X-Men: First Class (Matthew Vaughn, 2011)

Movie review

Almost all recent hollywood movie franchises appear to be following a common trajectory : The first movie of the franchise is usually a good show; then, however redundant a sequel to the first movie might seem, it is still made, and it proves to be more or less as good as the first one, if not better. Then, just as things are starting to look good, a third movie is released, and, more often than not, the final movie proves to be a fatal blow at the sturdy foundation that comprised the first two movies. At this stage, the franchise is considered to have been catapulted beyond the point of no return, and production houses start steering away from the prospect of yet another sequel, as it would only spell disaster. Finally, long after the last rays of hope have faded, the reboot is born. This reboot essentially represents a shift in pardigm from the rest of the franchise,and employs newer, more innovative methods of narration and film-making. This film is generally labelled as the saviour of the entire series, and interest in the franchise is freshly rekindled. 

After the horrendous abomination called X:men : The Last Stand and the at-most-mediocre X:men Origins : Wolverine, X:men First Class is now the official reboot to the X:men franchise. With Director Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Kick-ass) leading the way, this is the most fast-paced, visceral, and stylishly filmed movie of the series. 

The film's events take place in the year 1962, just as Charles Xavier (James Mcavoy) and Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) are discovering their strange and unexplained abilities for the first time. Charles is recruited by the CIA to track down Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), a villanous mutant who hopes to bring about a third world war by secretly influencing the heads of governments of both superpowers to take an aggressive stance. Meanwhile, Erik plans to exact his own personal vendetta against Shaw. After their paths inevitably cross, Erik and Charles join hands to recruit fellow mutants and form a group of mercenaries allied against the growing malice of the scheming Sebestian Shaw. 

Unlike his last superhero venture kick-ass, where the only superheroes were either vengeful psychopaths or attention hungry teensagers, X:men:First Class boasts of much more complex characters .Vaughn tries to unravel the true psyche of the superhero as he presents us with young minds who are endowed with an abundance of power, and therefore, also burdened with a huge amount of responsibility. They are gullible, fragile beings with the fate of the world resting on their shoulders. They are inexperienced, are controlled by their own fickle emotions, and have yet to find themselves. This characterization of Vaughn's mutants contrasts heavily with that of almost every other superhero movie produced, and it makes for a nice change of scene. Another interesting element in the movie is the momentary and subtle, yet powerful juxtaposition between Charles and Erik's characters. In presenting Charles's as a prudent yet brash-minded and naive personality, and in combining Erik's vengeance-driven "Frankenstein's monster" with his calm and wise self, Vaughn breaks the age-old convention of individualising the "wise old man" and the "naive, arrogant youth" archetypes. Thus, while the well-intentioned Charles foolishly undermines Mystique's self-esteem by overlooking her "real" self, Erik quietly accepts her in her true form. As it is, almost every character in the film is dense, with precise motives and a clearly defined history. 

Director Mathew Vaughn, who also co-wrote the screenplay, excels at storytelling, which is a first for the franchise. Vaughn clearly seems to understand that the narrative is not merely an exhibit for a typical good v/s evil story; it is the parable of a poignant parting of ways, and , indeed, at its heart, it is a critical view of the extreme polarity of ideas that appears to dominate our world today. Enough care has been taken to edit out the superflous and baseless elements that brought down the earlier films of the franchise. Also, the makers do a fine job of fusing history and fiction; it is interesting to imagine a parallel universe where mutants and the Cuban Crisis go hand in hand. The acting, also one of the highlights of the movie, is probably the best to come out of a comic-book spin-off.(setting aside Ledger, obviously) James McAvoy and Jennifer Lawrence stand out as the young, dynamic Charles Xavier and the silent, self-loathing Mystique respectively, and Kevin Bacon looks menacing in every frame that he fills. But it is Michael Fassbender, with his steely, unnerving gaze, constant vigilance, and calm, restrained performance, who truly steals the show. 

Although X:men First Class is a quite a spectacle, it would be an overstatement to call the film flawless. For one, there are just too many characters that are dished out over the (rather short) running time; we end up caring for (and remembering) very few of them. One feels that the makers should have spent more time developing the principal characters and the relationships they share, rather than introducing new ones . Also, the visual effects, although quite scenic in sequences like the sub-lift, prove to be a slight disappointment for the rest of the film. Third : the soundtrack. while it goes with the film most of the time, there are scenes where it becomes too much of an intrusion. 


Overall, a very good film, an outstanding comic-book movie, and the very best of the X-Men series . Go for it.