Now
that it’s summer and I have time to go to the movies, I figured it was time to
finally see First Class before Days of Future Past leaves
theaters. There really aren’t as many superhero
period pieces as there ought to be, especially considering the long history
that so many comic series have. While X-Men:
First Class doesn’t reach the heights of the first Captain America film, it’s a nice
direction for a franchise that lost its way with The Last Stand.
Set in
1962, First Class is equal parts
swinging ‘60s fun and Cold War drama.
Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr meet and begin a joint
venture to discover other mutants like themselves. Initial solidarity gives way to clashes, which
grows into the schism we all know is coming.
There are Russians, great fight scenes, a nuclear standoff, and a
shocking number of scantily-clad women. (I
mean, I know it was the ‘60s, but seriously – every single woman in this movie
is dressed in ridiculously short skirts and/or shirts with plunging necklines
and, on numerous occasions, nothing but lingerie. I rolled my eyes when the X-Men are suited up
for the final battle, and all the men have their shirts zipped up tight while
Mystique’s is low enough to show off her blue cleavage. What’s up with that?)
But I
digress. Since the film is a prequel to
the original trilogy, it by necessity recasts a lot of people we know. I don’t know that anyone could match Patrick
Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen – that was a match made in geek heaven – but James
McAvoy and Michael Fassbender do well as Professor X and Magneto. Their tumultuous relationship forms the
center of the film, and it’s compelling to watch them inevitably diverge in
their philosophies. My girl Jennifer
Lawrence brings a lot of grit and heart to Mystique, and Nicholas Hoult (Tony
from Skins) makes a great Beast;
their subplot is terrific, a dynamic that demonstrates the Charles vs. Erik
debate in microcosm. Not being a comic
book reader, I wasn’t familiar with the other mutants featured in the film, but
they round out the team nicely.
The
central ideological conflict between Charles and Erik is, for me, the most
intriguing part of any X-Men film.
Though Erik is generally painted as the villain, and he’s definitely
gone down a villainous route, it’s not as simple as saying Charles is right and
Erik is wrong. Charles believes in celebrating
and fostering mutants’ abilities while at the same time protecting anonymity –
for Charles, abilities are something that should only be displayed in private,
and mutants themselves should blend into society at large. By contrast, Erik believes that mutants
shouldn’t have to hide who they are, and that assimilating is tantamount to
kowtowing to the less-evolved general population; he rails against Charles’s
belief that Mystique, for instance, should always maintain a façade and
disguise her natural blue self.
Obviously, Erik takes things too far, adopting a stance of mutant
superiority and hostilely regarding people without abilities, but Charles’s
custom of falling in line with societal expectations is problematic as
well. I like that there isn’t an
evident, cut-and-dry answer – it makes Magneto a more interesting villain, and
the story on the whole is richer for it.
Warnings
Some
language, comic book violence, thematic elements, and sexual content (including
blue boobs.)
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