Viewed once in theaters
Even with the horrible debacles that were X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine--both films that made us doubt the awesomeness--there was still some hope held out for a 5th film. (Yes, you read that right. We're now on our fifth X-Men movie.) As awful as those two films were, we still are drawn to the universe that is ripped in half: mutated superhero humans on one side, regular mortal I-get-sunburned-regularly humans on the other side. Wolverine still makes us chuckle/swoon at his insanely huge muscles and witty quips; Magneto is that slick villain we love to hate but don't quite hate; Professor Xavier continues to amaze us with his pure awesomeness (or is that just a side effect of being portrayed by Patrick Stewart?). When First Class was announced, I'm sure there were more than a few skeptics that were sure it would be ridiculous; however, from the minute the first trailer was unveiled, it was obvious that this film would be unlike anything we've seen yet in the X-Men universe.
First Class turned out to be a completely new animal, revamped and reinvented. Its slick, debonair aura gives it more of a James Bond feel, while still retaining the original humor and action of the first X-Men film. There are four reasons why I think this film is one of the best of the 2011 summer season:
1) The story. Not only is it good and fast-paced, it's also a fantastic example of what a good prequel should be like. Without giving too much away, the film sets up our favorite mutants and explains their entire backstory. We follow Erik (Magneto) from his beginnings in a Nazi concentration camp; we see him start as an emotionally scarred victim of a complete psychopath who is bent on destroying the world with Erik's help; we watch him grow and develop as a (mostly) morally-justified villain. At the end of the film, Erik is actually a very likable character because we understand him--he's not just the power-crazed old man with no motivations. Charles (Professor Xavier) is equally fleshed-out--he grows up as a brilliant rich boy into a cocky researcher who knows his stuff and strives for peace & brotherhood. Charles and Erik have a very pleasant and heartfelt relationship that I was unaware ever existed--they're actually friends?? The development of these two characters forms the backbone of the story, but the minor characters are enjoyable as well.
2) The acting. James McAvoy has always been a favorite of mine, and he doesn't fail to deliver. His portrayal of the classic Xavier was no doubt difficult, but he pulls it off with charm and ease. I had never heard of Michael Fassbender (Erik/Magneto), but he is equally brilliant as an actor. His work with Erik is absolutely fascinating; he masterfully takes over the screen every time he's visible. His dramatic work is equal to his action chops, and he is captivating. Kevin Bacon (Sebastian Shaw) is surprisingly chilling as the hateful Nazi doctor who abuses Erik from a young age. His villainous deeds are believably hate-able. Jennifer Lawrence (Raven/Mystique) and January Jones (Emma Frost) are both delightfully witty, although they are uncomfortably seductive and overtly sexual in nature.
3) The music. It's an fist-pumping, appropriately-awesome fusion of electric sounds meets "typical" action movie fare. Superhero films are nothing without a rousing theme, and this one delivers at least three recognizable ones. Henry Jackman outdoes himself, and this film is a textbook example of outstanding soundtrack.
4) The overall style of the film. As I mentioned before, it's slick, smooth, debonair, and uber-cool. The focus on character development isn't onerous or boring, and the explosions and action is swashbuckling fun.
A word of caution: This film is not morally perfect. Although it is a wonderfully entertaining film, it has some conflicting morals when it comes to certain topics. First Class has interesting messages on sexuality, racism, equality, loyalty, honor, courage, and "becoming the better man." While on the one hand it asserts diplomacy and peacemaking, it turns right around and solves problems with violence. Granted, the villains use violence (and it comes back on their heads, as it should), but when the good guys start resorting to it, some horrible consequences come in. (Erik unintentionally causes the injury and/or death of several characters because of his murderous pursuits. Also, the more he relies on violence, the more he starts resembling the people he's come to hate.) Another moral idea tossed around is that of "good guy bad guy." For example, Charles repeatedly exhorts Erik to seek his "better side" and push for equality with humankind, rather than obliterating humans because they are afraid of mutants. Erik retorts with (paraphrased), "I am the better man, and I'm just looking to survive, so that means I need to kill anyone who has done me wrong and who will try to kill me." Where Charles trusts in the inherent good of mankind, Erik sees its intrinsic capacity for evil and hatred.
This film also follows in the vein of the other X-Men films as far as the violence goes--it's rather disturbing a few times, what with so many characters getting shot, stabbed, consumed in explosions, dragged through water, thrown from buildings, punched, kicked, strangled, and crushed. A few grisly moments of note: In the Nazi camp, Erik's mother is shot point-blank in front of him. He goes on a murderous rampage and throws every metal object in sight around. The Nazi soldiers standing before him with metal helmets on? Yeah, their helmets implode on their heads, slowly crushing their skulls and killing them. When Erik starts tracking down the people involved in his painful past, he punishes them in multiple ways, including forcibly extracting a metal filling from a tooth (while it's still in the guy's mouth), stabbing someone in the hand, shooting someone point-blank, and shoving a Nazi coin through someone's skull (from front to back, in slow motion, close-up, with accompanying sound effects). The violence in this film is pretty gnarly, but it's not gore or guts. The overarching message that accompanies the violence is that violence doesn't solve all of our problems--an interesting concept, considering Magneto just brutally murdered around fifteen people and seems to get mostly what he wants by the end of the movie.
Careful, this film has some strong language and a few disturbing images of barely-there clothing on women characters. (If you remember Mystique from the first films, you'll know what her blue naked mutant self looks like--yeah, she does that for most of the film.)
Overall, this film is classy, debonair, wonderfully entertaining, and thought-provoking.
5 1/2 out of 6 stars
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