonic-screaming Banshee. Rose Byrne however is just a plain old human C.I.A agent Moira MacTaggert who recruits Charles to find Shaw. Then there’s Mad Men’s January Jones, who I still think isn’t really that great of an actress but she was okay here, as Shaw’s telepathic, diamond-plated sidekick Emma Frost. Shaw’s other mutants and Hellfire Club members are Jason Flemyng’s Azazel and Alex Gonzalez’s tornado-minded Riptide.

With the movie being set in the 1960′s and during the Cuban Missile Crisis it does make the movie’s emotions and atmosphere seems more epci. Xavier’s nights partying in London and telling potential hook-ups that their mutation/hair color is “groovy,” the X-kids fooling around as only young mutants can was pretty fun to see. The writers managed to keep this film connected to the previous films while also launching it as its own franchise, which I really liked. There are several quick but great moments that are undeniably of that former X-universe. X-Men: First Class is a big, ambitious film that bites off a lot more than most superhero movies could ever hope to chew. It rarely stumbles although maybe there were times were it slows down but who cares. It’s finally just the story of two men and their friendship, which is doomed from the start. We know that story so well, and yet somehow Vaughn has made it feel fresh and new again.

All in all, X-Men First Class was a great comic book movie showing how the relationship between two of the most powerful mutants and how they rose and fell. Like I said before there are many moments that stay true to the last X-Men films and at the same times makes a new timeline, some are very obvious and some you really have to pay attentions to catch them. I being a nerd caught them cause well…yeah let’s just leave it at that.

X-Men First Class

5 out 5

http://drheimlich.blogspot.com/2011/06/class-act.html

Saturday, June 04, 2011
Class Act
Fall off your chair, people -- I went to see a movie based on a comic book last night, the new X-Men: First Class. You might think it an especially unlikely event, since I've found the franchise to be sliding downhill since the first film. (Well, maybe not so much "downhill" as "away from non-comic fans.") Something about the whole period setting, resetting the story approach on this film got my interest.

I found this film to be the best of the four. They got a number of things right. The emphasis of the film is very firmly on character; for example, in the five minute pre-title sequence, they do more to establish and flesh out the characters of Professor X and Magneto than was accomplished in all three previous films combined. And that continues fairly well all the way through, as the film is strongly centered around the friendship between two men who would later be rivals.

The film also does a much better job of juggling multiple characters than its predecessors. Where the earlier X-Men movies devolved into an ever larger Mutantapalooza, this movie seems much more aware of where the line of saturation is. A handful of characters get the major emphasis, another handful more appears in clearly secondary roles... and that's basically it. (Except for a number of fairly entertaining cameo-like appearances from notable character actors.)

The cast is fairly strong. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender anchor the film in the lead performances, and have a great rapport with one another. Kevin Bacon serves up a fun villain with great relish. And Rose Byrne (from Damages) manages to be a somewhat interesting "character with no superpowers" in the superpowered movie -- no mean feat.

But occasionally, the movie stumbles and loses its way for small stretches. I suspect this will be a matter of taste, because the parts I found boring will probably be most people's favorite stuff in the film. Most of the action sequences go on a bit too long, rely a bit too much on CG, and replay a few too many of the tricks we've seen in earlier X-Men films. The movie always managed to pull back before losing me completely; nevertheless, I often found the "action movie" elements to be the weakest part of this fundamentally "action movie."

But in all, I'd call the movie a B, a pleasant surprise. Which I suppose probably means that if this kind of thing is normally up your alley, you may well find it to be one of the best comic book movies in years.
at 4:25 PM

http://blacksheepreviews.blogspot.com/2011/06/x-men-first-class.html

Saturday, June 04, 2011
X-MEN: FIRST CLASS

Written by Ahsley Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughan
Directed by Matthew Vaughan
Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence
and Kevin Bacon

Charles Xavier: I believe that true focus lies somewhere between rage and serenity.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the X-Men within the ever-expanding realm of comic book film adaptations. Given my own, and what I imagine are most people’s insecurities, it is easy to identify with people who feel they don’t belong amongst regular society, people who genuinely believe themselves to be freaks. Only these particular freaks aren’t ashamed of who they are, rather they are more advanced specimens because of their abnormalities. That confidence can perhaps be no better pinpointed that at its moment of inception. And so X-MEN: FIRST CLASS tells us the tale of how a mutant comes of age.

It is 1944 when Matthew Vaughan’s first adult superhero movie opens. (He also directed KICK-ASS but that’s more pubescent superhero-ish really.) The man who would become Magneto, Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender), is but a boy, being separated from his mother in a Nazi concentration camp in Poland. Across the world, a boy named Charles Xavier (played in adult form by James McAvoy) is alone with his thoughts in a Westchester, New York, mansion. They don’t know it yet but they will grow to become sworn adversaries in an eternal debate surrounding the true nature of humanity – are we in fact inherently good, hopeful and open to change or are we just hateful beings acting out of fear and desperation attempting to destroy everything we cannot understand? One believes is harmony while the other doesn’t believe humanity capable of it.

