Cast:
Professor X/ Charles Xavier– James McAvoy
Magneto/Erik Lehnsherr – Michael Fassbender
Sebastian Shaw- Kevin Bacon
Emma Frost- January Jones
Beast/Hank McCoy- Nicholas Hoult
Mystique/Raven- Jennifer Lawrence
Havok/Alex Summers- Lucas Til
Banshee/ Sean Cassidy- Caleb Landry Jones
Moira MacTaggert- Rose Byrne
Film Info:
Directed By: Matthew Vaughn
Written By: Sheldon Turner & Bryan Singer
Runtime: 2hrs 11min
Spoiler Free Plot Synopsis:
X-Men: First Class follows the intertwined stories of Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr who many comic fans may know as Professor X and Magneto. Before being driven apart by their different ideologies these two young men were friends learning to cope and understand their mutant abilities. Erik worked with Charles not only in the locating of other mutants but also in the formation of the first X-Men team comprised of some familiar faces and a few new ones as well. This team must stop the machinations of one of their own who Erik knows quite well and who intends on starting a nuclear war between the US and Russia.
Kick Ass Moments:
My Take:
The first thing I’d like to point out before I begin is two words Revionsist History. In all the press leading up to this film I saw a ton of things I did not like which lead me to believe that this film was going to be a steaming pile of crap. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the film actually was. X-Men: First Class strived to tie in all the existing stories from the trilogy as best as they could but in attempting to do so those scenes seemed forced and really could have been left out with X-Men: First Class serving as a stand alone film and not a “prequel” which in many ways is how it was marketed. After looking past all the inaccuracies from team members to villain affiliations I came to the conclusion that I needed to suspend that notion and just enjoy the damn movie. Michael Fassbender’s performance must be acknowledged for being exceptionally well done. He made you sympathize with Magneto and root for him on his quest for revenge. I found McAvoy at times being out classed by Fassbender in the many of the scenes they shared. I am not saying McAvoy sucks but for some reason his performance was lacking a bit. Sebastian Shaw was also well done by Kevin Bacon and showed why Bacon is such a talented actor . His early scene with a young Magneto was a shining example of great villainy on the level of Christoph Waltz from Inglorious Basterds. There were a few low points which I can attribute to their need to tie this film in with the existing trilogy and to just bad acting ( January Jones we’re looking at you). There are a few cameos and memorable moments which I won’t spoil for you guys. Lastly and I am sure you have heard this countless times is that the relationship between Magneto and Xavier did in many ways mirror the relationship between Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. I am not sure if that was intentionally done but I applaud the director for using that approach. It made for a more complex relationship between Magneto and Xavier. I am hoping that they continue this franchise only because it’ll allow the actors to grow into their characters a bit more and hopefully not rely on the existing trilogy to movie it along.
Recommendation:
I recommend this film but I must advise my fellow comic brethren that this film takes a lot of liberties.Some which may frustrate you and downright annoy you but the film is a solid entry into the franchise and should definitely be seen.
