Review of X-Men: First Class (2011) by Stephen Z — 06 Aug 2014

What makes "First Class" such a great film is that it gets back to the basics of what made the first two X-Men films great. It is fun, yet dark; it has great character development; and it dabbles with social issues like discrimination. This is possibly the darkest of the X-films, and is certainly the grittiest, a quality that has made so many other franchises (The Dark Knight, Iron Man) so successful. The story-telling is also really great, particularly because of all of the symbolism and foreshadowing in the film.

Along with the great story-telling and character development, one other thing that First Class has going for it is the amazing cast. Though a cast of young, undiscovered actors, this cast blew me away. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender play the young Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr. Not only do they look like younger versions of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, but their acting is high-caliber, just like their predecessors. Fassbender is brooding and dark, and really steals the show. Jennifer Lawrence likewise gives a great performance as Mystique, and this is really the role that jumpstarted her career. And finally, Kevin Bacon as the villain, Sebastian Shaw, gives a great performance, bringing something unique to his role. As for the rest of the cast, it is large, but there are solid performances across the board. And finally, there is a great Wolverine cameo that will please all!

Because of its rushed production, I went into the theater expecting to hate "X-Men: First Class", but I came out a believer. I love the direction that Matthew Vaughn has taken the X-franchise, and while it is disappointing that he dropped out of the sequel, it is even more exciting to have Bryan Singer returning. While this film does mess up some of the continuity with the other X-films, and while Beast DOES look like a blue Chewbacca, it is all obviously for the best, because this film tells a more cohesive, sophisticated, and interesting tale. It is not as good as "X2", but it comes in a VERY close 2nd in my books. Even though it helps to have seen the previous films, I recommend "X-Men: First Class" to both fans and newcomers alike.