This just might be the best X-Men movie yet. After feeling letdown by last two films in the franchise, I wasn’t really looking forward to this one. But to my surprise, X-Men: First Class crackles with life thanks to a smart (yet fun) script and some wonderful casting. The Cold War setting is absolutely brilliant as the script carefully weaves the history of the X-Men with the real-world events leading up to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Here Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Eric Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) work with the CIA to stop an evil mutant attempting to trigger a nuclear exchange between the United States and Soviet Union. McAvoy and Fassbender absolutely own these lead roles the same way Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan did in the first three films. But even as they work together, it’s clear that Charles and Eric have divergent views of humanity, setting the stage for the inevitable X-Men vs. Brotherhood conflicts. Unfortunately, the future of X-Men movies are uncertain, largely hinging on the success of this film. Will an X-Men without Wolverine resonate with mainstream audiences? Or is this the decade of The Avengers? It’s too early to tell how this will play out. But I feel X-Men: First Class has successfully revitalized a troubled franchise and I can’t wait to see more from this cast.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
X-Men: First Class
This just might be the best X-Men movie yet. After feeling letdown by last two films in the franchise, I wasn’t really looking forward to this one. But to my surprise, X-Men: First Class crackles with life thanks to a smart (yet fun) script and some wonderful casting. The Cold War setting is absolutely brilliant as the script carefully weaves the history of the X-Men with the real-world events leading up to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Here Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Eric Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) work with the CIA to stop an evil mutant attempting to trigger a nuclear exchange between the United States and Soviet Union. McAvoy and Fassbender absolutely own these lead roles the same way Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan did in the first three films. But even as they work together, it’s clear that Charles and Eric have divergent views of humanity, setting the stage for the inevitable X-Men vs. Brotherhood conflicts. Unfortunately, the future of X-Men movies are uncertain, largely hinging on the success of this film. Will an X-Men without Wolverine resonate with mainstream audiences? Or is this the decade of The Avengers? It’s too early to tell how this will play out. But I feel X-Men: First Class has successfully revitalized a troubled franchise and I can’t wait to see more from this cast.
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