X-MEN: FIRST CLASS - Grading+Discussion **SPOILERS!**

[Alidar Jarok]

In hindsight, it's not odd in the slightest. Shaw wasn't going to be hurt by Erik because of his power and he didn't care about the Nazi soldiers because he views them as inferior. At the time, I thought it was disconcerting, but it made me just realize how strange he was. He seemed indifferent to all life outside of his "experiment."

[T'Baio]

Yassim wrote:

---

Anyone else find the opening scene odd? Even at the time, moreso in hindsight... Erik kills two guards, Shaw is delighted... takes no precautions, walks over, hands Erik a coin... shouldn't he be a little rattled? have some precaution in place? not have a room of knives next door?

I guess in hindsight, maybe he knows he's protected by his powers, but at the time, it plays... odd.

When Shaw is dealing with young Erik, first, he's a mutant himself, so is very aware of what could happen. Two, he probably has no reason to believe Erik has as much power as he does.

The audience, however, doesn't know Shaw's a mutant. But I still thought it played out as someone with extensive knowledge about mutants who has probably studied them in many ways, and has no reason to believe Erik is as powerful as he really is.

I thought the scene played fantastically.

[od0_ital]

Also, it wasn't just "a room full of knives" - it was a medical torture chamber / Nazi lab experiement.

If anything, I had a problem with Xavier's complicity in Shaw's murder at the end - if he hadn't held Shaw still, Erik wouldn't have been able to torture & kill him with the coin. Xavier's sayin' for Erik not to do it, but he isn't doin' anything but helpin' Erik to kill Shaw.

[JacksonArcher]

T'Baio wrote:

---

Best superhero, comic book movie ever.

That is all.

I might prefer The Dark Knight more (probably because I'm more of a Batman fan than an X-Men fan, but I sure love the X-Men), but X-Men: First Class is unequivocally the best Marvel movie and probably the best X-Men movie. X2 is a really well-made film, and it's one of my favorite comic-book movies of all time, but X-Men: First Class has so much more heart and emotion and boldness and style and action that X2 looks a little underwhelming and quaint in comparison.

There's just so much I love about this movie. I think the biggest thing that I love is that joyful feeling of fun that permeates the entire film. As much as I loved Singer's films, they were always very dark, somber and morose. Vaughn definitely doesn't shy away from the darkness and the drama (Schmidt killing Erik's mother, Erik killing the officers that worked under Schmidt/Shaw, etc.) but First Class has so much fun that it's really hard not to like this movie. The 60's setting really does give the film a unique flavor, and I absolutely loved the James Bond influences. When Erik came out of the water and invaded the yacht, I could hear the Bond theme in my head.

I love that we get actual character development this time around, which was so woefully missing from the last two abhorrent films. I think some of my favorite moments were interactions between the characters. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender were the true stars of this film, and they absolutely nailed both Charles Xavier and Erik Lensheer. I loved how McAvoy's Xavier was this optimistic, bright, hopeful individual who wasn't too cheery; I also love how he uses a line about mutation as a pick-up line in what might be the cleverest piece of dialogue in an X-Men film. Contrast that with Fassbender's Erik, who is chilling, dashing, and genuinely intense as well as charismatic when he needs to be (some of my favorite moments involved Fassbender's Erik- like when he interrogates a bank manager, charmingly kills two Nazi officers or tells Sebastian Shaw "I agree with everything you've said... but unfortunately, you killed my mother").

The supporting characters were great as well, and what makes this the best prequel of them all is how Singer, Vaughn, and the writers connect things to the previous trilogy in a way that enhances the original trilogy, but doesn't dilute it (I'm looking at you, Star Wars prequels). Xavier and Mystique's relationship in the previous trilogy has that much more weight given how their relationship unfolds in First Class; even Beast's reaction to the cure in X-Men: The Last Stand now has more poignancy given his character arc in this film. First Class also adds more character to those we saw in the previous films but were mere ciphers. Mystique, for example, is such a more fleshed out character here, and I absolutely loved her brotherly-sisterly relationship with Xavier. Nicholas Holt is tremendous as Hank McCoy/Beast, and I love how he was doing a mix between Kesley Grammar and Kiefer Sutherland from Dark City.

X-Men: First Class is the best film of the year so far, and probably the best comic-book film. The Cold War and Cuban Missile Crisis adds so much to this film- it makes it feel gargantuan, large and important, in a way that we haven't seen from any comic-book movie yet. The performances are extraordinarily subtle and nuanced, the action sequences are inventive and entertaining, and the storyline has enough twist and turns to keep you hanging off the edge of your seat. First Class also has some of the most efficient storytelling I've seen in a modern summer blockbuster in years. I've seen the film three times now and I can't wait to see it again; I remember when I was watching the film for a third time, and I was about 10-15 minutes from the end, and I was surprised at how briskly and effortlessly the film went along.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Whoa 3 times? As much as I love this film I don't even think I could do that.

