Movies Reviews

X-Men: First Class – Movie Review

By Anne Brodie Jun 3, 2011, 22:20 GMT

The origin story of the "X-Men" franchise focusing on Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr as young men before they became Professor X and Magneto respectively. ...more

This is the de rigueur origins prequel to the phenomenally successful but ageing X-Men franchise, and we are all excited to know where they came from.  Here’s our chance to find out and the filmmakers’ chance to make it interesting. 

This is how the X-Men team was envisioned and built and why, it’s about finding a place as mutants among humans and it’s about the Cold War and the CIA.  There’s a lot to ponder and lots to see, thanks to a massive cast, spiffy art direction and memorable special effects.

The journey begins in Auschwitz.   The young Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender – bears no resemblance to his future X-Men self) starts the future rolling as a response to extreme cruelty. 

Kevin Bacon is Nazi official Sebastian Shaw a wicked and uni-dimensional villain who carries out experiments on hapless inmates.  He murders Erik’s mother in front of him to raise a display of strength out of the horrified young boy. 

Heightened emotion causes Erik to bend and manipulate metal, and he becomes magnetic.  Shaw goads him into rage and he becomes his superpower, unleashing it, becoming Sa-Shaw’s number one science project. 

His innate sadism and greed drive him to try to harness that power for himself and Erik’s anger builds and it shapes his future character.

Jennifer Lawrence brings her mighty gifts to Raven / the young Charles Xavier’s besty and makes the most of a thin role.  Xavier is played by James McAvoy who doesn’t seem quite right in the part.  It’s hard to imagine he’ll grow up to be the Patrick Stewart.  

McAvoy brings a fogey-ish charm, but he just doesn’t seem iconic.  Raven and Charles meet as children in Charles’ family’s massive seaside mansion, the one we see so often in future X-Men. 

They are outsiders saddled with superhuman powers they don’t understand and that’s the tragedy of their lives.  Their bond as adults is based on this other-ness and becomes strongly fraternal, not romantic but intensely supportive.

Erik and Charles meet in a cool way, and after a bumpy start, they become best friends – but not for long, eh, kids?  It’s fun while it lasts; they get to test their powers together and find companionship as mutants/outsiders.  Theirs seemed like a true friendship that would stand the test of time and trouble. 

The huge cast is sheer eye candy and freaky enough to grab our attention, but there is little in terms of character development.  We have to take each as the two dimensional beings we see – without personality, background, emotional spectrum or weight and that’s the film’s weakness.  

It happens so often in sci fi franchises, in which the action, CGI and whoosh factor crushes the possibility of character development.   Who mentioned sound and fury signifying nothing? I forget.
 
X-Men: First Class is an okay outing that’s stylish, flashy, cartoonish but flat, where men are men and women are sexualized.  We know the characters to the extent that we need to, for plotting. But not enough for caring.  A very brief, foul mouthed appearance by a future X-Men is much appreciated in a story that has no sense of humor.

Like any story drenched in created mythology, especially a filmed one with the chance of cross marketing and endless sequels, there is a little too much energy wasted in explication.  Good versus evil, who is on what team and why and what have you. The fans will love it, others, not so much.   It is after all, a comic book brought to life.

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35mm sci fi adventure
Written by Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz et al
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Opens: June 3
Runtime: 132 minutes
MPAA: PG13
Country: US
Language: English