Eleven years after the original X-Men first opened, the fourth
film in the unstoppable X-Franchise (or fifth, if you count the dopey X-Men
Origins: Wolverine) winds up going back to the past to tell a superlative story
that details the origins of the X-Men. James McAvoy does a superb job at playing the young Charles
Xavier, who first stumbles across the shape-shifting Mystique as a boy in the
kitchen of his family’s mansion in 1940s Upstate New York. Caught trying to
steal food from his refrigerator, the little Mystique is instantly adopted by
Charles as his sister. Meanwhile, in occupied Europe, a young Erik Lehnsherr has
been "adopted" by a sadistic concentration camp warden named Sebastian Shaw
(Kevin Bacon).
Shaw, noting that Erik’s mutant powers intensify whenever he’s angry or stressed,
coldly decides to see what the kid’s capable of by shooting his mother right in front of
him. After the war, the early sixties finds the adult Erik (well
played by Michael Fassbender) now hunting down Shaw. At the same time, CIA agent
Moira MacTaggert (the always good Rose Byrne) is busy undercover (and seriously
underdressed) at the mysterious Hellfire Club when she spies upon Emma Frost
(January Jones) and Azazel (Jason Flemyng) who display their mutant powers. This
sparks Moira to track down one of the world’s leading specialists in mutants:
Professor Charles Xavier.
After Bryan Singer directed X-Men and X2 to sheer perfection, Brett Ratner
stepped in and handled the direction on X-Men: The Last Stand. While the third
film wasn’t entirely terrible, it lacked the storytelling sophistication of the
first two X-Men movies. X-Men: First Class is instantly far superior to the third
X-Men film in how it returns to the intelligent storytelling of the first two films.
Matthew Vaughn (Kick Ass), who was originally set to direct X3 before dropping
out, returns to capably handle helming this film by not treating the viewer as
if they were a low-grade moron.
And by wisely setting the events in 1962, the filmmakers are able to take
advantage of the Cuban Missile Crisis for their epic confrontation, as well as
invoke the pop culture coolness of that era. A submarine that slips out of the
hull of a massive yacht is something straight out of a Bond film, yet it still
fits elegantly here. The familiar X-Men outfits are introduced, along
with the X-Plane, which is a cool variation on the SR-71 Blackbird. The X-Men themselves
made their debut in comic book form back in 1963, and so having this film take
place during this era is just an inspired idea.
Despite the large (and superb)
cast, everyone is given a moment to shine, here--including Ashley Lawrence
(Winter’s Bone), who gives heart to her Mystique, while Nicholas Hoult is also very good
as the conflicted Beast.
Vaughn even finds room for a well done cameo with Rebecca Romijn, who played
Mystique in the first three films--as well as Hugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine
here in his own hysterically funny cameo. At times riveting, enthralling and just plain
fun, X-Men: First Class is an impressive return to what made the X-Men films so
enjoyable in the first place.
--SF
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