Quickie Review: X-Men First Class

Just got back from watching X-Men First Class, and I really enjoyed it. It far and away exceeded my expectations - which were lowered by so-so outings that were X3 and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. This film is the best prequel ever.

It had so many ingredients that I liked, namely James Bond and Batman Begins with a bit of Men In Black thrown in. I refer to MIB because it slickly introduced you to this new world with a plethora of fun reveals, a trait First Class had. The film felt like a great introduction, even if you have seen the previous 4 films.

I think the film falls just shy of perfection. I won’t write one of my ‘Films That Could Be Salvaged‘ posts for First Class because it’s a solid film. But it has it’s faults. [SPOILER ALERT]:

Remember the end of Revenge Of The Sith? Basically a lot of table-setting happened for A New Hope, and that’s what weighed down First Class at the end of the film. I really don’t think First Class needed to be completely molded into the X-Men we know this quickly - I would’ve been fine if many key events happened in later outings.

Magneto in this film was amazing - very menacing and so very human. But he unravels at the end when he suddenly starts holding sermons with dialogue like “BROTHERS and SISTERS…” which worked in the previous films but here it is out of left-field. Fassbender was great, but that dialogue at the end was very cartoony and not really swaying or convincing to me. But somehow it wins over a few mutants.

Dividing the mutants into the X-Men and the Brotherhood, placing Magneto into full garb and Xavier into his wheelchair (making jokes about becoming bald no less) while the latter sets up his new school - was all too much for me. I would’ve been much happier if First Class saved some of those eventualities for later films. Fortunately this all happens in the very late stages after the climax, a sort of forced bookend to what was an awesome film.

And poor January Jones as Emma Frost. She was barely passable in the role, clearly this character would’ve benefited from an actress that could channel Sharon Stone or Michelle Pfeiffer in terms of sultriness and overall threatening presence.

This film does win huge points for actually showcasing the ‘school’ aspect of the X-Men, something that appeared briefly in the prior films, so the title is spot on. Kevin Bacon played a great Bond villain, mixed in with a bit of Inglourious Basterds’ Hans Landa. Sir Michael Ironside also stars, which validates the entire film if you ask me - just wish he had some meaty lines. The cameos were also a huge hit with the audience, and proof fan service can be done awesomely.

A missed opportunity with one cameo (highlight to read): After Wolverine tells Erik and Charles to “leave him alone”, they comply and that is that. However I think it would have been funny if Erik sensed the adamantium and had Wolverine spill his beer as a parting prank. Would’ve been the frat boy thing to do.

END SPOILER. I highly recommend the film, the best Superhero film since The Dark Knight. Also, SHIELD doesn’t appear in First Class, so you know it’s really good.