In a recent post I commented that, after hearing the reviews, this movie must have slipped by my radar. People were gushing with such zeal about this movie, claiming that it had been overlooked because it was yet another X-men movie, I felt I just had to go check it out. So, after attending the store closing of my neighborhood Starbucks (yeah, they do actually close them), I went to check this film out.
After all the positive word of mouth I'd heard about X-Men: First Class, my expectations were pretty high. Things open as the first X-men movie did with Erik ripping open the gate at a concentration camp as the Nazis take his mother from him. This version continues on in that time period just long enough to get Erik angry and reveal his potential to an evil German officer played by Kevin Bacon. Kevin Bacon? Yes, and he's great as a maniacal mutant bent on the destruction of the world.
Other than Erik's revenge, the rest of this story revolves around the loyalties of the angry and single-minded Erik, a flawed, more human Dr. Xavier and the conflicted Mystique. The other story lines are weak compared to those of these three. Some of it is even silly and ridiculous. The Beast just looked plain silly. I'm sorry. The Muppets look better than this powder blue Ewok. The poor makeup, or whatever they did, totally destroyed the mood. I had to keep from laughing every time his ridiculous image popped up on screen. The worst part about it is his role is so integral to the storyline and Mystique's inner struggle.
The other mutants are totally disposable, adding only a pretty face or an overused power with no real purpose to the story. Eric and Xavier are the key to this movie,and neither disappoints. While I would liked to have seen this story revolve only around those two, there is still enough between them to make this a decent watch. It is not as good as the first X-men movie, but there is enough quality storytelling and impressive acting to make this movie more enjoyable than the other three films that followed the original.
Was my radar right about this movie? I wish they would stop rebooting every comic book and start them all at the beginning. Everyone knows what's going to happen already. Although, Kevin Bacon as a German speaking villain was a major plus. Was it worth going to see in the theater? In honesty, I wish I had waited to watch this at home with friends for the first time. I'm sorry, I just can't forgive them for the powder-blue teddy bear they made Beast into.
Until next time, thanks for reading.
-aap
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