Good but not great.

Rating: Null/10 (3 June 2011)

The movie starts by introducing young Erik and Charles. Erik in the concentration camps, Charles meeting a young Mystique for the first time. What's not explained is where Charles was or why Mystique was even there to begin with. Was it an early school for mutants? Was she an intruder? Nothing was explained other than showing Charles to be a gentle soul and that would carry over throughout the rest of the flick with the exception of him using the same pickup line to hit on chicks in bars. No trailer advertised Kevin Bacon to be in the movie at all so there was that reaction from the audience when people recognized him. It was kinda like seeing Sigourney Weaver and even Michelle Rodriguez in Avatar. The best bit of acting in the whole movie? Bill Milner's, who played young Erik, facial expressions after seeing his mother shot in front of him.
Despite the large cast of characters, this is a plot-driven movie. It all revolves around the Cold War, specifically the Cuban Missile Crisis. In this case, you know there's a twist and it ain't a bad one but the execution was weak. I like how they took a real life event and used it as a backdrop for the growing mutant phenomena. I don't like how almost everything was watered down. I don't have much for complaints about the acting but this is essentially a war movie that focuses on things going on outside of the main conflict, mainly the mutants.
Mutants are introduced slowly but surely and X team members are given code names along the way. Reminds me a lot of G.I. Joe Renegades but that's a very well written cartoon. The script here isn't bad. The direction is what's lacking. It just doesn't come across as serious enough and I can understand why considering the franchise. There are those emotional, crying moments but not enough hardcore, violent ones. Nothing to make you really wanna hate the protagonist (Bacon playing Sebastian Shaw). Shaw's ideals are like those of the primates in the Planet of the Apes movies (minus Aldo) where mutant shall not kill mutant. Can't hate the guy for that, can you?
Lots to like but let's look at the characters and how the lack of attention in that department hurts the movie. First off, during the gentleman's club scene, they show a lot of scantily clad chicks. Where's the problem with that, you ask? The movie is based in 1962. Chicks didn't look then the way they do now so it was bad casting on that front. It's like casting Olivia Wilde in Cowboys & Aliens; a movie based in the 1800's.
The hair styles are another issue. Alex Summers has a pretty modern do along with the Angel character. Emma Frost's hair, and emotionless characterization, was atrocious. It looked like she was wearing a wig with a whole can of mousse in it. Just terrible. Speaking of Angel, considering her real life heritage and skin color in the movie, would she really be openly employed as a stripper in a predominately white club in the 60's? And with tattoos? Redbone's got it bad enough these days, imagine how it must have been back then? And being a 60's based movie, it didn't have a 60's feel at all.
And my biggest complaint is the characterization. X-fans know who the Darwin character is. The way he was killed didn't make sense considering that he constantly evolves to survive. That includes becoming pure energy as proved in the comics. I'm surprised they even used Darwin in this movie. The actor who played him looked the part perfectly, I'll admit that. But why they always gotta kill the black guy first?
There were some issues with nationalities but you don't hear anyone complaining about it like whitewashing in movies like The Last Airbender. Moira's supposed to be Scottish. Banshee Irish. Does Magneto really look or sound Jewish to you? He was underpowered when the movie started but suddenly has greater control and levitation abilities at the end. Charles' influence certainly couldn't have been the cause of that level of change so quickly. Script issue! That's when Magneto goes villain but it wasn't on the level of Hulk Hogan going Hollywood at Bash at the Beach '96. What could have been this great cinematic moment didn't have enough behind it to matter which is exactly how the overall viewing experience can be described.
You'd think the ending of the movie with all the special effects like the raised submarine would be totally epic but it's not. The problem there IS the special effects. The submarine crash looks just as bad as the plane crash scene in Air Force One. They should have hired the people who did the plane crash scene in Knowing because that looked very realistic. Is there sequel potential here? I'd say there's definitely room for more X movies but they should stand alone like the James Bond flicks.
The movie checked in at just over 2 hours. Didn't feel like it was too long or too short. The movie was entertaining but it's too simple for my taste. I like my movies with more depth and a less comic-book style ending than the one it presented. I give this 5.5 out of 10 stars. Nothing special or memorable really happens and it's not worth paying any amount of money for but if you're an X-fan, you're gonna see it anyway. You're better off waiting for the DVD because you'll be disappointed shelling out the dough at a movie theater for this. Then again, some are more easily impressed than others. I'm part of the others. Don't bother sticking around after the credits. Nothing happens to the verbal dismay of those who stuck around hoping for something.