Marvel Does It Again! Best X Yet!

Rating: 8/10 (3 June 2011)

There are a few things that a summer blockbuster should be. First and foremost, they should be entertaining. Summer is all about being big and being fun. Secondly, they should be well made. Good acting, good direction, good script...films in general should have this, but a good summer film can back up it's special effects and action with quality filmmaking. And finally, they should focus more on the deeper things, like themes and humanity than their shallow action or comedy elements. First Class, much to my surprise, embodies all of these and creates a truly wonderful summer blockbuster.
While many might be skeptical that the fifth X-men film would certainly be one of the worst, the fact is, it's probably the best. Where the other films tried to focus on the Marvel universe and the wow factor of the X-men and their powers, pleasing fanboys with wonderful visuals and nods here and there, First Class puts it's characters first. Sure, it's nothing we haven't seen before, but the focus on the characters first is a welcome change. In fact, it makes me think of the original X-men film, a film which is now more than ten years old. The quality of the filmmaking here is leagues beyond the original film. Here we have top notch performances, and while there is certainly no outranking Patrick Steward and Ian McKellen, the entire cast for First Class seems to work so very well. I can't remember enjoying the entire ensemble cast from the original trilogy as much as I did here. This is certainly thanks to Matthew Vaughn, who seems to do an extremely good job handling origin stories. Much like he did with Kick Ass, this film is well grounded, despite featuring a large number of mutant power-fueled action sequences.
And that's the real trick here. The film strikes the perfect balance between action and drama. There is one scene in particular between Charles and Erik that is very touching and goes far beyond any scene from any of the previous X-Men films. The action is very fun too, and some of my favorites of these involve Banshee's combination of flight and super sonic super powers. Suffice to say, while this film could have simply been a great action film with great performances, in the same way Thor was, it goes beyond by adding a load of heart. There's even some nods to the original films, including an applause inducing cameo, that will have fans salivating.
Suffice to say, I can't praise the film enough. It's certainly not without it's flaws. Kevin Bacon's performance, when in comparison to the others, is a little underwhelming. As others have said, he hams it up. And it's not even so bad, except that everyone else just plays their parts so well, his seems a little, as stated, underwhelming. Other parts seem to be thrown in without much to do, namely Darwin, who is barely on screen. But these are minor complaints, as this is a fantastic comic book film. While Marvel's lineup has come a long way, their films continue to get better and better. First Class is a large step in the right direction for the X-Men series of films. If they were to say they were giving the series a reboot, with this kind of quality, you would have no complaints from me.