X-Men First Class Review
The amount of comic-book movies baffles me that persist this year with successful blockbuster comic book movies such as Thor, Green Lantern and Captain America hitting in theatres this year. Ever since Dark Knight, comic book movies has become more grandeur in producing high budget films with mind-blowing CG effects, sharp-looking visual and a compelling cast of characters. It’s sickening for me as I keep constantly had to watch comic book movies due to my friends and had missed out other great non-comic book movies that are actually better. Though X-Men: First Class was yet another example of good comic book movies even though the CG and cast isn’t outstanding.
Marvel and DC Comics at cutthroat in this year though with the mediocry of Green Lantern and the rise of Marvel films being high in the box-office. Similar to the earlier X-Men movies that 21 Century Fox has distributed, First Class is also in the same box and tries to convey not only mind-blowing visuals but the emotional aspects of the characters and the world around them.
From Kick-Ass fame, Matthew Vaughn led the reins of a prequel to X-Men and surprisingly, this film is actually good or better yet a redeemable direction to his better film career. The film doesn’t fill the need to aggravate the viewer with its filmography with the likes of Kick-Ass and as much as I hate that movie, this shows much potential. Retraining this to a PG-13 rating is somewhat indifferent to other X-Men films, though the X-Men Trilogy wasn’t really subtle about their rating despite First Class having some profanity and a shed of partial nudity in such scenes. There are examples of Mystique turning back to its original form as a mutant though the CG hides the fact and portion that she’s actually naked.
Alongside Vaughn, Jane Goldman (trying her best to look like a comic book character with her red/pink hair and alarming breasts) once again is the writer of this movie and the dialogue and script derivates off she handled with Kick-Ass, delivering some goofy scenes and character to the storyline.
First Class is a prequel to the X-Men trilogy and where we see the intermingling relationship between Xavier and Erik (Magneto) during the Cold War with the Communist and the foundations of the X-Men. We see how Xavier got paralyzed making him handicap, the forming of the X-Men and the eventual splinter group with Magneto leaving Xavier due to their different views on the world. It’s quite a charm to see how McAvoyand Fassbender convey such chemistry with each character and become blood-brothers rather than enemies at the end.
The story that Vaughn conveys isn’t hard hitting on delivering some corniness to the 60s but there are some aspects through the course of the film that proves otherwise. There are actors in this movie that I hate or feel that their performance was corny at least. James McAvoy who recently star in The Conspirator is an example of “hating to like the actor” even though his performance was somewhat shocking. I felt like McAvoy is similar to Jesse Eisenberg in which I hated him for being the same annoying and infuriating role in any movies but in enough initiative – he could show much potential in his capability to act. His role as Charles Xavier was shockingly good until he started to yell – I find him better in his (fake) British accent and his chemistry with Magneto (played by Michael Fassbender) but in such intense moments, his true acting falls apart of sounding like a whiny bitch and the reason why I hated him/or didn’t fully watched Wanted.
Fassbender’s performance however as Magneto is riveting and terrific – he just handles his character well and a worthy contender to Ian McKellen’s role. His acting just shines through in emotional moments where Xavier tries to let go of his hateful conscious and troubled past and the result is outstanding. Kevin Bacon as the antagonist Sebastian Shaw is also proves to be excellent and seemingly well for his performance – I think he shows grandeur in the shadow of the comic-book character having a lust of charisma on one hand and his vision to control the world. Though like McAvoy, his performances falls flat near the end, I just didn’t like his fate in this end; it just felt rushed.
Other performances such as January Jones as Emma Frost is an ideal choice – she is just perfect for that sinister and cold role alongside the Inner Circle with Shaw. Also Jones is hot when she takes off her clothes in scenes such like when she meets the Russian emissary and mind tricks him into believing that he is sleeping with him is just a hilarious moment. Rose Byrne’s performance as Moira MacTaggart is decent for her character but I didn’t really care for her as an actress. Nicholas Hoult’s performance on the other hand felt a mixed bag for me – I also didn’t really care for his nerd stereotype at the beginning but when he transforms into The Beast, it’s truly felt reminiscent to me back to the X-Men Animated Series days where Beast was one of my favourite characters in that series with his awesome deep voice and coolness.Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique is not better than Rebecca's performance in the X-Men Trilogy to me but she provides a solid performance as a insecure mutant that wants everyone to accept her as what's she is. From her award-winning performance in Winter's Bone, Lawrence deviates into the character with emotion and touches some of the strings of Mystique's genuine personality - her performance is brilliant providing a emotional impact but Rebecca establishes that character better. From 24-fame Ray Wise and from Splinter Cell-fame, Michael Ironside – their performances is just hilarious to me, the moment I see Wise in the command room and Ironside as a US Commander; it just broke the whole seriousness part of First Class, whether its delivering one line or just staring at the screen, I just laugh at the way they are even in this movie.
There’s a cleverness of Vaughn’s direction as he plays in some scenes; such as the training montage with all the X-Men training that whimsy like flipping a comic-book through panels that sometimes irritates me to the bitter least. Though his flaw is introducing new characters even though it provides a sort of comic relief and doesn’t prove to be badass such as the introduction of certain characters in the X-Men Trilogy but the cameo with Hugh Jackman as Wolverine as surprisingly funny.
But there isn’t all to his main flaw, he provides much of the 60s and the Cold War with a dazzling direction, making it less corny in spots and attempts to make it engaging and serious with a exploding soundtrack that compliments the epic firefights to the emotional moments that is evident to be heartbreaking.
The CG with the likes of Thor and Green Lantern pertains to be here as breathtaking and magnificent – it’s a cliché of saying these merits I know but these movies like First Class has a way to converse the audience inside the film experience which it proves to be exhilarating. Moments such as the mutants duking it out near the ending where Magneto is attempting to pull a submarine with his power and willingness – it’s feels like a blast seeing such moments complemented by the powerful yet cliché soundtrack. You could easily feel the impact for the characters such in those CGi Moments and it deviates from other Marvel films with emotion and gruesome immensely that alleviates in such moments of loss. Once again, it’s an easy scene to get impacted as a viewer but what’s more aggravating is how they (or Marvel) try to convey the same melodramatic emotion in other movies.
To me, Mystique looks disappointedly bad with all that CG/make-up. Sure Jennifer Lawrence looks hot in her role but that plastic forehead of hers looks weird and odd when she transforms back to her original form. I feel that Rebecca Romign looks better in CG form and having Jennifer Lawrence in that form looks terrible.
First Class is overall a good movie but with the CG effects complimenting the epic soundtrack being much of the same as Marvel movies would get, some aspects of the CG and make-up with Mystique being odd-looking and my hatred of McAvoy – it just balances it out from being thoroughly enjoyable rather than an exciting and tense comic book blockbuster. It does makes up with the dazzling performance of Fassbender and his chemistry with McAvoy’s character and supercilious CG scenery which I applaud the production crew for it. This of course isn’t better than the X-Men Trilogy but it sure as hell a worthy contender of it.
