X-Men: First Class

[Darth Kenshin]

Originally Posted by poopontheshoes7

It has some hammy line delivery and dialogue at some points and one characters turn to evil felt contrived and thrown away, but other then that it was damn good. Tied with Spider-Man 2 as the best Marvel movie ever.

8.5/10

Yeah. I rank it with Spiderman 2 and Dark Knight among the best comic book movies I've seen on a first viewing. Gotta wait and see if it has the staying power.

The Xavier/Magneto parallelism in the beginning was beautiful. As was every moment they shared. Honestly, Magneto stole the film. He's always been my favorite comic book villain (just ahead of Dr. Doom and Joker) and this movie did a wonderful job of capturing his complexity and philosophies (I loved his interactions with Mystique). Most compelling character I've seen in a comic book movie, by far.

Although I thought it was weird to see Sebastian Shaw experimenting with mutants (felt more like a Mr. Sinister thing) I loved this movie.

9/10.

[jbar1026]

i liked it 8/10. it had its issues with some of effects it felt 3 hours long.... an enjoyable 3 hours but still. this is easily the best of the xmen movies which i rate
x1- 6/10 weak
x2- 7/10 getting better
x3- 3/10 makes 1 & 2 look like masterpieces
xo:w 7/10 bad script

lets hope this isnt the last

Spoiler:

did anyone else find it stupid that the red nightcrawler guy didnt teleport away when the missles were shot at the beach. i would have.

[Truthunwinding]

I'll need to see it again to know if my feelings stick, but as of right now I liked it. The only hope I had going into it was that it was better than X3 and Wolverine, which it was. I loved both Fassbender and McAvoy in their roles, and kind of wished this was more a reboot than a prequel, mainly because the series its supposed to be leading into got screwed up royally.

[DarkKnight81]

Reading some of these reviews, I'm beginning to think I walked into the wrong movie. As a lifelong X-men fan, it's hard to understand why I didn't like an X-men film that is being praised so highly. I guess I'll have to give it a second chance when it comes out on DVD.

[shawn-o]

Loved it but didn't like how it didn't incorporate itself in the series better...Now some things about the original trilogy wont make any sense.

Examples:

Spoiler:

Xavier mentions in X1 and Magneto mentions in X2 that they built Xavier's model of Cerebro together, the way this movie ended they couldn't have. Also the beginning of X3 now doesnt make any sense either because they are enemies.

Those are the only things that piss me off, and you cant tell me that this is a different story because of the two cameos I wont mention that are in it.

[Roy Batty]

Originally Posted by shawn-o

Loved it but didn't like how it didn't incorporate itself in the series better...Now some things about the original trilogy wont make any sense.

Examples:

Spoiler:

Xavier mentions in X1 and Magneto mentions in X2 that they built Xavier's model of Cerebro together, the way this movie ended they couldn't have. Also the beginning of X3 now doesnt make any sense either because they are enemies.

Those are the only things that piss me off, and you cant tell me that this is a different story because of the two cameos I wont mention that are in it.

Spoiler:

That's not the only continuity issue. Another being Professor X being paralyzed at the end of first class, but walking around at the beginning of Last Stand. Another issue is Beast' statement to Logan (Wolverine) "I've been fighting for mutant rights since before you had claws." And of course, lets not forget that Charles and Eric were friends for many years before their fallout, not only three weeks.

[Bourne101]

X-Men: First Class - 7/10

Probably the best X-Men film yet. The biggest problem that these films tend to have is that they have trouble juggling around so many characters. Instead of putting aside time to give us endless back story on each character, Vaughn lets the development come through the actions of the characters as it relates to the plot. The perfect example of this is when Shaw puts on the helmet and asks Frost to read his mind. When she fails to and he lets her know what he was thinking, it tells us so much about the character that there is no need for huge revelations about the character and his past. At that point you know who this guy is and what he is about. Another thing Vaughn nails is the pacing. With so many characters in this franchise, in other entries you often find yourself thinking you're watching a bunch of different films. Here, the pacing is so rapid and everything is so connected and relevant that it feels like a coherent piece. The best stuff comes from the interactions between Charles and Erik. I really like how Vaughn developed their relationship. It doesn't end with them in complete and total division, but rather leaves them going in separate ways, but at the same time having an understanding of each other. McAvoy and especially Fassbender give great performances. Stylistically the film is much more impressive than the trailers would lead you to believe. The cinematography is gorgeous and the special effects will be some of the best you will see this summer. I suppose a minor complaint is that it runs a little long. However, the film has such a rhythm that I hardly noticed the length. Unless Captain America really delivers the goods, no superhero film will touch X-Men: First Class this summer.

