X-Men: First Class (Review)

Origin stories can often be the least interesting aspect of comic book films, as they are prone to telling the audience a story to which we already know the ending. Peter Parker is going to become Spider-Man, Bruce Wayne is going to become Batman, and the small group of mutants in X-Men: First Class are going to eventually become, well, the X-Men. We know this. What sets good origin stories apart from the pack is that they are able to tell a compelling story alongside the obvious journey at the center. While scenes of exposition occasionally bog X-Men: First Class down, the cast—and director Matthew Vaughn—are able to tell an interesting story that atones for the often inelegant exposition. X-Men: First Class isn’t about a predictable adventure toward becoming superheroes. It’s about the individual journey of each character, and that is why it succeeds.

The two characters at the forefront of the film are the young mutants Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender). While the former—a mind reader—has devoted his life to the study of all things mutant, the latter has sought to avenge the death of his mother during the Holocaust at the hands of Sebastian Shaw (a terrific Kevin Bacon). Yet Shaw—a mutant himself—has become one of the most infamous criminals in the world. In X-Men: First Class, Shaw devises a plot which will no doubt send the world into nuclear war. The idea is that once all normal humans are eliminated, the remaining mutants will rise up to take over what is left. Charles and Erik choose to create a team of young mutants—including Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Henry McCoy (Nicholas Hoult), Angel (Zoë Kravitz), Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones) and Havoc (Lucas Till)—that will combat Shaw’s evil plan and prevent a third World War.

X-Men: First Class is not the best superhero movie I’ve seen in quite some time, but it very well might be the most well-acted. McAvoy and Fassbender are very effective at portraying two characters with the same passions yet totally different intentions. While Charles wishes to use mutant powers in order to help the humans, Erik believes that the world is not yet ready to accept these creatures. In fact, he thinks it is only a matter of time before mutants become the victims of a second Holocaust, and he’s already survived one of those, thank you very much. This causes a great deal of tension between the two, and while fans of the comic book will know the ultimate trajectory of their conflict it is still fascinating to behold. Charles’ motivation is peace, while Erik simply wants revenge. The only weak link in the cast is January Jones as Emma Frost, who just isn’t all that great an actress.

A problem that has plagued most recent comic book releases—particularly of the Marvel variety—is that they have been mostly devoid of any personality. They may be competently made, but they don’t make any moves to distinguish themselves from the pack. A most recent example is Thor, which didn’t feel like an attempt at a great superhero movie so much as it felt like something that had to be done en route to The Avengers. What is commendable about X-Men: First Class is that it actually has a great deal of ambition. When Thor was over, I felt as if nothing of any consequence had actually happened. X-Men: First Class provides audiences with the thrill of watching these characters mature and become something rather exciting. I would hardly call this film the work of an auteur (heck, it used four screenwriters with two additional “story by” credits) but it at least feels like a movie that was made by actual people rather than a brainless machine.

Unfortunately, it’s the inherent flaws of the origin story that keep X-Men: First Class from elevating itself to greatness. The audience is supposed to accept that at one point characters will try to come up with their own superhero names, and the final few scenes of this film seem rather perfunctory. (The last line is particularly egregious.) While most of film feels incredibly natural, these forced moments come off as jarring. Yet—when done well—origin stories can turn out to be quite fascinating. What causes the heroes to become who they are? And (more importantly) will the audience buy it? The challenge faced by the filmmakers of X-Men: First Class was that they had to take a handful of superheroes and give them all an interesting origin story within the space of a single film. While occasional moments may cause a rolling of the eyes, there’s too much done right here for it to be a distraction.

GRADE: B+