[Trekker4747]

od0_ital wrote:

---

Also, it wasn't just "a room full of knives" - it was a medical torture chamber / Nazi lab experiement.

If anything, I had a problem with Xavier's complicity in Shaw's murder at the end - if he hadn't held Shaw still, Erik wouldn't have been able to torture & kill him with the coin. Xavier's sayin' for Erik not to do it, but he isn't doin' anything but helpin' Erik to kill Shaw.

Well, if he had allowed Shaw to move Shaw may have been able to kill Eric or continue in his plan/s to detonate the bomb or reap some evil. Xavier has boasted in the past and even demonstrated in this movie he has the ability to put thoughts into people's heads. So one wonders why he didn't just "reprogram" Shaw into, I dunno, thinking he was a 8-year-old girl?

[od0_ital]

^

At the very least, he could have given Shaw the option to run out of the wrecked sub, where the rest of the team would have had a shot at stoppin' the helmet-wearin' Magneto, since Xavier couldn't get through to his friend anymore.

Instead, he just kept him locked in place, and could see & feel what Magneto was doin', makin' him just as guilty of murder.`

[Admiral_Young]

I intend to see this film at least three more times...probably four.

[RoJoHen]

I intend to never watch it again.

[Yassim]

Trekker4747 wrote:

---

Well, if he had allowed Shaw to move Shaw may have been able to kill Eric or continue in his plan/s to detonate the bomb or reap some evil.

That's what I got. Xavier had the choice of letting Shaw put his plan in motion, or let Erik kill him. He chose to let Shaw die rather than set him free.

Xavier has boasted in the past and even demonstrated in this movie he has the ability to put thoughts into people's heads. So one wonders why he didn't just "reprogram" Shaw into, I dunno, thinking he was a 8-year-old girl?

od0_ital wrote:

---

At the very least, he could have given Shaw the option to run out of the wrecked sub, where the rest of the team would have had a shot at stoppin' the helmet-wearin' Magneto, since Xavier couldn't get through to his friend anymore.

Instead, he just kept him locked in place, and could see & feel what Magneto was doin', makin' him just as guilty of murder.`

Come on, it's Xavier's first day at this... he's not going to have all the choices at his fingertips. Plus, he says he's not going to be able to hold Shaw for long... I think he's holding on tight, with only hold or let go as options.

I also think the movie makes it clear that Xavier experiences the attack while connected to Shaw, that Erik is inflicting the moment on both of them. I think we have to acknowledge Xavier as well-motivated if he'll experience that rather than let go of Shaw.

I thought it was maybe the best moment in the film.

Other candidates -

- the opening (still a little odd)

- Erik's visit to a Swiss bank

- Erik's visit to Argentina (Pig farmers and tailors took their name from them...)

- Erik teaches Banshee to fly

- the dogfight at the end was fun

Others?

[JacksonArcher]

ObiWanShinobi wrote:

---

Whoa 3 times? As much as I love this film I don't even think I could do that.

I'll probably watch it one or two more times before it leaves theaters. I think I saw The Dark Knight six or seven times in theaters.

[od0_ital]

I probably won't watch it again 'til it comes out on DVD/blu ray.

Yassim wrote:

---

I also think the movie makes it clear that Xavier experiences the attack while connected to Shaw, that Erik is inflicting the moment on both of them.

Exactly.

All the more reason why Xavier should have "let go." When ya touch a hot stove, do ya hold your hand there & get burned, or do ya pull it away?

[Obiwanshinobi]

JacksonArcher wrote:

---

I'll probably watch it one or two more times before it leaves theaters. I think I saw The Dark Knight six or seven times in theaters.

Ah gotcha. I don't exactly have the luxury to spend on watching the same movie these days.

[Gryffindorian]

I hear it gets even better when you watch a movie the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh time around.

[Skywalker]

I thought it was fantastic. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender were both brilliant as Charles and Erik. I really loved the '60s setting and putting the characters right in the middle of something as pivotal as the Cuban Missile Crisis. I really hope we get at least one more sequel; the 1960s are such a perfect era for the X-Men (no surprise, since that's when they were created, and that decade played such a huge role in their early development).

I enjoyed Erik's quest for the man who killed his mother, and Charles' development from somewhat of a carefree, freewheeling bachelor into a man devoted to helping his fellow mutants. I also thought Kevin Bacon was excellent as Sebastian Shaw. He had this really quiet, menacing air about him that I thought was really effective. I also really liked most of the young X-Men. I wish Moira had been Scottish and Banshee Irish, but that's a minor detail (especially in a film series where the American Xavier has been made a Brit instead).

The weakest links in the cast, IMO, were January Jones and Zoe Kravitz. The guy who played Riptide doesn't really count because he didn't do anything. He felt kind of like a pointless addition, only there to fill some sort of arbitrary mutant quota.

As for the inconsistencies with The Last Stand and Origins: Wolverine, I suspect they were intentional. I don't think Singer was terribly interested in maintaining continuity with movies in which he had no part, and good for him. Those two pieces of deserve to be ignored.

My rating: X out of X ()