[APzombie]

Originally Posted by Jig Saw 123

Spoiler:

That's not the only continuity issue. Another being Professor X being paralyzed at the end of first class, but walking around at the beginning of Last Stand. Another issue is Beast' statement to Logan (Wolverine) "I've been fighting for mutant rights since before you had claws." And of course, lets not forget that Charles and Eric were friends for many years before their fallout, not only three weeks.

This is my main problem. Their "friendship" was ridiculously rushed in First Class and they blew their load in the third act by having Eric leave the X-Men in addition to Charles already getting paralyzed. Like you said, they only fucking knew each other for a few weeks at best. I expected the group to still be in tact by the end of the film, and that maybe they'll explore more with another film or (even better) leave the real betrayal ambiguous.

But no.

all that is left ambiguous now is when and how Charles gets bald. Oooooh! exiting!

The backbone (no Professor X pun intended) of the original trilogy was their friendship. You really get the sense that these two were the champions of mutant equality (or in Eric's case, dominance) for years, and that their differences and ultimate separation felt like a betrayal to both of them since they were such friends for so many years, making the academy and serebral together.

Well, First Class royally fucked that all up. Their friendship wasn't even a friendship, you cannot convince me that two guys who just met become friends overnight because Charles constantly calls Eric "my friend". That is screenwriting at its sloppiest.

Add to that, I don't think they even had their relationship as a priority in the movie. After Charles saves the submarine chasing Eric in the water, we cut to more scenes of Mystique and then a few other scenes. Our next scene of Charles and Eric is a time laps where they are playing chess together talking about plot points... I'm sorry, but if you claim their relationship is the most important thing about the movie, then fucking develop it. Maybe their introduction to one another is kind of important... Everything Star Trek did right about developing a friendship between Kirk and Spock, First class did horribly, criminally wrong.

This is almost as criminal as the Star Wars prequels. With this continuity, rewatching the original X-Men trilogy is going to be quite odd, it won't seem like Magneto and Professor X are old friends, their comments about each other will appear more homoerotic than anything, because there was never a grounded friendship between them in the first place now.

[Bourne101]

The continuity of this series was completely fucked long before First Class was ever made. As a stand alone film I thought it was pretty good.

[echo_bravo]

Other than a few problems I had with this movie (mainly Zoe Kravitz and a handful of cheesy dialogue) it fuckin kicked ass and was very entertaining all around.

McAvoy and Fassbender were both soooooo good. The way they played off eachother was perfect and I loved every second of their screentime.

And for the most part, the Xmen kids in this film were all great and quite likeable. My only beef was Zoe Kravitz. Her acting is terrible and her character was annoying(along with the action sequence she was featured in which seemed slobby)

Other than that though, no complaints for me. I thought it was great and I'd highly recommend it to any Xmen fan or someone looking for an entertaining popcorn film.

I'll knock this up to an 8.5/10 just for the awesome "go fuck yourself" cameo(which everyone in my theater loved) & Kevin Bacon's badass German

(also I gotta give a big kudos to Vaughn for putting together a good Xmen movie together in such a short amount of time. So kudos to him!)

[Cop No. 633]

Originally Posted by Ender

Spoiler:

Ah, well, yes, I had forgotten about that scene. But really though, why was he deflecting bullets at all rather than just stopping the gun from firing as he did in the bar scene?

Spoiler:

It was a moment where he let his anger get the best of him. In the bar scene, he was in complete control of himself. Killing the Nazis was just desserts and calculated whereas at the end he lost control in that moment. He was playing by ear and was attacked for it, Moira broke his concentration and helped stopped the missiles, he probably wasn't thinking as clearly as he was when he caught the Nazis. Also, I felt that maybe by that point, he was acting on instinct more than with intelligence.

[project 86]

jigsaw make up your damn mind first you rate it a 8/10 saying it is the best x men film

then you change it to 7.5/10 and rank x2 better

then say it was lackluster

make up your mind

[echo_bravo]

Originally Posted by CosmicPuppet

I also have to give it to the movie for having the funniest scene in any X-Men film. It was also probably the greatest character cameo... Just hilarious. Did the theater roar with laughter when it came up? Mine sure did. It was perfect.

My theater erupted in laughter and applause when he said those words as well. It was great.

[soda]

So, some quick numbers stuff. Here's an article on boxofficemojo recounting first class' first weekend:

First class weekend report

I found this part particularly interesting:

X-Men: First Class squeaked by with a passable estimated $56 million on approximately 6,900 screens at 3,641 locations, and it's looking more like the fanboy fantasia it sounded like when first announced than something that will advance the franchise. Sure, the first X-Men movie opened to $54.5 million, but $56 million in 2011 is far less impressive than $54.5 million in 2000. The first X-Men's start was the equivalent of over $79 million adjusted for ticket price inflation. More telling, though, is that First Class marked a sizable step down from X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which made $85.1 million in its opening weekend.

