12/22/2023 0 Comments X men firstclassAt the same time, in New York state, a wealthy British boy named Charles Xavier (Laurence Belcher), who can read minds, meets a girl named Raven (Morgan Lily) who can shapeshift but whose natural state is blue and scaly. In 1944, young Erik Lehnsherr ( Bill Milner) displays telekinetic powers when he’s separated from his mother in a concentration camp, thus drawing the attention of a nasty doctor (Kevin Bacon, speaking German and everything!) who wants to study, harness, and replicate Erik’s abilities. Like most stories, this one starts with the Nazis. It also re-raises the bar for superhero flicks in general, which have gotten complacent lately. Instead, it uses the themes of the previous movies to build an intelligent, fast-paced, and highly entertaining prequel. X-Men: First Class doesn’t start from scratch. The damage inflicted on the X-Men franchise by the poorly received X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine wasn’t quite as extensive as the harm done to Batman by the infamous Batman & Robin, but the brand was definitely in need of similar revitalization. Turns out that, during those tense 13 days in October, the world was saved not by mere Kennedys huddled in a state room but by an uberbreed taking matters into their own clawed, magnetic, furry or otherwise mutated hands. Enter JFK, seen on black-and-white TV and looking awfully worried. At various stages, they must choose sides in the vast Marvel wars to come, even while preparing for the climax here – that showdown in the Atlantic as the opposing fleets gather and the Cuban Missile Crisis flirts with meltdown. Instead, as with Singer, there’s a delicacy to his direction that gives us room to breathe and, even over the usual inflated running time, reason to linger.Ĭonsequently, I won’t dwell on the plot but will leave you to enjoy its swirling twists and to spot the embryonic X-sters new and returning – such as Emma Frost the ice-dolly (January Jones dripping cleavage) or Wings the incendiary angel (Zoë Kravitz spewing flames). Also, stealing a page from Bryan Singer, the franchise’s original director, and aided by the strong efforts of a uniformly solid cast, Vaughn gets the pop mix just about right, neither overpromoting the action nor underselling the characters. The dialogue is the bantering sort that’s easier to enjoy than to quote – hardly scintillating wit, but definitely light and bright and quick. British director Matthew Vaughn, who earlier tickled our funny bone in Kick-Ass, takes consistent pains to put the comic into the book. Well, you know what’s about to erupt.īut before the near-tragedy comes the comedy. and Soviet generals alike, encouraging the former to stick nuclear missiles in Turkey, the latter to plant them in Cuba. Schmidt, he’s now the evil Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) and seems to be deploying his superpower to manipulate the Superpowers – inveigling himself into the minds of U.S. At this early stage, they’re all still in mid-metamorphosis, only partly emerged from the cocoon of normality, adjusting to their peculiar talents and not yet hardened into sworn enemies. In the mansion, Charles witnesses a more benign sight – another mutated kid – and exclaims in delight: “I thought I was the only one.”įlash forward to 1962, when Charles, fresh out of Oxford, is en route to becoming Professor X (James McAvoy) when Erik, hot on the trail of his mother’s killer, is set to morph into Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and when that new kid on the block, she of the blue epidermis, is slinking her way toward Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence). In the camp, Erik witnesses the death of his mother at the barbaric hands of Dr. Both are irradiated “children of the atom,” simultaneously cursed and blessed with a potent genetic mutation. Their back stories couldn’t be more different but, yes, they do a share a singular trait. Camelot, indeed.Ĭreation begins during the dark days of the Second World War with a study in contrast: Two young males, one in a Nazi concentration camp, the other in a sprawling Westchester mansion. What’s better, the fabricated stuff is blended with actual history during the height of the Cold War, leaving a sombre JFK to share the screen with fire-breathing dudes and shape-shifting babes. Does it stretch credulity? You bet, but no more than Adam’s rib. That’s partly why X-Men: First Class is such fanboy fun, as the script departs from official Marvel lore to invent a whole new “origin story” for the mutant ensemble. Really, a prequel is a creation myth and, from the big bangs of science to the Edenic yarns of religion, we all love a good creation myth.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |