Ad Absurdum (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ad00absurdum) wrote2011-06-11 03:54 pm
ad00absurdum) wrote2011-06-11 03:54 pm
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X-Men: First Class, dir. Matthew Vaughn
Been to see X-Men: First Class. And it was really good. I'm not a Marvel purist and to be honest my knowledge of X-Men comes only from the catroon and the films, so I wasn't bothered by what hardcore fans see as inconsistencies or poor casting choices (I think some fans might have issues with the ages of certain characters). First Class is a good, solid two-hour fun.
I've always liked stories about beginnings and this one was no exception. Here, a young Charles Xavier first meets Mystique (or Raven as she's now called) and then other mutants and finally Erik Lehnsherr (or Magneto) and that last in a scene of such emotional impact slashers squee. Actually the film is basically a story about Erik's need for revenge on the Nazi who made him realise his powers and "made him into a weapon". The beginning of the film is the same as the beginning of the X-Men - the same concentration camp scene, which I thought was quite clever. We then see what happened to Erik after he managed to bend the gate, and that's not a happy story, but that's only to be expected. The Nazi (later he called himself Sebastian Shaw, can't remember his German name) is palyed by Kevin Bacon who speaks three of four different languages (his German is pretty good, though his Russian slightly less so - funny voice cadence there, though he obviously learned to roll his Rs). BTW, it's really nice to hear in a Hollywoood movie people who are supposed to be Germans speaking actual German and 'Russians' speak Russian and so on.
Anyway, Erik wants his revenge because Shaw killed his mother and he's pretty hell-bent on it. Cue the ever optimistic Charles Xavier and his 'you're not alone, Erik' and you have two contrasting characters with contrasting attitudes, who become friends. And ctually Charles even helps Erik to control his power better and makes him stronger. And that in another scene of such emotional intensity everyone at the cinema suddenly developed severe allergies. Slashers squee again. Yeah, I'm joking here a bit, but the fanservice is pretty clear in the film. There's one scene where Charles and Erik - looking for other mutants all over the world, or at least the States, to join them - meet Wolverine (nice cameo, there, Mr Jackman) and he tells them, not really surprisingly, to "go fuck yourself". And they look at each other and go fuck themselves. And then there's another scene with Angel and the bed...
Back to the plot, Shaw wants to start World War III, he's got his own little army of mutants (BTW, he's a mutant himself) and there's CIA involved and Charles and Erik train the new young mutants they managed to convince to join them and I really liked seeing all those kids. Though there was no Storm, which I thought was a pity, but there was Hank and ooh, I finally saw how he actually became a Beast. That was cool. There was also Banshee (his flying lessons were pretty hilarious) and Havok and Angel (pwetty pwetty wings) and Darwin (pity he got killed before he could really do anything) and on the other side Emma Frost, Azazel (red Russian? LOL) and Riptide. Oh, and there are also humans: Moira (whom I sorta would like to see slashed with Raven, please?) and the CIA's own Mulder: 'Man in Black Suit' - no name, which is a pity because he was actually a pretty interesting character.
So yeah, the plot was nice, the effects great, we saw why Professor X is in a wheelchair (severe allergies strike again *sniff*), and that's all I really needed from the film. Definitely recommend that one.
Rating: 4.5/5 (because 5 is reserved for mindblowing epics).
I've always liked stories about beginnings and this one was no exception. Here, a young Charles Xavier first meets Mystique (or Raven as she's now called) and then other mutants and finally Erik Lehnsherr (or Magneto) and that last in a scene of such emotional impact slashers squee. Actually the film is basically a story about Erik's need for revenge on the Nazi who made him realise his powers and "made him into a weapon". The beginning of the film is the same as the beginning of the X-Men - the same concentration camp scene, which I thought was quite clever. We then see what happened to Erik after he managed to bend the gate, and that's not a happy story, but that's only to be expected. The Nazi (later he called himself Sebastian Shaw, can't remember his German name) is palyed by Kevin Bacon who speaks three of four different languages (his German is pretty good, though his Russian slightly less so - funny voice cadence there, though he obviously learned to roll his Rs). BTW, it's really nice to hear in a Hollywoood movie people who are supposed to be Germans speaking actual German and 'Russians' speak Russian and so on.
Anyway, Erik wants his revenge because Shaw killed his mother and he's pretty hell-bent on it. Cue the ever optimistic Charles Xavier and his 'you're not alone, Erik' and you have two contrasting characters with contrasting attitudes, who become friends. And ctually Charles even helps Erik to control his power better and makes him stronger. And that in another scene of such emotional intensity everyone at the cinema suddenly developed severe allergies. Slashers squee again. Yeah, I'm joking here a bit, but the fanservice is pretty clear in the film. There's one scene where Charles and Erik - looking for other mutants all over the world, or at least the States, to join them - meet Wolverine (nice cameo, there, Mr Jackman) and he tells them, not really surprisingly, to "go fuck yourself". And they look at each other and go fuck themselves. And then there's another scene with Angel and the bed...
Back to the plot, Shaw wants to start World War III, he's got his own little army of mutants (BTW, he's a mutant himself) and there's CIA involved and Charles and Erik train the new young mutants they managed to convince to join them and I really liked seeing all those kids. Though there was no Storm, which I thought was a pity, but there was Hank and ooh, I finally saw how he actually became a Beast. That was cool. There was also Banshee (his flying lessons were pretty hilarious) and Havok and Angel (pwetty pwetty wings) and Darwin (pity he got killed before he could really do anything) and on the other side Emma Frost, Azazel (red Russian? LOL) and Riptide. Oh, and there are also humans: Moira (whom I sorta would like to see slashed with Raven, please?) and the CIA's own Mulder: 'Man in Black Suit' - no name, which is a pity because he was actually a pretty interesting character.
So yeah, the plot was nice, the effects great, we saw why Professor X is in a wheelchair (severe allergies strike again *sniff*), and that's all I really needed from the film. Definitely recommend that one.
Rating: 4.5/5 (because 5 is reserved for mindblowing epics).