Earlier this summer, a Marvel Comics adaptation of a lesser character, Thor, mustered $65.7 million out of the gate (though attendance was about the same as X-Men: First Class after adjusting for 3D), and First Class was merely on par with The Incredible Hulk's $55.4 million from June 2008. Some would like to think of Batman Begins as a more appropriate comparison, but even that picture fared relatively better: its first weekend was $48.7 million (after burning off demand with a Wednesday launch) or the equivalent of nearly $60 million adjusted for ticket-price inflation. The debut of another fanboy fantasia, Watchmen, could be a better comparison to First Class: Both were ensemble period pieces and both had exceptionally high results in Box Office Mojo's "when will you see it" polling that didn't translate to correspondingly high grosses.

Few things, first, I will be interested to see what kind of legs this movie has next weekend, and second, first class looks like a better film than watchmen. I really, really think that first class' box office has suffered because of the last two films, people don't trust the franchise anymore. You need a really good film to show the public that you can turn it around. I think another classic marvel team concept, the fantastic four, is in that same boat: after two bad movies (Galactus as a giant cloud thingy has to rank as one of the all-time bad ideas. What's wrong with a giant planet eater in a purple hat?) a third film, if it ever happens, will have to convince people that its headed in the right direction, at least.

The average movie goer isn't as sophisticated as the schmoes here on joblo. Theres's a reason why X3 made loads and loads of money despite being a horrible film: X2, people liked the last one, so they see the next one. There's a reason why the Hangover part 2 made money: The hangover, part one. Six years ago, Batman was dead, as a franchise, because of the camp fest that was the Schumacher Batman. Today? The Dark Knight Rises might be the most eagerly anticipated movie on the planet (I know, I know, drop the "might be" and substitute "is").

Which brings me to Fox. I think First class' box has been hurt by the moronic decisions fox has made to this franchise. The short production schedule being foremost. When you have a short schedule, you can't show footage at comic-con the year before, and your marketing looks rushed and ill-thought out. People start to think that your just milking a dead horse (I know, I mixed my metaphors, but you get the idea). I don't think this movie would have made bank, the best and the worst advertising you can get when your talking about a sequel/prequel/reboot is how people felt about the last one, however, I don't think the production schedule helped matters in the slightest. Fox needs a good film, to have any good will towards making another one.

[Bourne101]

No big stars, crappy marketing and no Wolverine. Not to mention the last couple of entries have been poorly received. I'd say $56 million is pretty damn good. It should have solid legs with the WOM it is getting.

This reminds me of when Batman Begins came out. Everyone was up in arms about its mediocre opening, but that one eventually went on to make a shit ton of money and then spawned a sequel that is the third highest grossing movie of all-time.

It's better to open to $60 million with great reviews than $80 million with shit reviews. The difference in the opening numbers will be made up and possibly exceeded in the long run.

Plus, it has already made $120 million worldwide.

[soda]

Not neccessarily, you ever wonder why studios run commercials and promotions for movies that urge you to go see it opening weekend? (ie, the famous "on such and such a date," tag line) The reason is because studios get a huge cut of the gate the first week a film is out, and a progressively lesser cut each week thereafter. I think opening weekend cut is like 90/10 in favor of the studios. That's the reason why the Dark Knight might have made just as much money, possibly more, for the studio as titanic did: The Dark Knight had a huge opening, Titanic had a small opening, and stayed in theatres for months.
Movie theatres love films that stay in theatres a long time, they make a ton of money off of stuff like Titanic and Avatar, studios prefer their money up front, when their slice of the pie is bigger.

Batman Begins is the comparison everyone, myself included, wants to use. We'll really find out next weekend whether this holds water or not. Batman Begins opened small (south of 50 million dollars) but had a multiplier of over 4, to finish at over 200 million domestic box. In this day and age, with summer movies, no film has a multiplier of 4 (its pretty rare). Even the Dark Knight had a multiplier of 3.3, really good, but well short of 4. If first class has good word of mouth, I can see a multiplier north of 3, and I think that would be successful. The 120 million dollar world wide figure so far means that Fox has already pocketed north of 100 million dollars in revenue, they're well on their way to turning a nice, tidy profit, so no worries there (to be honest, I kinda wish Fox wasn't on its way to a profit, might increase the pressure on them to sell the rights back to Marvel/Disney, but that ain't happening).

