Tough...

Rating: Null/10 (24 September 2011)

I don't know what to think about 'X-Men First Class'. It's a film I've thought a great deal about because I am a fan of the comic book film genre and especially the X-Men. It's a film that has some great strengths but also a major problem which has been bothering me with repeat viewings of the film. There are moments in 'X- Men First Class' which match the best the comic book genre has to offer. Ultimately though the strengths and weaknesses of the film come from my favorite character of the series, Magneto.
I believe Magneto might just be the best comic book character ever even rivaling Batman. If comic books are the modern day form of tragic melodrama than Magneto is the greatest character to come out of this idea. He is so compelling a character with such clear and cut motives and is in this case played so compellingly by Michael Fassbender in an absolutely brilliant performance that I think he really could have stood alone here. I would pay to see a picture of Magneto hunting down Nazi and developing his Mutant ideology, which I expect the proposed X-Men Origins Magneto would have dealt with. Fassbender is absolutely brilliant in the role. He exposes a vulnerability, frailty, and rage that really befits this great character. Through the course of the X-Men mythology I find myself agreeing with Magneto ideologically more so than Professor X and this film is no exception. Fassbender's performance is as good as anything we have ever seen in a comic book film maybe on par with some of the performances in 'The Dark Knight' if a comparison is needed.
The problem is Professor X while we do get a great performance from James McAvoy comes across as weak. I find it kind of odd that someone like Xavier has the nads to give Magneto life lessons. While Xavier was picking up chicks awkwardly in the pub in England Magneto was in a quest for retribution. Xavier just kind of comes across as a spoiled brat in this film. He offers nothing to this partnership because Magneto is by far the more mature and learned character. McAvoy's Xavier spends a great deal of the film infatuated with a stupid cut out CIA character called Moira MacTaggert. Why? I don't know, she's so incredibly bland other than her groovy auburn hair. I don't identify with this Professor X in the least and the Mystique origin only adds to it. What kind of person would do that to his best friend and almost sister? McAvoy is less than subtle in showing Xavier's fear of Mystique's true nature. Perhaps showing Xavier's flaws was necessary in developing the character. I don't think any sensible audience member engaged in this story would choose Professor X over Magneto and the film asks you to pick a side in the sand. The choice is so incredibly clear here.
And yet it isn't...unfortunately so. 'X-Men First Class' biggest problem is its ending and in order to give my opinion of the film I have to indulge in some pretty big spoilers. Kevin Bacon's Sebastian Shaw is a really decent villain to a certain point. I love the fact that he is a Nazi. I love the fact that he plays the stupidity of the Cold War and American and Soviet representatives to his advantage. And what is more relevant is that he is the one who caused Magneto so much pain and shaped his views on humankind for the absolute worst. This really perfectly builds up to a final confrontation between Magneto and Shaw and what happens in this climactic moment? Shaw is given the entirety of Magneto's mantra to the point where Magneto's only retort is "I agree with everything you just said but unfortunately you killed my mother"... this infuriated me as a viewer and fan of this character. Essentially you have throw away Magneto's entire motivation, his entire view of the world, his mission to save the mutants from another holocaust, and threw them away in favor of a really insignificant revenge story. I don't care about Magneto's mother other than the fact that her death made him see the world in a different light. What you do by giving Shaw Magneto's mantra is make the Magneto character useless. You say Magneto is no different than this sadist Nazi only he had to get rid of the person who killed his Mommy. No! I couldn't take that especially after Fassbender created such an interesting character. And the thing that gets me is that this could have been solved by making a few simple changes. Would it not make more sense for Shaw to be in it for himself? To have this new utopia from nuclear holocaust emerge with him as it's unquestionable leader? Wouldn't Shaw be even more evil if he wanted to rule OVER mutants instead of with them? Then Magneto could be vindicated in his wanting to protect his new found race with Xavier. You still could have Xavier and Magneto falling out over the same basic thing in the end and the movie would still work and even work better!
I think I was more forgiving in the sense that I sought a sequel but I really doubt there will be one. McAvoy and Fassbender are too big stars to indulge an X-Men series. By the end of this film Magneto and Xavier have drawn their lines in the sand for good. I would have liked to have thought there would be more to this friendship that it could develop and nurture itself and eventually have a bad falling out. In essence Magneto and Xavier are the best of friends for two weeks and become enemies right away. Unfortunately and it is so disappointing to say Magneto's side is Shaw's side and he became everything he supposedly hated and that is tragic.