Makes X-Men Interesting Again

Rating: 8/10 (13 June 2011)

X-Men has been up and down the last decade. Singer's two movies were terrific, showcasing the complexity of the X-Men universe. Then came the over-bloated The Last Stand. Wolverine was a slight improvement but it can't be argued that it's anything more than mediocre. Fox needed something to redeem the mutants' saga and they did it.
Singer returns, though only as producer, and brings sensibility and intelligence back. Vaughn brings a terrific sense of style to the movie that hasn't been seen since Singer left. The story deals with the formation of the X-Men, which was briefly alluded to in the first movie. It's an interesting time period to show because Xavier can still walk, Magneto is good, and mutants aren't widely known to the general public. Like the movies, the comics have alluded to this period quite a bit but not shown much of it. Like Batman Begins, it's great to see how the characters all became the people we know.
The acting is good all around. McAvoy and Fassbender really hit it out of the park. Those two really disappear into the role and make them their own. The Charles-Erik relationship was the highlight of the movie as it is in the first film. Lawrence is great as a young and innocent Mystique, though I wish she had a stronger story. It's a bit inconsistent as she's in love with Charles, Beast, and then Erik, plus her "accepting who she is" moment is rather forced. Kevin Bacon also does a terrific job. Unfortunately he's such a recognizable face all I can see is the guy from Footloose and Tremors. The rest of the cast is good but not great. Beast and Moira have plenty of good moments. But the rest are mostly there to fulfill plot points.
It's not quite as violent as Vaughn's Kick-Ass but it gets bloody especially as Erik goes on his Nazi hunt. Many people die, though some seem included just to die. The action is exciting and should keep you in suspense. Though, the problem with any prequel is that we know how certain characters will end up. There's plenty of humor to break up the action and exposition. From little one-liners to recurring gags, it's often laugh-out-loud funny. Though they overuse the joke regarding Xavier's hair.
Although it never really reaches the heights of Singer's two X-Men movies. There are a couple problems that keep it from being perfect.
First, I wish the movie would decide between being a reboot or prequel. It's a fine movie on its own, but its indecision drags it down for someone who, like me, has followed the franchise and loves (most but not all) the movies. There's numerous references to the previous movies including a recreation of X-Men's first scene and cameos by Jackman and Romijn. But then there's things like building Cerebro, Magneto's helmet, and time line issues that couldn't possibly make it fit with the others. Imagine if Batman Begins tried to be a loose prequel to Burton's Batman. I love them both but would like Begins just a little less if they tried to include Burton references. I know the producers weren't concerned with continuity. But I would have preferred if they would decide between being its own entity or a part of the team.
While the 1960s are a fascinating time regarding civil rights, the film doesn't really exploit that at all. Besides a few groovy's from Xavier and Frost's hair style, it never really felt like the 60s. They all acted like modern day people, especially the kids. Then there's no real mention of then-current politics. The Cuban Missile Crisis was just a brief side story for the real plan. But there's no mention of MLK or Malcolm X, the two inspirations for Xavier and Magneto, and nothing about civil rights protests. Since the government is introduced to mutants in the movie no one knows about them yet so there's no way they could have the time for anything like the Registration Act, Sentinels, or the Friends of Humanity hate group. Besides the Missile Crisis and the age of Erik and Charles it could have been set in any period. It's a wasted opportunity.
The movie has one problem in common with Wolverine, it's trying to get to that Pre-X-Men point too quickly. (Only SPOILER related paragraph) Both movies try to introduce so much about the world AND get it to that familiar point that it shortchanges the characters more than they should. We know that Charles looses the use of his legs and that he and Erik split up. But this was supposed to be the first in a new trilogy, so why burn through so much of the story at once? It's like if The Phantom Menace ended with Anakin becoming Darth Vader. That prequel trilogy spent more time building up the relationship between the two heroes so when one did fall, like Magneto will, it was all the more tragic. Here, we got a glimpse of the Charles-Erik relationship but it felt like it only lasted weeks when it should have been years. Like Star Wars, they should have ended the trilogy with Magneto's turn as they never truly befriended each other here.
Now don't take my last three points as meaning I disliked the film. I loved it. They're just things I wished they improved on. Otherwise it's a terrific film that did what it needed to most importantly, make X-Men interesting again. No more dumb things like killing Cyclops in five minutes or making Deadpool mute. They can finally get back on track towards making the franchise fun for fans and audiences alike. But please, just pick whether it's a prequel or reboot, but not try to do both.