This week will be quite ambitious as I am going to be churning out at least three reviews today. A Throwback Thursday Review for the 2010 Tim Burton adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, a Throwback Thursday Review for X-Men: First Class and a special review that will be unveiled once it's posted. All three reviews will correlate to the dual release of X-Men: Apocalypse and Alice Through the Looking Glass this weekend. I expect to review both X-Men: Apocalypse and Alice Through The Looking Glass within the next few days or so (The X-Men: Apocalypse review will come first). Next week's Throwback Thursday Review will be over the latest 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to coincide with the sequel's release.
'X-Men: First Class' Review
X-Men: First Class served as an attempt to effectively reboot and revitalize the X-Men franchise after the awful one-two punch of X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. X-Men: First Class reboots the franchise in essence by casting younger versions of Professor X, Magneto, Mystique, and Beast going back to the roots of the X-Men in the 1960's, and I think it succeeded in doing so considering that there's another X-Men film to be released this weekend with many of the same cast members.
Matthew Vaughn managed to take the film's setting and integrate that playful tone to the core of the film whilst maintaining some highly emotional, more grounded moments sprinkled throughout. Where the previous X-Men films took themselves a little too seriously, Vaughn and his cowriters found a nice balance of drama and comedic relief in the screenplay providing an effective tone. X-Men: First Class relishes in it's 60's setting with seemingly authentic costume and production design. The film also has a very diverse score composed by Henry Jackman. The score has a wide array of selections, be it dramatic or hip and groovy, my personal favorite being the Magneto theme that is just chilling.
The film hits the nail on the head in regards to it's aesthetic portrayal of various mutants and their abilities thanks to the incredible hair and makeup, costuming, and visual effects work.
I'll admit I didn't really take to the look of Beast here as the CGI made him look like Terk from Disney's animated Tarzan. Another nitpick was that it was a tad bothersome watching the film while aware that the makeup for the mutants only improves in future installments (Mystique in particular).
I enjoyed the action sequences showcasing the mutant abilities, especially the third act fight involving the historic event of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The one element that elevates the film to it's highest marks is the brilliant cast of newcomers assembled for the project.
James McAvoy portrays a very different Charles Xavier than the version Patrick Stewart has audiences accustomed to seeing as this time around we treated to a groovy nuanced Xavier who has a long way to go till he can adopt the Professor X namesake.
Michael Fassbender is incredible as Erik Lensherr bringing new emotional depth and intensity not previously seen in Magneto. Fassbender like McAvoy doesn't merely try to imitate Ian McKellen's turn as the magnetic radical but rather breathes new essence into the character.
McAvoy and Fassbender hold everything together thanks to their electric chemistry as we see the humble beginnings of the friendship and rivalry between Professor X and Magneto. I'm personally not bothered by either's differentiation from what has come before. Both actors managed to make the role their own and it would make logical sense that both characters would be divergent from their future selves with shades of their inevitable conflicting ideologies beginning to take form.
Jennifer Lawrence also brings a very different Mystique to the table. Lawrence' Mystique has yet to become Magneto's stone cold assassin and actually finds her soul in a war between Xavier and Lensherr as each has their own ideas of what's best for her. Lawrence, like McAvoy and Fassbender, doesn't hinge on what Rebecca Romijn had done before and actually brings a touch of earthly humanity to Mystique not previously seen.
Nicholas Hoult gets to tackle another younger version of a familiar mutant as Hank McCoy. Given that Kelsey Grammar had only taken up the role once, Hoult isn't given much performance history to potentially emulate even if he wanted to and as I've said about the previous three actors differentiates the role just enough to put his stamp on it while providing room for his character to eventually become the Beast we've seen before. Hoult isn't given too much of a sizable role, yet manages to standout thanks to his self-conscious character arc and terrific performance.
Rose Byrne is essentially just around to be a love interest for Charles but she does it quite convincingly and not in the obnoxious damsel in distress demeanor that can be seen in other superhero films.
A host of other mutants appear that were pretty cool like Lucas Till's Havock, Caleb Landry Jones' Banshee, and Jason Flemyng's Azazel. Each are supporting players with relatively reduced roles in comparison to our leads but each are given some moments to shine in the limelight or dark light in Azazel's case.
Kevin Bacon balances charm and menace as Sebastian Shaw, a nice antagonist for the X-Men and Lensherr in particular. January Jones is essentially Shaw's Mystique as hench woman and lover Emma Frost, who's basically there as eye candy, but welcome nonetheless. Quite the impressive cast I must say.
In conclusion, Vaughn managed to kick the X-Men franchise back into first gear with a groovy 60's aesthetic, a rich narrative, fantastic performances, and a balanced tone. One thing's for sure, X-Men: First Class is a downright good time!
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