This is what every great franchise comic book series needs, an origins story. It’s usually the first instalment though; the first Spider-Man and Ironman movies were possibly the greatest of all. However in X-Men, they started off with finding young mutants then bringing them to the X-Mansion under the tutelage of Professor –X. It all sounds kind of Harry Potterish, don’t you think?
This movie, X-Men: First Class focuses on the origins of X-Men itself. That puts it on par with that first Spider-Man, the first Ironman and etc. And more importantly it has the eminence of such movies. Who knows, if they had begun with a story like this, X-Men would be a greater franchise than it is now. Of course all this is only one guy’s opinion.
It starts with the evil. We catch a glimpse of Magneto’s origins tale in the Nazi setting. Magneto’s creator, Sebastian Shaw (played by Kevin Bacon) was a strong character, it’s a pity they didn’t give him a cool memorable comic book moniker. Despite the uninspiring name, Kevin Bacon delivers the blows, possibly a nomination as villain of the year maybe?
Did you know that Magneto’s helmet has nothing to do with magnetism or fashion sense? It’s actually a shield against telepaths like his arch nemesis Prof. X. This Y-shape barbute helmet that Magneto wears has a protruding sharp point pressed against the tip of the nose. That helmet made me anxious, I tell you, if you tilt the helmet forwards, OUCH! Another grouse I have with the fashion is the uniformed black and yellow jumpsuits all X-Men wear, it’s so not reflective of the 60s.
I don’t know if this is a trend, but action series today like to incorporate history, or rather mangle it. In X-Men the Cuban missile crisis of the 60s was rewritten so that the mutants would take part in a final battle. Yes, a battle took place in this version of history and it includes all your favourite X-Men. While most of the movie leading up to this battle was fine so far, this battle scene was unfortunately a tad cheesy. The American and Soviet navy men, in my opinion were very cartoonish in their behaviour, and when the X-Men, especially Havok and Banshee, showed off their skills, it made me want to grimace in embarrassment.
Less than satisfying final battle notwithstanding, there was one scene where I thought was worth remembering. I hope I don’t spoil it for anyone but in Magneto’s last whack job, I’d like to call it the slow levitating coin passing through the centre of the brain killing technique. If MTV Movie Awards created a category for Best Kill Scene, this movie would win.
However Michael Fassbender’s casting as Magneto may have been a mistake, as you may not see him as the future super villain that Magneto ought to be. Same goes for James McAvoy as Prof. X, another brilliant actor but to grow up and step into Jean Luc Picard’s (Patrick Stewart) shoes, it doesn’t quite fit.
In conclusion, this movie aims to wrap up all loose ends concerning the X-Men founders past, and especially how Prof Xavier’s team and their villainous counterparts came to exist. It’s exciting, engaging character centric scenes lift it among other X-Men movies. It’s a direction that superhero films should be taking; worth a watch for fans and for the family. My rating is 8.5.
This movie, X-Men: First Class focuses on the origins of X-Men itself. That puts it on par with that first Spider-Man, the first Ironman and etc. And more importantly it has the eminence of such movies. Who knows, if they had begun with a story like this, X-Men would be a greater franchise than it is now. Of course all this is only one guy’s opinion.
It starts with the evil. We catch a glimpse of Magneto’s origins tale in the Nazi setting. Magneto’s creator, Sebastian Shaw (played by Kevin Bacon) was a strong character, it’s a pity they didn’t give him a cool memorable comic book moniker. Despite the uninspiring name, Kevin Bacon delivers the blows, possibly a nomination as villain of the year maybe?
Did you know that Magneto’s helmet has nothing to do with magnetism or fashion sense? It’s actually a shield against telepaths like his arch nemesis Prof. X. This Y-shape barbute helmet that Magneto wears has a protruding sharp point pressed against the tip of the nose. That helmet made me anxious, I tell you, if you tilt the helmet forwards, OUCH! Another grouse I have with the fashion is the uniformed black and yellow jumpsuits all X-Men wear, it’s so not reflective of the 60s.
I don’t know if this is a trend, but action series today like to incorporate history, or rather mangle it. In X-Men the Cuban missile crisis of the 60s was rewritten so that the mutants would take part in a final battle. Yes, a battle took place in this version of history and it includes all your favourite X-Men. While most of the movie leading up to this battle was fine so far, this battle scene was unfortunately a tad cheesy. The American and Soviet navy men, in my opinion were very cartoonish in their behaviour, and when the X-Men, especially Havok and Banshee, showed off their skills, it made me want to grimace in embarrassment.
Less than satisfying final battle notwithstanding, there was one scene where I thought was worth remembering. I hope I don’t spoil it for anyone but in Magneto’s last whack job, I’d like to call it the slow levitating coin passing through the centre of the brain killing technique. If MTV Movie Awards created a category for Best Kill Scene, this movie would win.
However Michael Fassbender’s casting as Magneto may have been a mistake, as you may not see him as the future super villain that Magneto ought to be. Same goes for James McAvoy as Prof. X, another brilliant actor but to grow up and step into Jean Luc Picard’s (Patrick Stewart) shoes, it doesn’t quite fit.
In conclusion, this movie aims to wrap up all loose ends concerning the X-Men founders past, and especially how Prof Xavier’s team and their villainous counterparts came to exist. It’s exciting, engaging character centric scenes lift it among other X-Men movies. It’s a direction that superhero films should be taking; worth a watch for fans and for the family. My rating is 8.5.
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