X-men First Class review.

Name of the Film: X-Men First Class

Starring:  James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon                

It feels to me as though the X-men trilogy started by Bryan Singer and ended by Brett Ratner was in many ways responsible for kick starting the superhero craze we seem to have now.  It showed studios the comic book films didn’t have to be silly and that there was a market out there for superhero films that weren’t a Batman sequel, reboot, re-imagining thing.

It is then slightly ironic that this latest entry into the X-men cannon comes from the same creative team that directed the largely subversive but brilliant in every way Kick Ass, a film that turned the traditional comic book movie on it’s head in many ways.

In fact director Matthew Vaughn and screenwriter Jane Goldsmith are on a bit of a run recently, Stardust and Kick Ass are fantastic films and this X-men film is just as good.  In fact in my humble opinion I think this is the best X-men film so far.

The film moves at a frenetic pace and it needs to as it has a lot to cover.  Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon on top form) trying to manipulate a world war to wipe out all ‘human’ life, Erik, later to become Magneto,  (Michael Fassbender with a weird accent but still excellent) seeking revenge on the Nazis that killed his mother and Charles (James McAvoy with hair), later to become Professor X, seeking to help mutants to fit in society.

And this is the strength of the film.  It is a film of shades of grey rather than black and white.  They have made Magneto the primary character in many ways although his screen time is the same as the other characters.  This is because we have sympathy for him.  Watching his mother dies has a profound effect on him and anything he does later in his life immediately becomes understandable and almost excusable based on his history.

However this then shifts our perception of each of the other characters in the film.  When Charles talks about showing the world that they can be a force for good he does sound politically naive.  He expects people that witness their extraordinary powers to not be afraid and react accordingly.  To not see a tremendous backlash is wishful at best.  Eric becomes the realist in many ways and Shaw becomes the extremist.

This echos through the film, the script is very clever both in its political arguments and its interpersonal relationships, Beast and Raven being a particularly touching example  of the later.

This film is warm, touching, epic, exciting, grandiose, funny and has already become one of my favourite Marvel films made so far, I can’t wait to see what they have in store for the sequels.

Did I enjoy the film?  Yes. 

Would I recommend it to my friends?  Yes. 

Will I buy it on DVD/Blu Ray?  Yes.

If it was a mate would I let it date my Sister?  Yes.