[Roy Batty]

Originally Posted by project 86

jigsaw make up your damn mind first you rate it a 8/10 saying it is the best x men film

then you change it to 7.5/10 and rank x2 better

then say it was lackluster

make up your mind

8/10 was my initial rating after I came back from the midnight showing. My rating later went down to a 7.5/10 after a few hours of letting the film seep into my mind. So ultimately my mind has been made up. It's definitely not better than X2, it lacks character development where it truly matters, and it's most likely not going to be getting a sequel because this thing won't have strong legs.

[Darth Kenshin]

Originally Posted by Jig Saw 123

it lacks character development where it truly matters

Really? Since it was the story of Magneto and Xavier, the lack of development from other characters didn't bother me much. I thought they did a great job with Xavier and Magneto, though.

And a lot of you guys are complaining about their friendship being to brief. You're definitely right about that, but keep in mind, at the end of this movie, they're not enemies. They're on opposing sides, but they certainly are not enemies. When I was an avid X-Men comic book reader, the only time I remember them truly being enemies (in the purest sense of the word) was during Fatal Attractions. There's still time for their relationship to develop if they make more movies in the series.

[Roy Batty]

Originally Posted by Darth Kenshin

Really? Since it was the story of Magneto and Xavier, the lack of development from other characters didn't bother me much. I thought they did a great job with Xavier and Magneto, though.

And a lot of you guys are complaining about their friendship being to brief. You're definitely right about that, but keep in mind, at the end of this movie, they're not enemies. They're on opposing sides, but they certainly are not enemies. When I was an avid X-Men comic book reader, the only time I remember them truly being enemies (in the purest sense of the word) was during Fatal Attractions. There's still time for their relationship to develop if they make more movies in the series.

This was the story of Magento and Xavier? I was under the impression this was merely X-Men Origins: Magento with a little Charles here and there. The most important thing about this movie was suppose to be the relationship between Charles and Erik. They become best friends after the submarine incident and you're telling me they're not enemies by the end of the movie? Then what exactly are they? Two 'friends' with opposing ideologies. Magento being the more radical and Professor X being the more sympathetic. I think it, as a lot of people have already said, it would have been better if it ended with Charles and Erik being apart of the same team and the two of them opening the school together. Then they could have made a First Class 2 with their relationship slowly falling apart and have part 3 ending with Professor X in the wheel chair and going bald and Magento going off forming the Brotherhood.

[AspectRatio1986]

Finally caught it tonight....loved it for the most part. Like someone stated earlier some scenes could have used a few more takes during filming. I'd probably rank it around 8/10 and just behind X2 as my favorite X-Men film....job well done and I would love to see what Vaughn could do with a sequel and more time to make the film....

[Ender]

Originally Posted by shawn-o

Loved it but didn't like how it didn't incorporate itself in the series better...Now some things about the original trilogy wont make any sense.

Personally, I think the worst thing a prequel can do is walk on eggshells trying to make sure each and every little thing matches up to the other films. Telling a good story should be the principle concern. If it pokes a few holes in the other movies, eh, fuck it.

Besides, the movies that it most often contradicted were "X-Men 3" and "Wolverine", and fuck all that noise anyway. I wish they'd gone out of their way to undermine those shitty movies more. Anything that helps me pretend they never happened is a big plus in my book.

[Crazy Dud]

X-Men: First Class

****1/2 out of ***** (9/10) Outstanding

Now this is how you make a prequel (George Lucas, take note)! This is probably, and quite surprisingly, the best X-Men film to date, besting even X2: X-Men United in terms of overall quality, artistic merit, and entertainment value. Almost everything in this movie works. The casting is great, with almost every actor putting in a performance far above and beyond what is expected for a film of this type. The script is well-written, with smart dialogue, a good pace, and deep characterization, character relationships, ideas, and themes. The directing is also top notch, and the film contains one of the best climaxes to come out of an action film in some time. The film is also emotionally resonant. You will come to care deeply about most of these characters. Add to that a great score, great sound, top-notch visual effects, and near-perfect production, and you have a superhero film that is second only to The Dark Knight (and that is only because of Ledger's iconic performance). There are a couple of minor issues in the film. Although necessary, this is a setup movie designed to have a sequel, and, as a result, it does take quite some time for the characters to meet and for the central conflict to fully develop. Also, there is an important character moment near the end of the film involving Mystique that does seem a bit forced. It certainly does not come out of nowhere, and is setup well, but it still is not 100% convincing. Despite these minor flaws, this is not simply a great superhero film, but a great film period! Fox finally got it right with this one! If you do not see this movie in theaters you are doing yourself a tremendous disservice. Go see X-Men: First Class as soon as possible!

[ilovemovies]

I love this movie. It's definitely the best of all the X-Men movies and may even be one of the best superhero movies period. James MacAvoy and Michael Fassbender are so damn good that they actually made me forget about Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan which is EXTREMELY hard to do!

