Movie Review - X-Men: First Class

X-Men: First Class (2011)

Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, Oliver Platt, January Jones, Nicholas Hoult, and Kevin Bacon

Directed by Matthew Vaughn

Admittedly, after watching this prequel to the previous X-Men movie incarnations, I'm shocked X-Men: First Class didn't do as well as the others in the franchise.  Maybe people felt like they'd seen it all before, but this well-made actioner is simply the best X-Men movie to date filled with some solid performances, a great 1960s vibe, and some clever, witty references to the movies that came before it.

The year is 1962 and after discovering the full potential of their genetic mutations in the 1940s, mind reader/controller Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and metal-wielding Erik Lehnsherr AKA Magneto (Michael Fassbender) find themselves friends and at the center of a government "study" of sorts headed by CIA agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) in order to find more humans with these special genetic abilities.  As if the "normal" human race having issues with these abnormalities wasn't enough to deal with, Charles and Erik also find themselves faced with trying to stop another group of "mutants" headed by Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) who are out to prove that the mutant population should rule over the regular folk.  To add to the intrigue, back in 1944, Shaw was partnering with the Nazis and ended up killing Erik's mother at a concentration camp.  Needless to say, Erik finds himself on a mission to do whatever is necessary to avenge his mother's death.

While it's certainly true that the X-Men series mirrors the Civil Rights movement, here we get an even stronger (and perhaps more blatant) connection to the X-Men equalling the Jews during the Holocaust.  It's a powerful connection, but one that doesn't quite work perfectly.  Still, the connection to WWII does perfectly provide a wonderful villain in Kevin Bacon's Sebastian Shaw.  While some may view Bacon's performance as perhaps over-the-top, I don't see that as a detriment at all.  I mean, we're dealing with shape-shifting, metal-bending, mind-readers here...over-the-top is de rigueur here.  Bacon is certainly larger than life, but it's obvious he's having a heckuva good time playing a deliciously evil baddie with a slick 60s suaveness.

Michael Fassbender is also quite good as Erik/Magneto -- a tortured guy who has comes to terms with his powers, but not quite with the fact that he lost his mother because of them.  James McAvoy was fine as Charles Xavier, but perhaps a tad bland...then again, the character of Professor Xavier never exactly lights the screen up with his personality.

With some really solid action sequences (including a very exciting final showdown) and a lovely 1960s feel that felt near perfect in its retro-ness, director Michael Vaughn has crafted one of the better superhero movies made in the past decade.

The RyMickey Rating (11/13/11):  B+
Updated Ranking (8/29/15):  A-