the franchise is back

Rating: Null/10 (30 April 2012)

A lot of people felt that after X2, the franchise was losing steam. X3 was a huge disappointment to some (not to me, it was just a mild disappointment to me). And then the Wolverine movie was good but seemed to be too far apart from the X-Men franchise to be considered part of its "canon" with character continuity issues between it and the first X-Men movie.
Well this one definitely has the storyline, the characters, and the actors to help revive this movie franchise. The casting of the characters for Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr was spot on. Both actors did brilliantly in moving along the main stem of the plot - the introduction, budding friendship, and eventually alienation of the two great mutants of their generation.
The effects are very good and yet they don't overwhelm the picture. The picture is still about the humans/mutants, their story lines, and their interactions with each other. It's SciFi with heart and that's the best kind.
X-Men: First Class does have some predictable parts to it, such as when the youngsters who take over the story they're bound to get into trouble. And with all these character introductions with attractive young folk, you're always two scenes away from turning it into a teen-age sex comedy superhero style.
But the directors and writers are able to veer into that territory without crossing the line. I can't wait for the next one. And ultimately, that's the mark of a great film.
9/10