A First Class Movie

Rating: Null/10 (17 October 2011)

Despite the success of the original X-Men movie trilogy (2000-2006), based on the failure of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the new X-Men movie, X-Men: First Class, which arrived in theaters Friday, had most comic book-turned-movie fans uneasy. Furthermore, the mediocrity of the first Fantastic Four movie, Thor, and Superman Returns, make the creation of a successful superhero coming-of-age/beginnings film seem impossible.
However, the 132 minute X-Men: First Class proves that super hero movies are far from finished. Boasting spectacular acting performances by James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence, an incredible script, and stunning visuals, this movie is one of the first must-see movies of the 2011 summer.
X-Men: First Class also manages to succeed where the other aforementioned comic book movies failed – it is action-packed and thrilling. The movie is reminiscent of the sensational 2008 superhero movie, The Dark Knight in its fast-paced yet digestible storyline – X- Men: First Class brilliantly traces each characters physical, emotional, and mental development in the movie, while simultaneously showing the viewer each characters motivation, past, and, to an extent, future. These moments of development play pivotal roles in the film, but they are integrated into the main action of the plot, so the movie doesn't have the now common feelings of slowness and transition associated with character development.
Moreover, the movie is strong enough to stand alone – meaning that the viewer doesn't need to have seen the previous X-Men movies to understand and enjoy this one. However, the director, Matthew Vaughn, makes sure to drop plenty of subtle jokes (including a brilliant cameo from one of the actors in the earlier movies) to keep the more intimate fans satisfied. The movie doesn't stay as true to the comic books as many of the more obsessed fans would like to see, and to that, I simply say, stop going to the movies to watch books. If you want to see something that closely follows the original plot line, curl up at home, alone, in bed, with your snuggie and apple juice, and read your precious comic books.