That said, as much as I did love it, even though the movie is already pretty long at a good 135 minutes in length, it actually could have benefited greatly from being even longer. If there is any superhero movie that deserves a 3 hour running length, it's definitely this one. There is so much going on and so many rich storylines and compelling characters, that it could have really used the extra length. I actually don't think there is enough moments between Charles and Erik together. I think they could have delved into their relationship even more. This doesn't hurt the movie as much as it could have due mainly to the terrific chemistry between MacAvoy and Fassbender. I was also impressed with Jennifer Lawrence in this movie. She bring far more personality and depth to her part than Rebecca Romijn ever did.

Also gotta love the cameos from

Spoiler:

Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Romijn. Especially Jackman. Very funny scene.

Kevin Bacon was great as the bad guy. He did a great job of making you hate him though I was wish his ultimate comeuppance was a little more satisfying. I also really liked Janauary Jones in the movie. I wish she had more screen time. They could have used her so much more. I hope in the future movies they use her more and she has a major mental standoff with Charles Xavier. That would be badass. We don't really get that here which was disappointing.

Loved the action. Loved the use of real history in the storyline. This movie has me really excited about this franchise again. I didn't think Wolverine was as bad as most people did but it was kind of disappointing. But now I'm pumped for the X-Men universe again.

8/10

[anakinsrise]

When the story outline for X-Men: First Class was announced: a reboot of the original
X-men team,Proffesor X ,Jean Grey,Cyclops,Beast and Angel,i said hey why not should be interesting.
But then the outline changed,none but 1 of the aforementioned characters would be in the film,the characters would be a mix of characters from different era's of the X-men
I thought what a terrible idea,then bits and pieces of the filming popped up,then various marketing photos,that didnt boost my interest in the film at all.
Then some very smart people at Marvel/Fox put together some interesting trailers and clips. They got my attention and anticipation for the film was gained.

X-Men: First Class is the best in the series of X-men films.
Thanks to great work by the main 3 leads,James McAvoy as Professor Charles Xavier / Professor X ,Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto,Jennifer Lawrence as Raven / Mystique
Thinking they are all alone in the world,the only humans with something extra in their genetic code.Their lives intertwine when Sebastian Shaw(Kevin Bacon cold and creepy to the 100th power ) a powerful mutant bent on world domination,sets in motion the destruction of most of the world,by manipulating the players in the Cuban missle crisis.
This is a well acted film,emotionally charged,good amount of action,you really feel something for the characters and their plight,their own self prejudices,and search for their place in the world.The conflict of wanting to be themselves,but also wanting to be accepted as normal.
I liked the fact that Magneto was open to the change Proffesor X offered,but stayed on the course of what he wanted.You feel the bond between the two,but we know whats coming and how it will end. But not how it will play out.
XFC has one of the best climaxes i have seen in a film.
the cast is an interesting mix of established and up and coming actors :
Rose Byrne as Dr. Moira MacTaggert ,Nicholas Hoult as Dr. Henry "Hank" McCoy / Beast,Oliver Platt as A CIA agent ,Zoë Kravitz as Angel Salvadore
Caleb Landry Jones as Sean Cassidy / BansheeLucas Till as Alex Summers / Havok,
Edi Gathegi as Armando Muñoz / Darwin Jason Flemyng as Azazel.
With such a large cast some character development definitely doesnt happen,characters vanish for portions of the film and some just completely vanish.There is some hammy and blank acting.
But XFC far surpasses the jumbled,rushed,and uneven mess that was X-Men: The Last Stand.
My faith in the mutant division of Marvel films has waivered over the years,but thanks to
Director Matthew Vaughn,Producer Bryan Singer,writers Ashley Edward Miller
Zack Stentz ,Jane Goldman and some terrific acting,my faith has been restored.
Scale of 1-10 a 9

[JoeChar4321]

Originally Posted by optimusprime24

fucking great movie
9/10

You know, those three words do say a lot! Agree.

9/10

Personally, I love this movie. It rivals X2 as the best of the bunch. The tone was breathtakingly perfect. Setting it in the early 60’s was brilliant. This gives the film something no one really has seen before in these type of films and certainly elevates it from the X-Trilogy. As a fan of that trilogy, it is everything I was hoping for and maybe a bit more. This is the Xavier and Magneto story everyone has wanted to see since X1 and it’s done remarkably well. It’s easy to see why this movie has surprised the doubters and seems to frustrate the few haters. It’s solid all the way through. The first half features a set up with characterization so clever and so engaging that it’s shear perfection. That perfection seems to stumble a bit under the weight of the villain’s master plan. Things get a bit too grandiose and certain military action boarders on the crazy but the film never loses the fun factor throughout. First Class is moving, funny and fun and maybe not technically better than X2, it’s certainly as entertaining.

