X-Men: First Class

If you are a fan of the X-Men franchise, you will no doubt have been eagerly awaiting the cinema release of X-Men: First Class.

Good news, guys, that time has come.

As with X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, avid fans and followers of the original comic will be required to suspend their intricate knowledge of the X-Men universe, as X-Men: First Class alters the mythology slightly, inorder to better carve out and drive forward a new X-Men universe, as per the movie series. Indeed, there are a few elements which even contradict the previous movies’ version. This latest outing, therefore, is both a reboot, as well as a prequel.

For the rest of us normal human beings, who perhaps never got caught up and infatuated with the wonderful and magical comic series, the movies must be taken at face value.

And the value of that face is looking pretty healthy, by anyone’s imagination. “First Class” is estimated to make $55 million in it’s opening weekend. The previous movies in the series are said to have brought in more revenue in their opening weekends, but I have a sneaking suspicion this movie will do much better than, what I consider, the flop that was “Origins”.

So, time to spill the beans. Was “First Class” any good? That’s what you all want to know.

A big booming “YES!” would be the answer.

Starring James McAvoy as a young Professor Xavier, and Michael Fassbender as his friend Magneto, the film takes us back to when mutants had not yet been publicly discovered.

Much drama is drawn from Fassbender’s experience as a child losing his family in Hitler’s Nazi Germany. His turmoil is added to by abuse and exploitation at the hands of a Nazi (Kevin Bacon), whom Fassbender, as a grown man, is obsessed with finding.

In fact, it would be wrong to not point out that Fassbender seems more the focus of the movie, as opposed to how The X-Men, a team of heroic mutants, came to be. It is his back story and personality that pushes the other characters and the overall plot along. This is in a similar vein to Wolverine’s role in previous outings, though I am glad to say no equivalent of “Origins” is planned. Fassbender’s tortured and emotional performance, couple with his meaty masculinity, is sure to make this outing a success.

The emotionally grounded Xavier befriends the raw Magneto, hoping to coach and heal his friend to a fresh perspective on life. They embark on a mission to stop Bacon’s character, Nazi Shaw, from starting a nuclear war. Much is drawn from the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, helping to solidify some of the less credible elements of the plot.

It is interesting to note that a few personality traits in Shaw, can be seen developing in Magneto. Perhaps this is one reason why magneto can engender sympathy and support – in a sense, the audience witness the abused becoming the abuser.

Mystique (Jennifer Lawson) makes a pivotal appearance, before falling in rank with Magneto, as Xavier’s step sister. Torn between two paradigms, Lawson explores her feelings of who and what she is, highlighting for us the struggle faced by mutants and humans alike, living in a world where appearance is so important. She finds her loyalties and relationships tested.

Relationships are a strong theme, underscoring much of the movie. We see relationships between the characters grow and develop. However, it is difficult to develop relationships in such a movie, with so many characters, where only very limited information is available about where they are from, or what motivates them. Because of this, a lot of the storyline needs to simply be accepted and assumed. There is time, however, to accommodate an interesting cameo from Jackman, reprising his Wolverine.

Strong themes also include justice and fairness, acceptance and humanity’s hunger for violence, revenge and power.

Humour is employed heavily, making it accessible to a wider audience. But there are enough special effects and action to keep die hard X-Men fans happy. A true X-Men devotee would appreciate a longer, more in depth “First Class”, as there are too many interesting characters and elements that could have, and should have, been expanded upon. But the version they have given us is fun, flamboyant and will, without a doubt, open the doors for many more films in what is now a truly revitalised franchise.

McAvoy and (especially) Fassbender, turn out marvellous performances. Their next outing will be sure to impress.