I didn't know what to expect going to see First Class. The two most recent X-men films, Last Stand and Wolverine, left some to be desired, the last one in particular. The trailers for this film looked decent, but I was still wary. I also don't really like the idea of restarting established series so soon after the last entry (*cough*Spider-man*cough*), but the reviews I had read seemed to speak highly of it so I took the chance. And I wasn't disappointed, at least not fully.
The film starts off exactly (I mean, shot for shot) as the first X-men movie did. We see young Erik Lehnsherr, being dragged from his parents in a concentration camp. The scene was, I believe, recreated using a new actor and not actually the exact same footage. The opening goes one step more, though and introduces us to our villain Sebastian Shaw (played by Kevin Bacon). Shaw forces Erik to us his power to save his mother's life, when he is unable to do so, Erik taps into his true potential, much to the pleasure of Shaw. Thus begins a life-long hatred of Erik for Shaw. The prologue also introduces us to young Xavier and Raven (Mystique), but it's not that interesting.
The story follows Xavier and Erik (later known as Magneto) teaming up as friends with the CIA to stop the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is being masterminded by none other than Erik's nemesis, Sebastian Shaw. Shaw has an army of minions (Emma Frost, a mindreading vixen who can turn into...diamonds?, Azazel, a devil look-a-like transporter and some guy that makes tornadoes with his mind, IMDb tells me his name is Riptide) which he enlists to help him start WWIII against all humankind. He believes that mutants are the future and therefore superior to weak humans. Xavier, however, believes it is possible to coexist peacefully with humans, once they get to know each other. So he joins the human CIA people to battle Shaw. Erik is just in it to kill Shaw. But, the good guys have to enlist help, so they find a group of young kids with special abilities (sonic voice, ape feet, some laser firing power, flight, etc) to help them.
The film is set in the sixties and that is one of the best parts of the movie. The cool clothes and sets give the movie a throwback feel that suits it well. I was impressed with how real the setting felt and how the filmmakers were able to make technology and fashion that was so dated, still look cool.
While the setting helped the film a great deal, the greatest asset this film has is the chemistry between the two leads. Erik and Xavier's battle over how to deal with humanity is interesting and Fassbender and McAvoy (the actors) do a brilliant job making it feel real. I've always thought the idea of X-men is intriguing, especially the idea that two nemeses could have been great friends. This film seems to imply better than the others, in fact, that these two care for each other even after they go their separate ways. It begs the question, how can you fight your best friend. They both understand each other perfectly, they just have different approaches to their collective problem.
The strength of First Class also is its undoing. Since the leads are so strong, the peripheral characters don't get a fair treatment. Sure, there's a little pathos with Henry McCoy (Beast) struggling with his identity, but it isn't enough. Most of the gang just seems to be there to fill a very specific roll in the climax that Erik and Xavier couldn't have predicted would have been necessary (even for those who can read minds). But the biggest weakness by far is the writing. The story is okay, straightforward, often predictable (how can it not be when you know the outcome of the Missile Crisis), and the dialog suffers. Only the scenes between Xavier and Erik have any real heart. Some of the lines are just laughable, especially Mystique's lines. I wished they made her more of a character instead of a caricature. Also, I was miffed with the ending. Seemed too all-of-a-sudden.
Despite weaknesses, though, this film is exciting and enjoyable summer fun.
3/5
