Review of X-Men: First Class (2011) by Nick A — 25 May 2014

This movie is not at all without its flaws (namely mediocre CG, some unnecessary dialogue, and a few supporting cast members too eager for their roles), but it's a terrific -- borderline masterful -- entry in the superhero genre, of which it may in time ascend to reach the upper-echelon (alongside the likes of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Watchmen, Iron Man, Spider-Man 2, and its franchise companion X2).

As is the case in most ensemble films, X-Men: First Class has its brazenly alpha qualities -- and under the tremendous direction of Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass), it plays to those qualities as well as it possibly could have.

The story is the driving force of the picture, yet the arc of Erik/Magneto (played absolutely brilliantly by Michael Fassbender) is what drives the story's intensity; and the screenplay (co-written by Vaughn) hones to Erik's personal story as it develops the general story and brings it full-circle -- to the point at which Singer's franchise kick-off takes place.

But what most impressed me about First Class is that neither its story nor its often staggering details surrender any vigor for the sake of vanity, conventionalism, or subtlety. Not only are there more violent deaths in this film than in many modern horrors, the characters are written to speak and act like the angry, confused, powerful, and often temperamental people they are (Logan/Wolverine has a brief but memorably shocking -- and hilarious -- cameo that surely caught the immediate attention of the MPAA).

First Class is no dull-witted blockbuster; in fact, it's a certifiable psychological drama -- one with an ample supply of awe-inspiring set pieces (Erik's encounter with Sebastian on Sebastian's yacht, Azazel's assault on the CIA's mutant training facility, the X-Men's beachfront defense of the American and Soviet nuclear attack, to name a few) and scale enough to temporarily bar one's memory from any and all of Marvel's recent failed attempts at extraordinary. It's a clever movie that matches its most esteemed characters' intellect, and its wildest characters' excitement. And I'll go ahead and say this, too: Fassbender might have this year's finest cinematic performance to date.