Review of X-Men: First Class (2011) by Feardrinker — 11 Jun 2011

As has been said my many already, Fassbender and McAvoy are very good as the young Magneto and Prof. X. The others are decent to poor. The choice of mutants to include is curious; it seems like we could have done better than the pole dancer who spits acid and the kid who screams as he flies.

Also, one kid (perhaps the most powerful of the bunch) has to do a hula-hoop motion to use his powers. Beast was a good inclusion, on the other hand. *** Ultimately this film feels very familiar, too familiar for me.

In fact they lifted so many existing chunks from previous films (Bacon's character feels like a two-dimensional Magneto with no history and no motivation) I was disappointed. If the series is to retain my attention the filmmakers are going to have to explore themes that we haven't already seen in the previous installments.

*** It says a lot that the audience's reaction (at the theatre I was at) was strongest for Jackman's cameo. Wolverine remains the most compelling character the series has to offer, and yet his story has already been told (regrettably by a hack director) in Origins: Wolverine.

Where does the franchise go from here? My guess is further downhill. This is not a bad action/comic book movie; it is middle of the road or better and will appeal to a broad audience. However it not great.

Those of us desiring the best X Men film experience are still left with re-watching the first and second installments.