Stylish prequel and a welcome addition

Rating: 8/10 (14 June 2011)

When the words prequel and reboot are mentioned about the same film I get a little sceptical. I loved the X-Men series and so wanted this to be good. Gladly, this was a welcome addition and an example of a prequel that works brilliantly on many levels but also takes a few liberties in some areas. If you are very aware of the past X-Men films there are a few things that differ with the continuity that you'll be aware of. At first I was irritated by this but I realised that it it simply what happens when some prequels like this film are made. If this sort of thing does irritate you be aware of this and you may end up enjoying it after all. I sound cagey in this respect but I do want to keep this review spoiler free. Just be aware of this as there is special effort made for this film to show its individuality in many respects.
The performances were all good and some very good, Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw occasionally came across as goofy for a villain but showed his worth when he needed to be threatening especially once the third act came along. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender did very well together and had a brilliant rapport. I thought it would have been difficult to replicate this given the chemistry that Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen had in the X-Men trilogy. They did very well together and I really believed their friendship, that is not to mention they do well in scenes when they are not together as well. The other mutants started out fairly same old same old but came into their own at the end. Although despite their somewhat weak introductions as characters I did find myself caring about then once that climax came along. There were scenes with plenty of tension especially involving Erik/Magneto that had a great deal to do with Fassbender's performance. The action involved was consistently good and also wasn't a constant in the film where the focus was very much on the characters and it also made me appreciate the action more when it came. The action got better as the film went on and there was a genuine effort by the film makers to make a film that could be both exciting in terms of action and make it a brilliant character story.
In summary if you enjoyed the previous X-Men films you should enjoy this one as it really makes an effort and the performances while not especially brilliant from the supporting characters were fantastic from the leads. These performances made me want to see McAvoy and Fassbender in these roles again. It features an amusing cameo as well.