X-Men' Prequel is At The Top Of Its Class
Kamis, 02 Juni 2011 by Android Blackberry
A review of "X-Men: Initial Class," a productive chapter in the comic-book franchise, starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbinder, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, January Jones and more.
The most beneficial so far of this summer's sorry crop of franchise movies, "X-Men: Initial Class" takes us back to where it all began: It is 1962, the Cold War is raging, plus a pair of young mutants turn into unlikely friends. The telepathic Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), an academic and idealist later referred to as Professor X, saves the life of Erik Lehnshurr (Michael Fassbender), aka Magneto for his capability to control magnetism, an angry mutant haunted by horrific events of his childhood as he learned to harness his powers. Assembling a band of fellow mutants, they come together to fight a prevalent enemy as the Cuban missile crisis plays out.
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| X-Men' prequel is at the top of its class As Charles (James McAvoy, above) watches, Erik (Michael Fassbender) wields his mutant powers in a showdown in "X-Men: First Class." |
This sort of prequel is often a tricky factor to pull off; we who've followed the "X-Men" saga on screen know that by the end, specific factions is going to be formed, certain characters might be forever altered, and somehow magically McAvoy and Fassbender will turn, respectively, into Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. (Alas, we do not get to see that, although McAvoy does utter a perhaps too-prescient line about going bald.) So it's impressive that director Matthew Vaughn (who co-wrote the script with three other writers) maintains a nice sense of suspense throughout, as the mutants are assembled "Ocean's 11"-style along with the film marches toward its inevitable conclusion.
And though "First Class" has its share of well-honed action sequences, it shines inside the very same way the previous films did: by means of fine casting (with one exception) and carefully crafted characters. Mc-
Avoy smoothly combines Charles' youthful self-absorption having a genuine sense of goodness; Fassbender (lately observed as Mr. Rochester in "Jane Eyre") as his counterpart shows a smooth, elegant nastiness waiting to be channeled. "Let's just say I'X-Men: First Class International Trailer 2 (OFFICIAL) Videos:
Frankenstein's monster," he says, searching decoratively into the dusty light of an Argentina bar in which he confronts figures from his past. "I'm seeking my creator." (Everyone in this movie does have a tendency to pose as if they're in a fashion magazine; note how the young X-guys and -gals are constantly standing at attractively composed angles.)
Jennifer Lawrence brings genuine poignancy to Raven/Mystique (we listen as she chooses her mutant name, which is exactly the sort of name a dreamy teenage girl would pick), desperate to hide her accurate identity from a world that will not accept her; Nicholas Hoult is her charmingly geeky counterpart as Hank/Beast, as they indulge in a little mutant teen crush. (This includes a romantic scene involving blood and Twinkies, also as the line "You have the most extraordinary cellular structure I've ever seen." Ah, young love.) Kevin Bacon hisses malevolently as villain Sebastian Shaw; Zoë Kravitz as Angel manages to look cute although spitting firebombs; and even a particular former X-star turns up, for a funny three-word cameo. The only disappointment inside the ensemble is January Jones, who looks marvelous as the wicked Emma Frost but intones all of her lines with the same blank petulance that so suited her character on "Mad Men."
All in all, a fine return to form for a franchise that stumbled with "X3" and "Wolverine." "X-Men ... I sort of like the sound of that," muses McAvoy at the end. So do a great deal of us
