From concentration camps in Poland to a mansion in Westchester, N.Y., X-Men: First Class details the evolution of the mutant band of X-Men (and Women). We learn how the two most powerful mutants, Eric Lehnsherr/Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) get along long enough to put together a team of mutants, but soon find themselves on opposite sides in a game of free-to-be-you-and-me.
Ratings
Richard: ****
Mark: ****
Richard Crouse: Mark, X-Men: The Younguns has its share of things that go boom but it doesn’t follow the summer blockbuster format. There aren’t action sequences every 10 minutes, the characters actually talk to one another and there’s even subtitles! What a relief. After the heavy metal bombast of Thor and the like, X-Men is more like a Radiohead disc – brainy but still fun. What’s your take?
Mark Breslin: I’ve always thought the X-Men franchise was the brainiest of the comic book movies. But this one exceeds all expectations. Setting it in 1962 and weaving real-world events – like the Cuban Missile Crisis – into the plot was a stroke of brilliance. Although … the setting may be ’62 but the hemlines are definitely ’67!
RC: The setting may be ’62 and the hemlines ’67, but the themes are definitely 2011. One quote in particular, “Security is more important than liberty,” sounds scarily up-to-date. Add to that some groovy space age design, and Kevin Bacon as the best bad guy of the summer so far, and you have a great example of how big blockbuster entertainment can entertain the eye (thank you January Jones and Jennifer Lawrence) and the mind.
MB: January Jones looks great in Barbarella drag, but I still maintain she can’t act. But the rest of the cast sure can. James McAvoy brings great humanity – and a great collection of tweed jackets – to his role as a young Professor X. Michael Fassbender seethes as the Holocaust-haunted Magneto. But a clever cameo by a major star beats them all with one succinct and unprintable line. The rest of the film is talky, but it’s mostly good dialogue, except for the constant reminders that “We’re all outsiders, blah-blah-blah.”
RC: It is a bit talkier than you might expect from a big budget comic book movie, but at least they’re saying something. It isn’t just chatter. I think the reason this movie works so well is that it has the best of both worlds: good blow-’em-up, great villains, cool characters and a script that respects all of the above. If they wanted to make it less chatty, I suppose they could cut some of January Jones’s lines. One thing is for sure, acting is not her superpower.
MB: I also liked some of the director’s ’60s touches, like the split screen effects that I haven’t seen since The Thomas Crowne Affair – the first one.