A little less than 20 years later and these boys are now adults. Charles is bit of a cad with the ladies, finishing his doctorate on genetics at Oxford University. Erik however has focused his ability to manipulate and control all metals to a fine art and is determined to find the Nazi officer that ruined his life. Unbeknownst to either of them, this particular Nazi is a mutant himself and one with grand plans at that. Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) wants to start World War III by pitting the Russians against the Americans in what we would know as the Cuban missile crisis. As nuclear radioactivity gave birth to mutation in humanity, Shaw believes a post nuclear war world will be a mutant utopia. Charles and Erik must band together, along with a group of misfit mutants who have barely become adults, to defeat a common enemy. Their idea of defeating him though differs drastically.

I’ve always known Professor X and Magneto to be enemies. I knew they had a respect for each other, which at times bordered on admiration but all the same, they ruled on opposing sides. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS provides the insight as to just how complex their relationship truly is. They are not really enemies after all; they are equals and even brothers who have fundamentally different values. The fact that they each adhere to their core beliefs so passionately and with such unflinching resolve is what inspires the respect that each accords the other. The strength of their fraternity is testament to the great depth Fassbender and McAvoy bring to the roles, all of which allows Vaughan to bring a great deal of class to a franchise that was going the route of crass.

Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Google Buzz
Posted by Black Sheep at 5:34 PM

http://realotakugamer.com/did-it-make-the-grade-x-men-first-class-review

Did It Make The Grade? X-Men: First Class Review
Posted by e0n the ne0 Kore0n on June - 4 - 2011
No Gravatar

Does X-Men: First Class pass or fail?

Both, depending on how you look at it…

X-Men: First Class is a massively successful and entertaining superhero film, trumped only by its monumental failure as a prequel.

DO NOT go into this movie thinking that it’s a prequel. The movie posters, trailers, and promos would all have you believe that this is where the X-Men trilogy started. Do not believe the hype. First Class seems to have a bit of an identity crisis, not sure whether it wants to be a franchise reboot or a prequel. There are so many continuity errors that it seems impossible to think that the film was intended as a prequel, but for every one of these blatant errors, there’s a line of dialogue, visual cue, or cameo that suggests otherwise. Trust me, forget about the original trilogy, go in with an open mind, and you’ll be blown away.

The core of the movie is about Erik Lehnsherr aka Magneto (“Master of Magnet”), Charles Xavier (Prof. X), the development of their friendship, and the events that will inevitably turn them into nemesises… nemesi? Nemeses. Michael Fassbender (300, Inglorious Bastards) and James McAvoy (Wanted, The Chronic-What-cles of Narnia) carry the weight of the film on their capable shoulders, but it’s Fassbender who really shines. I’ve liked him in everything I have seen him in, but his layered performance as Erik Lehnsherr propelled him onto a new level for me. If Matthew Vaughn and Michael Fassbender got back together for a Magneto spin-off, I would be all in. Speaking of Matthew Vaughn, (who got his superhero training while directing KICK-ASS) he does some great things here to revitalize the X franchise. After the great X films directed by Bryan Singer, the let down that was Bret Rattner’s X3, and the epic failure that was Wolverine, the franchise needed a fresh injection of creative talent and artistic vision. I am happy to report that Matthew Vaughn brings both to the table. The movie is shot with style and energy and Vaughn just seems to “get it” when it comes to comic book source material. A sequence with Magneto in Argentina and a split screen training montage being a couple of the standout scenes in a movie filled with awesome moments. I would go so far as to say that First Class outclasses all of the other X-Men movies that came before (chronologically after). I hope the positive buzz and almost assured box office success generate more X-Men movies from Vaughn and co. Let’s hope they get progressively better instead of worse, this time around.

Magneto, Moira MacTaggert, Emma Frost, Azazel, Beast, Havok, Angel, Mystique, and Mr. Tumnus



The performances from the rest of the cast are a mixed bag. This is mostly due to the D-list X-men characters that were adapted for the movie. Characters like Tempest (Angel in the film) and Riptide just aren’t that deep, and they are not on the screen for enough time to warrant an explanation of their power-sets and backgrounds. The actors just do not have that much to work with. The characters you do know, such as Beast, Emma Frost, and fan-favorite Havok are all well represented and are given enough screen time to hit some iconic poses. Beast fares particularly well and delivers an interesting character arc and some excellent fight work. Much of this is due to Nicholas Hoult (the kid from About a Boy, all grown up) and his performance which combines just the right amount of Hank McCoy’s bookworm side and the more primal facets of the Beast. One character that surprised me was Banshee, played by Caleb Landry Jones, who I never really liked in the comics but completely warmed up to during the film. Most importantly, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender proved to be absolutely perfect casting choices.

"Die, X-Chicken!"

