Director - Matthew Vaughn
Stars - Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence
This is the fifth film in the X-Men movie franchise, and the second prequel (The previous film in the series, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, was set before the first three but after this. Stay with me here!). In case you're unfamiliar with the premise of the series, its this: Mankind is evolving, and the newly discovered "Mutants", who have abilities such as teleportation and telepathy, find themselves the targets of ordinary humans who hate and fear them. The X-Men are advocates of peace, and a lasting co-existence between their fellow mutantkind, and mankind. In First Class, we see the origins of the X-Men, gathered together in the early 1960's.
Do you have to be a fan of the series to enjoy this, or even know what's going on? Not per-se, but it sure would help. Most of the best moments in the film are "fan bait" - little cameos or character references that X-Heads are sure to love. But the film can't quite decide whether its a prequel or a reboot, and thats where I'm a bit stumped. Its efforts to connect the dots with the other films is noble, but seriously - why bother? The continuity has been fucked for some time now. Or did no one else notice that Sabretooth transformed from a mute wrestler into Liev Schrieber? That the continuity seems to be fluid doesn't bother me, and doesn't appear to bother anyone else.
I will say this - you have to be a hardcore fan of superheroes to enjoy this. While something like The Dark Knight, soaked to the bone in gritty realism, acts as a good gateway drug for the non-converted, this film is flashy, goofy, and balls-out earnest. Fair-weather friends of the spandex set need not apply.
Director Matthew Vaughn, having just come off the meta (and brilliant) superhero film Kick-Ass, brings his indie sensibilities and energy to this WAY underfunded affair. The fx scenes won't blow your mind, but he makes them work well. Vaughn understands the rhythm of an action scene better than most of the big name directors out there, so what he lacks in budget, he makes up for in actual skill.
The performances here, particularly by lead actors Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, and Jennifer Lawrence, are very strong. That's where one of my main complaints lies - I like these characters so much, I wanted to see much more of their interplay, but the movie is rushing through exposition like a freight train. I know this might initially sound ridiculous, but I would've preferred if they'd stretched this story out over the course of three films. Its solid, but there are just too many things going on, and too many characters to touch on, for them to really focus on the development of the group.
I've said in the past that the X-Men series is one of the best half-assed franchises of all time, and the tradition continues. For every exuberant action set-piece, or perfectly delivered line of dialogue, there are moments that rival the unintentional goofiness of the Star Wars Prequels. However, for the most part, this film sheds quite a bit of the bloat that made the last two films kind of a chore, streamlining the narrative in a satisfying way. I'm hoping this does well, because I'd like to see the further adventures of the swinging sixties X-Men.
In short - for the average moviegoer, I would rate this as "Good". I loved it, but acknowledge that it has some serious fucking problems. But for myself, and fellow X-Men fanatics. . .
FREDERICK OPINES - GREAT
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