"foX-Men" Re-Watch: X-Men: First Class

 "X-Men: First Class" (2011)

After the critical flops that were "The Last Stand" & "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," it was pretty clear that they needed to do something different, especially since this is the first Fox "X-Men" film being released during the MCU era. What better way to jump start the franchise then doing an origin story set in the swinging '60's directed by a grungy British director. Will this be the bright shiny modern re-vamp they are hoping for?

Principal photography in August 2010 and ended in December 2010. The film stars James McAvoy as Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr, Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw, Rose Byrne as Moria MacTaggert, Jennifer Lawrence as Raven/Mystique, Oliver Platt as Man In Black Suit, Alex Gonzalez as Janos Quested/Riptide, Jason Flemyng as Azazel, Zoe Kravitz as Angel Salvadore, January Jones as Emma Frost, Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy/Beast, Caleb Landry Jones as Sean Cassidy/Banshee, Edi Gathegi as Darwin/Armando Munoz and Lucas Till as Alex Summer/Havok. The film was written by Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn. It was directed by Matthew Vaughn. "X-Men: First Class" was released on June 3, 2011.

Pre X-Men

It may not seem like it from reading these re-watches but I am a huge X-Men fan, I swear. I say that because I'm pretty sure the last time that I saw "X-Men: First Class" was when I saw it in the theater. That would have been over 10 years ago. It is kind of nice to re-visit the movie after that long and kind of look at it through fresh eyes, especially after the last Fox X-Men movie left such a sour taste in my mouth. But we will get to that.

I think the first thing that we need to talk about in regards to this movie is how stacked this cast is. Jennifer Lawrence. This was pre-Hunger Games, pre-Oscar win for "Silver Linings Playbook." This was a pretty huge get and I am not sure if everyone knew what they had when they cast her and they got her to make three more movies. It's crazy to me. Everything that would make Jennifer Lawrence one of the biggest stars out there is present here. Lawrence is the perfect proto Raven. You can see this person growing up to be Rebecca Romijn. It's great to see this sort of swinging sixties, fun gal. And Lawrence does a great job of showing us the internal struggle that Mystique is facing especially when Erik enters her life and starts to show her a different way than Charles' way of human integration.

The film really relies on the chemistry of the men who will be the leaders of both sides of the fight for mutantdom and James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender kill it. McAvoy shows us an entirely new side of Charles Xavier. We are used to seeing Xavier as the stodgy teacher so it's a trip to see Charles as like this tool who thinks he is super suave is a trip, but McAvoy really sells it. In the wrong hands, Xavier could have came across as a giant douchebag but McAvoy is so charming that it never crosses that line. The film also gives Charles major character growth that feels legit in the context of the film. 

Move over, Ian McKellen. Michael Fassbender is Magneto for me forever. Fassbender is suave and damaged and dangerous, sometimes all at the same time. He consistently carries the pain from his past and it's always just under the surface of any interaction that he has. It helps that Fassbender seems to have chemistry with literally everyone. The scene where Xavier accesses the memory of Erik's mother so he can enhance his powers is one of the best scenes in any of the "X-Men" movies.

You like my helmet? Just stole it off a dead guy.

Kevin Bacon is a fantastic Sebastian Shaw. Now, when I think Sebastian Shaw, I don't think Kevin Bacon, but Bacon takes the role and makes it his own. Shaw is a smarmy character who is like the less moral version of Magneto, if that makes any sense. He masquerades as a Nazi for God's sake to find mutants. It's super fucked up. The way that the movie visualizes Shaw's powers are really cool. Shaw is a kinetic energy storer and that makes him basically super strong. In the movie, he absorbs all forms of energy and redirects it rather explosively. It's a pretty cool visual and ups Shaw's power level quite a bit. It makes him an even more formidable foe than he is usually.

Rose Byrne and Nicholas Hoult acquit themselves well. Rose plays this version of Moira as the perfect plucky secret agent. I did and still does really bother me that they made Moira American and hired a Welsh person to play her when she's Scottish in the comics. It makes my mind reel. Hoult is a great Hank and you see seeds planted her with his feelings about his mutation, the furthering of that mutation and his burgeoning feelings for Raven. 