[JoeChar4321]

Originally Posted by Darth Kenshin

And a lot of you guys are complaining about their friendship being to brief. You're definitely right about that, but keep in mind, at the end of this movie, they're not enemies. They're on opposing sides, but they certainly are not enemies. When I was an avid X-Men comic book reader, the only time I remember them truly being enemies (in the purest sense of the word) was during Fatal Attractions. There's still time for their relationship to develop if they make more movies in the series.

That's what I was thinking. As a fan of the books, Magneto's relationship to Charles and the X-Men is always all over the place. One minute he's trying to kill them, the next he's actually teaching at the school. After years of Magneto being the "enemy" Charles actually turned the school over to him when he thought he was dying. Also, Charles has had and then lost the use of his legs a few times over the years.

Nothing here is really out of continuity in the film universe if you have a comic background. Erik can still help Charles build Cerebro at the mansion and maybe even try it his way and recruit kids until their next falling out. You know Erik will feel guilty over what happened to Charles at the end of the film.

[SpikeDurden]

Originally Posted by JoeChar4321

That's what I was thinking. As a fan of the books, Magneto's relationship to Charles and the X-Men is always all over the place. One minute he's trying to kill them, the next he's actually teaching at the school. After years of Magneto being the "enemy" Charles actually turned the school over to him when he thought he was dying. Also, Charles has had and then lost the use of his legs a few times over the years.

Nothing here is really out of continuity in the film universe if you have a comic background. Erik can still help Charles build Cerebro at the mansion and maybe even try it his way and recruit kids until their next falling out. You know Erik will feel guilty over what happened to Charles at the end of the film.

Yep. This is exactly what I've been saying. In the context of a first film (and in case for some reason there isn't a direct sequel to this), it works for them to come to this passing. If future installments do occur, there is plenty of opportunity, based on the stories told throughout the comics, to bring Erik and Charles back together and to retain the continuity of the other series if they so desire.

After this film though, I'm willing to go wherever they want to take me.

[Reckoner]

Saw it a few nights ago and got the well-rounded blockbuster I was hoping for. Cheesy bits aside (the opening scenes especially), Vaughn and co managed to craft a fun and thrilling spectacle while keeping focus on the fascinating character dynamics including and specifically those of Prof X and Magneto (two roles that McAvoy and Fassbender absolutely nail, respectively). But while the film makes admirable (and often successful) attempts as a character piece, I'll agree with the likes of APzombie and say that the pacing was extremely flawed, there was no room for the heavy drama to sink in, and in a lot of ways the story felt like it was being built ten lego bricks at a time - keeping the film from reaching the higher levels of X2 greatness to which it was capable of. Needless to say, this is certainly an above-average blockbuster that deserves all the success it can garner so we can see a much-deserved sequel.

7/10

[Mr.HyDe807]

A prequel film in an ongoing franchise is limited to certain restrictions when laying its groundwork for what will be included and not included in order to have consistency to the film's history. For a comic book franchise, the line is pretty thin considering the history that has already been shed in the film and its sequels. A movie franchise such as X-Men knows all too well with this problem, as the past two films have taken certain liberties towards the source material, leading to a bit of inconsistencies. The biggest offender could be the Origin film of Wolverine, with characters popping up everywhere for the sake of Wolverine's plot, as well as the establishment of Patrick Stewart's Professor Charles Xavier's Academy. Thankfully, director Matthew Vaughn is keeping tabs to just the first three X-Men films regarding the prequel, leading to a pretty solid, consistent, if not rushed film that establishes the rocky history between Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnserr, also known as Magneto.

The X-Men comics involved a world where people have evolved to establish special powers, leading to prejudice between these people and the ones who have not involved. In this shaky world is Professor Xavier, who has mutants that fight for peace between these people, and Erik Lehnserr, who wants to have mutants be the dominant force in the world. In this film set during the 1960s, it revolves around how they came to this place in their younger years. For a young and prosperous Charles (James McEvoy), he simply is getting around towards the idea of mutation as he becomes a professor, while also expanding his own mutant powers of telepathy. However, on the flip side of the coin is Erik (Michael Fassbender), who has been a concentration camp survivor, thanks to his mutant power to control metal and being used as guinea pig to control that power by a Nazi general, Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). From there, he has been on a revenge mission to track down Shaw, mostly through hunting down Bach's own comrades. However, these two characters on the different sides of the track come together when the same Sebastian Shaw, who is revealed to also be a mutant, is forming his own team to manipulate the Cold War for his own personal gain. This leads the CIA to enlist Xaiver and Lehnserr to collect people with mutant powers to combat this threat by Shaw.