The same way that The Dark Knight was a crime drama with more in common with Heat than Superman, First Class is more of a spy caper that happens to take place in the X-Men universe. It’s set against the backdrop of the 60’s and the Cuban Missile Crisis, but handles the “What If” alternate history routine better than Watchmen did, and it feels natural to see these characters in that time period. Great set design and costumes help sell the 60’s vibe and the movie looks polished overall. The visual effects, both practical and digital, are a little hit and miss but it’s easy to forgive when what’s happening on screen is so engrossing. A lot of the visuals looked great on the big screen, but that’s not the reason I would recommend seeing First Class in the theater. The sound design simply cannot be reproduced at home when the movie gets released on Bluray. You can actually feel the movie theater shake when Magneto uses his abilities.

The movie’s epic run-time of 2 hours and 12 minutes, is actually deserved. It will strain your butt & bladder, but it’s worth it. I can’t really think of anything that could have been cut, as everything shown served the story and pushed the characters towards the inevitable final standoff. Finally, a final showdown in a comic book movie that’s as good as what we’re used to seeing on the printed page. The action packed finale is well choreographed, interestingly shot, and paced to showcase everyone’s abilities. I’ve found most superhero movies that start with a bang unable to properly carry the momentum through the end of the final fight (e.g., Batman tackling Two-Face, Iron Man and War Machine high fiving to beat Whiplash, Superman helping Lex Luthor move an island into space, and don’t even get me started on optic blast heated Wolverine claws cutting off a mouth-less Deadpool’s head which proceed to shoot eye-beams as it spirals and plummets into a nuclear reactor). Thankfully, First Class bucks the trend and gives us a great fight and ends with a BAMF… I mean bang.

Recommendati0n: It’s 0n. It’s worth checking out on the big screen, just remember to watch it as a reboot and not a prequel.

The more you know: Don’t sit through the credits, there’s no secret scene at the end. No Nick Fury, no Deadpool, nothin’.

Director Matthew Vaughn was originally attached to direct X3: The Last Stand.

The script for First Class borrows from the story for X-Men Origins: Magneto. That film was scrapped by Fox (probably after the universally panned X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and was instead adapted to tell the story of the birth of the X-Men and not just Magneto.

Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy are no strangers to comic book movie adaptations. Fassbender was in 300 and Jonah Hex, while McAvoy was in Wanted.

http://angryclownent.com/2011/06/x-men-class-review/

X-Men First Class Review

Magneto a Nazi hunter? Xavier, a ladies man? Betty Draper was actually the White Queen in disguise? Why yes, the X-Men franchise takes us back to when it all started. This new movie has some really great character interaction and development. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are two great actors, you will love their dialogs and scenes together. James McAvoy’s Professor Xavier is a well-to-do young man with a fortunate upbringing, while Michael Fassbender’s Magneto suffered through the death of his parents, and cruel testing at the hands of Sabastian Shaw.

Their different backgrounds really set up their different perspective and attitudes towards how they see themselves, as gifted mutants, and how they judge normal humans. While one feels accepted because of his normal and wealthy childhood, the other despises humanity for its cruelty. The movie does a great job of character development, even for its main villain, Sebastian Shaw. You can see how is set up as the mentor to Magneto’s ultimate fate, who guides him directly and indirectly through out the movie to eventually become the man he is.

The supporting cast, mutant and non mutant all had enough dialogs and scenes to actually make them feel like their part of the story, and not just throw away character to please the fans. Of coarse, I would of prefer if they had a better lot of mutants to pick from. There are hundreds of mutants they could of picked from, but instead, they went with a girl with four-wings (Angel) and a mutant that adapts to things (Darwin). I thought they were pretty lame, they should of picked a mutant like Random, who can transform his arm into cannons, or maybe Sunfire, a mutant that uses nuclear energy. Mutants with much cooler and amazing powers, wouldn’t that make much better action scenes?

X-Men-First-Class-Review

Speaking of the actions scenes, outside of Magneto and a few moments with Banshee. The action scenes could use a lot more work, or just maybe a lot more money. The flying scenes were cool during Banshee’s training, but the aerial battles looked really bad, I mean cringe worthy bad. Too many close ups and fast cuts, I could not follow along at all. Next X-Men movie needs to focus on how to get the aerial battles to look more realistic and butt-kicking awesome. Either CGI the whole entire thing, or use mutants with powers that can pull off better battles.

In the end, see this movie, if you liked X2, you will like this also. The trinity of Magneto, Xavier, and Sebastian Shaw is worth the price of admissions, throw in a few eye-candy scenes from Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, and January Jones. The pace is kept quite nicely through out the movie, while there are a few scenes that will make you go “huh?” or “ugh..”. There are plenty of good to look forward to, with one amazing cameo scene that will make you go cheering. If they really do decide to make a trilogy out of this, and keep the format has a Xavier/Magneto storyline, I am all for it.
X-Men-First-Class-Magneto-2-9-11-kc

The red matches his eyes