Sadly, not every casting choice is a winner. We don't get a lot of time with some of the side characters aka the recruits and Shaw's minions. Azazel and Riptide are cool looking, but that's about it. The same could be said about Havok, Banshee and Darwin. They are basically just place fillers. I am a fan of a training montage, but you don't really care about them. It's why the scene when Angel jumps ship to Shaw's side kind of falls flat. We don't know enough about Angel and her beliefs and motivations for it tor really feel like a blow to our crew. The same for Darwin. Darwin is super cool and his powers are dope. He's also one of the only mutants of color in the movie. His power is to adapt and he gets killed. It doesn't make a lot of sense. Shouldn't he have adapted to survive what Shaw did, since that is his whole deal?

It bums me out that the character that suffers the most is one of my favorite X characters, Emma Frost. On paper, January Jones is a great choice for Emma. Visually she looks the part and the costume department does a great job. The Hellfire Club being kind of a secret sex club explains why Emma is wearing lingerie. It's when Jones starts speaking that things fall apart. Her characterization is so flat. It's all one level. Emma is sassy, bitchy, cunning and you get none of that with Jones' portrayal. The script does kind of let her down, sidelining her midway through the movie, but the opportunities are there. Take the scene where Emma is using her telepathy to make it seem like the Russian general is sleeping with her. That is prime Emma and Jones doesn't capitalize on it. It's a real bummer. The less said about her diamond form the better.

Proto Emma. 

The movie really does a great job of capitalizing on the sixties setting with it feeling kitschy or like it's a crutch. The music feels period correct. Even some of the cinematography reverts back to sixties style. When Xavier scans Emma, there is the fuzzy border and the way the camera pans through the old school maps and Shaw's face, feels like it was pulled directly from a Sean Connery Bond film. I am not always a big fan of movies, especially like sci-fi or fantasy movies, using real life events especially in the climax of the film, but the Cuban Missile Crisis really works. It doesn't feel crazy far outside the realm of possibility and it definitely sets up a scenario that would begin the government's decades long persecution of mutants, particularly after setting some mutants up as US agents. 

"X-Men: First Class" is not as action packed as some of the previous installments, but that isn't a bad thing. When the action happens, it is pretty spectacular. The attack on the CIA compound is a feast. Shaw destroying the upper balcony with all of the agents. Azazel and Riptide tearing through them. It's pretty freaking cool. The final confrontation is tense, too. Remember when Magneto uprooted the Golden Gate Bridge and used it to cross to Alcatraz, well in this movie, he lifts an entire Russian nuclear sub out of the ocean.

A face only Raven can love.

"X-Men: First Class" isn't beholden to the movies that came before. It respects the source material and is more married to making sure the story it is telling fits into the past trilogy, definitely more so than future films in the "First Class" series of films. Starting the movie in the same way as "X-Men" was a great choice. We have seen this scene outside of the concentration camp before, but we get more and it really informs more on Erik and Shaw. 

It's a fine line between fan service and telling a coherent story that feels worth telling and a lot of movies don't do a great job. *cough* "The Rise of Skywalker *cough.* We get the obligatory Wolverine cameo which is amazing. And Rebecca Romijn who looks stunning. The origin of Magneto's helmet is revealed, stolen from Shaw after a coin through his head and given a fresh paint job. Raven going from Charles' side to Erik's, which is no surprise. Erik's philosophy has to be much more appealing for mutants like Raven. He may not go bald in this movie, but he does lose his legs when Erik deflects Moira's bullet into Charles' spine. That is pathos. That is X-Men. That is what we are here for.

All in all, "X-Men: First Class" does exactly what it needs to do. It proves the "X-Men" franchise can still be viable with Avengers. 

Next up, Logan tries this whole solo thing again with "The Wolverine."

What do you all think of "X-Men: First Class?" Is it your favorite? Do you love Emma? Did you want more? Let me know in the comments.