Superhero prequel delves into characters’ complex backgrounds
“X-Men: First Class” is an excellent reboot that is richly layered and intelligently worked. Matthew Vaughn, who directed the violent and controversial “Kick-Ass” (2010), was wisely recruited as the director. Under his supervision, the movie establishes itself as the first superhero film in a while to offer more than extravagant effects and elevated decibels. It also strongly benefits from a well-written script and a well-rounded cast, particularly James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender.
Set during the civil rights movement time period, the mutant metaphor for racial inequality continues. The film also continues the central element of mutant rivalry as it presents the origins of the contradicting viewpoints. As a prequel, it offers excellent insight into how the relationship between Professor X (McAvoy) and Magneto (Fassbender) grew from friends to foes.
The story begins with the formative events during World War II and the Holocaust. Nazi geneticist Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) experiments with a young Erik Lehnsherr’s newly found power to control metal. After killing his mother, Shaw learns that Lehnsherr’s power is channeled through his anger. Meanwhile, a young Charles Xavier brings a young shape-shifting Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) into his wealthy family.
Fast-forwarding to the ’60s, Xavier becomes a professor of genetics at Oxford while Lehnsherr is out for vengeance against Shaw. They eventually cross paths and bond loosely after they discover that Shaw wishes to trigger a nuclear war. Together, the future Professor X and Magneto form a team of adolescent mutants and attempt to bring Shaw’s plans to a standstill.
The story strongly supports the movie’s impact into the franchise when the audience begins to see the shifting allegiance between Xavier and Magneto. Both leaders strive toward the social acceptance of mutants, but their methods are completely contradicting.
The film also contains some humor that slightly relies on relevant social commentary, including a witty reference toward the recently repealed “don’t ask, don’t tell” military policy. Fans of the franchise are sure to get a gut-busting laugh from the cameo performance of a certain Australian actor.
McAvoy’s and Fassbender’s performances serve as the film’s strongest aspects. McAvoy manages to capture the same aristocratic benevolence that Patrick Stewart established in the first three films. The greater performance comes from Fassbender, who portrays an angry yet calm Magneto. While Ian McKellan portrayed Magneto as more of an activist, Fassbender superbly portrays Magneto as an unruly assassin seeking out his own personal vendetta.
Equally as impressive is Kevin Bacon in the role of the delightfully wicked Sebastian Shaw, a powerful mutant who believes the world would be a better place if the less evolved were eradicated. The lovely January Jones (“Mad Men”) plays Emma Frost, Shaw’s accomplice whose telepathic abilities rival those of Xavier. Finally, there’s Jennifer Lawrence (“Winter’s Bone”), who brilliantly portrays an adolescent Mystique struggling with her status as a mutant.
“X-Men: First Class” proves to be an excellent summer blockbuster with an epic four-way climatic battle between the good and evil mutants and the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. Indeed, “X-Men: First Class” is first-class entertainment.