User blog:GrnMarvl14/X-Men: First Class Review

Another comic movie, yet another X-Men movie, and, quite easily, the best one yet.

I had low hopes for this movie when the first promo images surfaced, and while the trailers helped allay some of my fears and raise my hopes, I was still a bit surprised to see the reviews for this film being generally positive. Apparently, I shouldn't have been surprised. This movie delivers. Big. From the beginning until the end, this movie doesn't stop being a big, deep film. It slows down in the right places, only to ramp up when you aren't quite expecting it. And while you know (roughly) how the film's going to play out...it doesn't do so in a boring manner. You may know how things are going to end, but the twists and turns that take you there are new and fresh. The plot is phenomenal, with the not-yet-X-Men facing off against the Hellfire Club (with a third faction led by Agent Stryker of the CIA, with agendas that play against both sides, clearly get inherited by his son), with the fates of Xavier, Magneto, and Mystique playing heavily into how the plot moves, with all three being introduced early, and choices they make coming back to affect them later in the film. We see a clear action/consequence from all of them, and even the smallest decision carries through.

The casting was also great. MOST of the characters felt real, though a few just seemed to serve as set decoration (which was disappointing). Though there were a few surprises, with a couple of actors from the original films briefly showing up to reprise their roles (sort of, in one case. And to great effect in the other).

There were some less-than-stellar points to the film (young Magneto screaming "nein" just seemed comedic. Riptide and Azazel seemed to serve no real purpose than cannon fodder. And Angel wasn't much better. Darwin was a great character, but how his story ended was very disappointing. Turning Shaw into Mr. Sinister felt awkward, making Emma's choice of joining him seem much darker and a tad confusing. And the comic geek in me hated Moira being an American CIA agent instead of a Scottish geneticist), but there were a lot of pleasant surprises (Havok and Banshee were phenomenal. Beast's storyline was great, and made his relationship with Mystique work in a way I wasn't expecting. Magneto as a Nazi hunter makes me yearn for a film just based around that). And this movie did what the original trilogy truly failed to do: Show Xavier running a school. Not just say he does, but show him doing so. Show him teaching them to control their powers, actually working out solutions, and striving to make them better. Magneto's journey through the film was another great anchor for this film, making it seem as much his story as Xavier's (if not more so), and had a bit of a Darth Vader feel to it (especially when you first see him in the red costume).

Easily my new favorite comic film, and I'm genuinely hoping for a sequel. Would love to see more new recruits at Xavier's (and more Banshee and Havok), the relationship between Azazel and Mystique (assuming they're still going with those two being Nightcrawler's parents), and some new villains (and maybe Riptide can return and actually say something).

All told, a phenomenal film. Easily a 4.5 or 4.75 out of 5. Maybe even higher. Just awesome.