Richard Donner. Christopher Nolan. Sam Raimi. And now, Matthew Vaughn. All directors who know how to properly execute a comic book-to-motion picture superhero film.
Not as twistedly cerebral as Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, as colorfully choreographed as Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, or as sweepingly epic as Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie, director Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class is nonetheless in the same company as those films. The reason stems simply from its ability to turn fantasy creations of ink into living, breathing characters with whom we can identify, sympathize…and most importantly, empathize.
X-Men: First Class begins in a Nazi concentration camp in Poland, circa 1944, where we see a boy separated from his mother. Restrained by guards, he reaches out to her, to no avail, as she is taken away. In the boy’s anguish, the barbed, metal gates that separate them begin to shudder violently, even as eugenicist Dr. Schmidt — portrayed with sadistic relish by Kevin Bacon — looks on in rapt interest.
Soon after, Schmidt offers the boy, now formerly revealed to be Erik Lehnsherr, a single chance to save his mother, whereupon we learn that the youngster’s power can only be activated through strong emotions. The sequence is barbarous and disturbing, establishing the background, intent and motivations of these two characters in one tragic scene. Here we learn where Erik’s long-standing feelings of anger, mistrust and vengeance are forged.
Later, as the now-adult Erik (Michael Fassbender) searches the globe for Schmidt (who has now changed his identity to Sebastian Shaw and is revealed to have mutant powers of his own), he crosses paths with future X-Men founder Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), a genetics wunderkind at Oxford.
Though the film introduces us to several of the mutants with whom we’re familiar — Mystique, Beast, Riptide, etc. — and how the “first class” comes together, Charles and Erik (soon to be Magneto) form the emotional core of X-Men: First Class. It is their complex, sibling-like back-and-forth relationship, along with the wonderfully nuanced performances of these two actors, that give the film its heart and soul. Charles Xavier is a thinker, a man of measure who would prefer to avoid violence whenever possible, but who is capable of it if necessary. Erik Lehnsherr is the opposite. Forged in the Nazi’s crucible of cruelty, his personality favors action and vengeance, yet he can be capable of benevolent clemency. All of this occurs largely because each man gives the other the gift of their truer nature, and by the end, though each finds himself leaning back towards his original proclivities, each is also the stronger because of their relationship, and each continues to value the other’s friendship.
Ironically, despite his seeming turn towards that of an antagonist at the end, it is Erik who’s predictions about mankind’s betrayal of the mutants, is proven correct. This part of the narrative, while revealing an uncomfortable truth about humanity, is wonderfully executed.
It’s thus perhaps no surprise that X-Men: First Class takes place against the turbulent backdrop of 1960s America, and therefore works as a metaphor of sorts for the period, as the country dealt with a populace coming to grips with issues of prejudice, racial tension, social unrest and conformity.
Vaughn also has fun with the 1960s, and there are several sequences and set pieces that are entertaining to watch merely for the nostalgia they engender.
The film’s only major structural weakness comes from the inherent nature of its material—never is any sort of plausible pseudo-scientific explanation provided for why humans with mutated genes can perform such extraordinary feats external to their own biology. Such is the complexion of the franchise. Accept this, and the film is eminently enjoyable, partially because it never fails to obey the laws of its own universe, but largely because the main characters are so well drawn; so well acted.
There have been a few criticisms leveled at the the film’s visual effects. Ignore them. There’s nothing wrong here. Unless you prefer frenetic VFX with smash cuts and incomprehensible action, a la Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Once again, X-Men: First Class excels, reminding Hollywood of how visuals should support the story, not the other way around. The scenes concerning the Cuban Missile Crisis are highly effective, interspersed as they are with real footage from the period.
If there is one point of contention in the film, it’s the choice of shots for the opening title. Segueing out of 1944 Poland, we see a Nazi coin with a Swastika on one side suspended in the air, which slowly rotates to reveal the X-Men logo on the other side, suggesting that one leads to the other. While there’s no question that Erik Lehnsherr’s experiences as a boy in Nazi Germany forged the man, connecting the Swastika to the X-Men logo could be viewed as erroneous at best, and insensitive at worst.
In the grand scheme, it’s a minor point. X-Men: First Class is the best of the ‘X-Men’ films and a shining example of what a superhero film ought to be. Green Lantern and Captain America have their work cut out for them this summer.
source:cinemaspy.com
