The Definitive X-Men Movie

Rating: 10/10 (6 June 2011)

X-Men First Class- 2011 Review
This is the definitive X-Men movie without a doubt, somehow resembling the action of the animated feature Hulk VS Wolverine in a live action form, which only X2 came close before but not as close as this one. By adding the Cuba Missile Crisis into the plot and radiation which eradicates humans but will increase mutation is a most excellent idea that makes perfect sense within this universe. The revenge scheme of Magneto throughout the movie is handled very personally along with Xavier caring about other mutants, and very creative ways of showing off the powers of every single one of the characters especially Magneto and Xavier. The humor gives the characters to interact with one another and the audience to catch up on the uniqueness of the different powers and the origins of the mutant names is an excellent addition. Many reviewers have agreed that this is the Vader path to the dark side story and I agree, this is how Lucas should have handled the prequel story with Anakin. By the end of the movie, even if the audience knew that Erik was Magneto and the bad guy of the Brotherhood, emotion was felt when he turned to the dark side and you felt the grief that Xavier went through by losing his friend. Every single character's motivations were understandable and the audience could literally side with anyone in the film, be it the Hellfire Club led by Shaw with intentions very similar to Magneto, Magneto's revenge scheme, Xavier's interest in other mutants, the new recruits and Mystique's longing for acceptance and how they go about it, either eradicating all humans with extreme prejudice or longing to achieve a peace with them. This is where the friendship between Erik and Xavier splits and the movie has a villain which very easily could be the protagonist if told from his point of view and that is how it is done! By eliminating the black and white dynamic and making it more gray to a point where the hero could be the villain or the villain could be the hero, depending on the point of view from which is seen. Not to mention, the humans went insane at the end and truly showed the destructive capabilities and for lack of a better word, bad-assness of the humans when they are to the brink of pure fear with facing something unknown and powerful. The cameos from the first movie were a nice touch as well, on another subject and finishing this review, this movie is a masterpiece and the perfect X-Men movie.