Now, at the heart of this film is mostly the birth of Erik and Charles's relationship, and that is when the film excels at its highest. This is mostly due to McEvoy and Fassbender invoking a younger and conceded personality to their comic counterparts. While Professor X has been mostly been all knowing in previous films, McEvoy throws a bit of naiveness into young Charles, as he believes he can solve anything no matter how great the risk. As for Fassbender, he has the character of Erik as a person of revenge, with no second thoughts of breaking away from this mission. This gives the tension between these two characters more weight as their personalities clash towards the final act. It feels inevitable for comic fans who know their relationship, but Vaughn still brings a great dynamic to this relationship.

Unfortunately, apart from this relationship, the rest of the film feels a bit shaky. While director Vaughn keeps a good vibe on the 1960s regarding the Cold War, other minor mutants such as Raven Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast (Nicholas Hoult), as well as Kevin Bacon as a solid villain in Sebastian Shaw, the rest of the film loses a bit of steam as it nears the third act. Certain characters could have been excluded entirely, making a bit more room for other character arcs to develop. The biggest problem is that since it needs to end on a note that will follow through to other three X-men movies, it makes certain big climaxes at the conclusion of the film feel more rushed than anything. Strangely enough, when certain small events involving action do occur, they have an emotional weight that surprisingly feels heavier than the bigger action set pieces that are ongoing.

Overall, X-Men First Class is a movie that has a strong core between the two main leads of McEvoy and Fassbender, but farther that it goes out to this dynamic, the shakier the film becomes. It is by no means a terrible comic book film, but a film that could have had a bit more kinks to make a more solid film. That's the small price you have to pay to set up a prequel on the subsequent three films in a comic book film franchise

7.5/10

[poopontheshoes7]

Originally Posted by ilovemovies

Kevin Bacon was great as the bad guy. He did a great job of making you hate him though I was wish his ultimate comeuppance was a little more satisfying.

Definitely don't agree with this.

Spoiler:

His death is one of the most brutal and well executed deaths in any superhero movie. The way Erik slowly drove the coin through his skull and out the back of his head was totally awesome. So unexpectedly mean spirited for a superhero film. I was totally expecting Charles to talk Magneto out if but it didn't happen! Way better then just having Shaw fall off a cliff or get stabbed by shrapnel or electrocuted or something else equally lame. Probably the most gratifying villain death in a comic book film to date.

[JoeChar4321]

Originally Posted by poopontheshoes7

Definitely don't agree with this.

Spoiler:

His death is one of the most brutal and well executed deaths in any superhero movie. The way Erik slowly drove the coin through his skull and out the back of his head was totally awesome. So unexpectedly mean spirited for a superhero film. I was totally expecting Charles to talk Magneto out if but it didn't happen! Way better then just having Shaw fall off a cliff or get stabbed by shrapnel or electrocuted or something else equally lame. Probably the most gratifying villain death in a comic book film to date.

I agree, gratifying and brutal indeed. Another thing I loved about this movie was how well they balanced the fun, amazement and brutality. That's a tough thing to pull off.

Spoiler:

Ex: One minute Oliver Platt's character is the nice guy getting a handle on things and then next, SPLAT! Shocking.

It seems they were interested in making a good film first and foremost, pushing the PG-13 to the limits. This really isn't a kid friendly film. I applaud the use of subtitles during quite a few scenes. That just adds to the depth instead of delivering some "Hogan's Heroes" type stuff. I hope XFC has some great legs and rewards fine film making.

[Darth Kenshin]

Originally Posted by Jig Saw 123

They become best friends after the submarine incident and you're telling me they're not enemies by the end of the movie? Then what exactly are they? Two 'friends' with opposing ideologies. Magento being the more radical and Professor X being the more sympathetic. I think it, as a lot of people have already said, it would have been better if it ended with Charles and Erik being apart of the same team and the two of them opening the school together. Then they could have made a First Class 2 with their relationship slowly falling apart and have part 3 ending with Professor X in the wheel chair and going bald and Magento going off forming the Brotherhood.

They are not enemies. Again, when I read comic books, even when they were on opposing sides, they were rarely pure enemies (I already cited Fatal Attractions). They're still friends, and if we see more of these movies, we'll see them playing chess and philosophizing, not trying to kill each other. That's the way their relationship works.

Certainly, I think it could've been interesting to see the relationship deteriorate over the course of a few movies, like Obi Wan and Anakin in the Star Wars prequels (the only thing those movies got right), but I don't have a problem with how they handled it because their relationship is still developing. Singer understands their relationship. He compares it to Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. He also did a great job of showing that they can still work together in X2. He knows the intricacies of how they play off each other. I don't think they rushed things, but I can see how other people may think the opposite.

