Sunday, June 5, 2011

MOVIE REVIEW ... X-MEN: FIRST CLASS

 

x-men_first_class_posterAfter the debacle that was X-Men: The Last Stand, the only way for the franchise was up.  X-Men: First Class sees it go backwards with a prequel returning to the high quality of the first films.  Definitely a cause for celebration and the care taken in producing a well scripted film is one for which to be thankful.   Much of this good work goes to Director Mathew Vaughn who crafts a spectacular tale without losing sight of the strong characters creator Stan Lee bought to life decades ago.

Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Laurence Belcher) are friends with special abilities.  Branded mutants, they use their gifts to train others like them in order to make the world safe.  Due to an unforseen calamity, a rift between them opens which leads to the former friends becoming deadly enemies.  With the world at stake and dangerous mutants at war, the men who would become known as Professor X and Magneto attempt to shape the course of history in their own spellbinding ways.

Well cast, directed and written, X-Men: First Class lives up to its moniker.  Although prequels usually don’t hold many surprises as viewers would know who survives into the later films, First Class manages to add some twists.  Most of these are in the development of the characters, with questions on how Xavier and Erik became how they are definitively answered.  Helping also are the strong cast who effectively convey the despair their characters feel in dealing with their abilities, whilst also equipping themselves in the many dazzling action sequences.

First Class’ best quality is whilst it respects the source material it manages to have fun with fan’s conceived notions.  Although the story is outlandish, it never ventures into cartoon silliness and upholds the integrity of the story. Having directed Kick-Ass and Layer Cake, Vaughn knows how to deliver a commercial blockbuster with intelligence.  Ensuring the pace never slackens, he remembers to allow the tale to breathe with the quieter moments just as effective as the expected mayhem.

X-Men: First Class restores the lustre lost from Last Stand’s awful venture.  First Class is a top rate entry and a good superhero film in its own right with the potential for more films no longer something of which fans need be afraid.

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Movie Review Rating 8 / 10

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

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