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X-men X-men: Read all about it!
X-Men: First Class
Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon
Andrew says:
Another week, another sequel. Or in this case prequel. Or is it a reboot? All things to all X-Men right? By this point, there can’t be many who are unfamiliar with the general premise of the franchise; think Heroes without the annoying cheerleader.
Now it’s fair to say that I’m somewhat a geek, and as such the clear demographic for a film such as this. It didn’t disappoint. The explosions were suitably loud, the characters suitably interesting and the in-jokes all present and correct. The story was perfectly serviceable though, much like Hangover 2, it comes so close to the original X-Men movie plot at times that you do sometimes wonder if they’ve just changed the odd name or place here or there in the hope no-one notices. Still, this one quibble aside, it’s easily one of the most fun superhero films of the year thus far.
James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Kevin Bacon are all excellent as the leads, so much so that when they’re not on-screen it’s clearly noticeable. More time spent on the complexity of Professor X and Magneto’s relationship rather than the trials and tribulations of the hormonal teens would have been appreciated. Inevitably with an ensemble piece such as this there’s always going to be as much filler as killer, so much so that some characters may as well have ‘won’t reach act 3’ tattooed on their heads. Thinking about it, there’s probably an X-Man called Superfluous with that exact power.
The other problem, albeit a much geekier one, is finding the right balance between beloved characters from the comic books with those more well-known. On the whole, the filmmakers succeeded, though Havoc (the cut-price Cyclops) should have been held back a year. But let’s not get bogged down in the minutiae of the Marvel Universe lest the popcorn go cold.
X-Men First Class has no false illusions of grandeur. It knows what it is, and does it very well. The cast clearly had a great time in front of the camera, and you get the impression there was much tittering from behind it too. There’s also the longest montage scene since Rocky hung up his boots. That alone is surely worth the price of a ticket.
Faith says:
As it goes, I was one of the few unfamiliar with the general premise of the franchise, never having watched an X-Men movie before (or read a comic as the irate boyfriend has just pointed out).
I do like a good superhero adventure, have done ever since I was a child, brandishing my tin foil WonderWoman bracelets. So I confess, I don’t know how it is I’d never come across Professor X, Magneto, and their merry band of mutants before.
I agree completely with Andrew (there’s a first) – McAvoy, Fassbender and Bacon were mesmerising in their roles, and I was gripped from start to finish. I’m actually glad I’d never watched one before because to me, it wasn’t a prequel, it simply marked the beginning of the saga. However having watched the following movies quick-smart, I don’t agree that it echoed the first of the X-Men movies; albeit for the opening sequence; I thought it worked brilliantly as a stand-alone adventure.
As with any prequel/sequel, there are obviously a number of ‘in jokes’ for the fan base. These were lost on me, though even I wasn’t green enough not to pick up on the three-second cameo that Hugh Jackman put in as He Who Would Become Wolverine. But while I picked up from the chuckles around me that the odd phrase had deeper meaning, it didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the plot, the characters and the effects, and it didn’t hint at what was to come in the next movies (or, to be accurate, those already released).
In short, when I watched X-Men the following day, I was completely baffled to find that Magneto was the bad guy, when to my mind, he was quite reasonable. That probably says more about me than I’d like it to.
Do you agree with Andrew or Faith, what are you’re views on the X-men prequel?…
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Name: Be Fabulous
Website: be-fabulous.co.uk
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