[APzombie]

Originally Posted by SpikeDurden

Yep. This is exactly what I've been saying. In the context of a first film (and in case for some reason there isn't a direct sequel to this), it works for them to come to this passing. If future installments do occur, there is plenty of opportunity, based on the stories told throughout the comics, to bring Erik and Charles back together and to retain the continuity of the other series if they so desire.

After this film though, I'm willing to go wherever they want to take me.

You say that as if Xavier wasn't walking in the prequel scene in X3. It's one thing to assume that they patched things up enough to finish the school (and continue their friendship) by the end of Year One, it is another to assume he'll be able to walk again.

Originally Posted by Ender

Personally, I think the worst thing a prequel can do is walk on eggshells trying to make sure each and every little thing matches up to the other films. Telling a good story should be the principle concern. If it pokes a few holes in the other movies, eh, fuck it.

In this case I don't think you can have your cake and eat it too. You can't constantly wink at the audience with lines and cameos (that often get the best reaction) relating back to the previous films and then blow the continuity this badly. Completely bypassing the relationship the series was based on is a bit more than "poking a few holes".

[ilovemovies]

Originally Posted by poopontheshoes7

Definitely don't agree with this.

Spoiler:

His death is one of the most brutal and well executed deaths in any superhero movie. The way Erik slowly drove the coin through his skull and out the back of his head was totally awesome. So unexpectedly mean spirited for a superhero film. I was totally expecting Charles to talk Magneto out if but it didn't happen! Way better then just having Shaw fall off a cliff or get stabbed by shrapnel or electrocuted or something else equally lame. Probably the most gratifying villain death in a comic book film to date.

Spoiler:

I guess though my problem was that it was too easy for Erik to kill him since he was unable to move. That was my problem more than anything I think.

[JoeChar4321]

Originally Posted by APzombie

You say that as if Xavier wasn't walking in the prequel scene in X3. It's one thing to assume that they patched things up enough to finish the school (and continue their friendship) by the end of Year One, it is another to assume he'll be able to walk again.

In this case I don't think you can have your cake and eat it too. You can't constantly wink at the audience with lines and cameos (that often get the best reaction) relating back to the previous films and then blow the continuity this badly. Completely bypassing the relationship the series was based on is a bit more than "poking a few holes".

I guess being a reader I have no trouble filling in gaps and these alleged continuity issues mean little to me. Xavier has used an Iron Man type exoskeleton to walk, he's had his legs restored and then taken away a few times in the books, and he can create realities where everyone sees what he wants them to see (like in the back of the truck in this movie.) So, is it really that much of a deal breaker to apply any of those to a 2 minute clip from X3 ??? Maybe Xavier didn't want Jean's parents to know he was handicapped? Who cares? It's all in the comic realm of possibility and should not detract from what is a fine film here.

[SpikeDurden]

Originally Posted by JoeChar4321

I guess being a reader I have no trouble filling in gaps and these alleged continuity issues mean little to me. Xavier has used an Iron Man type exoskeleton to walk, he's had his legs restored and then taken away a few times in the books, and he can create realities where everyone sees what he wants them to see (like in the back of the truck in this movie.) So, is it really that much of a deal breaker to apply any of those to a 2 minute clip from X3 ??? Maybe Xavier didn't want Jean's parents to know he was handicapped? Who cares? It's all in the comic realm of possibility and should not detract from what is a fine film here.

This is what I was going to say. Xavier has gotten back to use of his legs at various times, plus he can project onto people what he wants to project. At this point I think we can assume that anything is possible and the continuity remains sound. This can be revisited again if there is a sequel.

[ericdraven]

yeah. I enjoyed it. It was a solid entry into a series that has been pretty great. It's 100 percent better than Wolverine, and boy, some pretty epic sequences.


Also the certain cameo and the certain curse word he used made me geek out.


7/10

[chasingbanky]

I dug it as well. I'd say a 7/10 over all. Here's my entire review...

[urbanlegend23]

First Class is actually my least favourite in the series thus far. It was overlong and didn't offer any new themes or ideas to this franchise. It felt very workmanlike to me, unlike the first two films, which thanks to Bryan Singer had a bit of passion behind them. Even the special effects weren't that impressive, one scene involving a submarine in the final act looked very fake. The new cast do fine - especially McAvoy - but I found it a bore overall, honestly, I can't believe how well it's being reviewed.

One of my biggest problems with the movie was just how by-the-numbers it felt for an instalment into an entertaining movie franchise like this. It should've at least been enjoyable. I was itching for it to hurry up and end already by the 90 minute mark.

James Berardinelli's great review explains - a lot better than I can - a lot of my problems with the movie. The most overrated of the year so far.

5/10

[jolanar]

I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking this movie is overrated. It feels like everyone else is drinking the koolaid giving this movie such high marks when it's just average at best.