X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Movie Review

It's been a while since I've been able to go to the movies, and hence write a review, but man was it worth it! Being a huge fan of Marvel, and an even bigger fan of the X-Men series, I was exasperated at the idea of another X-Men installment, considering how disappointing X-Men: Last Stand was and how abysmal X-Men Origins: Wolverine was. But to my pleasant surprise, I was unbelievably happy with X-Men: First Class. Finally, 20th Century Fox and director Matthew Vaughn were able to bring this dying franchise back to life.

Without giving away too much of the plot, X-Men: First Class takes us back to the beginning of how the X-Men began with its founding members; specifically Charles Xavier (aka "Professor Xavier") and Eric Lehnsherr (aka "Magneto"). The fictional plot is wrapped around the actual historical events of the Cuban Missile Crisis, with the catalyst of the entire Cold War being manipulated by an evil mutant named Sebastian Shaw (played by Kevin Bacon). Due to the fact that Shaw and his team are mutants, the CIA call in Professor Charles Xavier (played by James McAvoy), an expert on mutant genetics, to help them find and stop Shaw. Along the way, Xavier meets Erik Lehnsherr (played by Michael Fassbender), who is seeking out Shaw, a lifelong enemy. Together, Xavier and Lehnsherr recruit a team of mutants to help them fight Shaw. In the end, however, Lehnsherr's views on the human race surface, and come into conflict with Xavier. They end up going their separate ways, leading us into the plot of the first X-Men movie.

The thing I loved most about this film was that it is the first of its kind in a long while to focus on what's important in these comic based stories: the human element. These stories of mutants with extraordinary powers is so fantastical that it's hard to find anything relatable about them, which is why bringing a human aspect to the characters is so vital. It gives them depth, and makes the audience sympathize with them. There were a couple of very emotional moments in the film that I've never seen executed so well in an action movie of this genre. Director Matthew Vaughn spent more time on the characters and less time on the action, and in the end it was what made this film incredible. The action is a perk, and the scenes that have it are incredibly well done, but they play second string to the struggles and transformations of the main characters.

I think this X-Men installment is hands down the best of the series, and possibly one of the best comic book based movies I've ever seen.

\m/ Share this with your friends \m/