X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (Matthew Vaughn, 2011) ***

Rating: 7/10 (18 July 2011)

The X-MEN series is surely among the more consistent superhero franchises out there: despite the blot that was X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (2009), the film-makers went on and gave us the back-story of Professor X, Magneto and, to a lesser extent, Mystique. Having been impressed with all of director Vaughn's previous efforts and particularly the similar KICK-ASS (2010), I was looking forward to this being, at least, miles ahead of WOLVERINE (another apparently solo effort of whom is being prepped for next year!) – which it certainly proved to be.
Since we had already been given glimpses into Magneto's childhood in the very first entry, Vaughn (and producer Bryan Singer, who had directed the original) expands upon it, while also presenting us with the friendship – that would eventually turn into deadly animosity – between the two polar leaders of the future Mutant struggle (Mystique, too, had been 'adopted' by Charles Xavier but eventually changed allegiance to serve his nemesis Magneto). This element here, however, lands the film into problems of logic: of course, you might say that, if one is willing to accept such a fantastic concept to begin with, why bother with the details – but I am sure that, if these had been better thought out, the film would have emerged an even stronger outing. Anyway, here goes: since both Xavier and Mystique are depicted as quite young at this stage, why is it that in the original series, he is seen as a bald and white-haired figure while she can still pass muster as a stunning femme fatale (incidentally, Rebecca Romijn puts in a blink-and-you'll-miss-her cameo when her incarnation here, Jennifer Lawrence, ages to womanhood in the wake of Magneto's mocking of her excessive youth!). In the same breadth, while recruiting mutants, Professor X and Magneto (then still Eric Lehnsherr) happen upon the irascible Logan, Wolverine himself – but, rather than being played by a younger counterpart, Hugh Jackman already essays the part...so, then, why does it take Professor X some 30 years (during which time the former has not aged at all!) to bring him around to his way of thinking?!
Typically, with a film concerning numerous superheroes or, to put it more aptly, gifted persons, some are allowed to shine more than others (in both good and evil camps, mind you); it was a mistake, however, to sideline Mystique's character as just one of the teens, since she had been part of the team from the very start (even before Eric!). Most of the others, in fact, come across as mere show-offs (despite Xavier's diligence in harnessing their individual power) – with Beast's complete transformation evoking uneasy parallels to the TEEN WOLF movies from the 1980s! The real villain here, then, is Kevin Bacon who progresses from Nazi associate to big-time industrialist to Mutant megalomaniac (when he is prevented from unleashing World War III, by making judicious use of stock footage pertaining to the Cuban Missile Crisis of the early 1960s, he decides to turn himself into a one-man thermo-nuclear reactor!). Also, while the presence of CIA agent and nominal heroine Rose Byrne does not really come to bear on the central plot, she eventually proves a pivotal pawn in Xavier's crippling accident – which definitely severs his ties with Eric (then again, Mystique ought to have been more considerate towards her mentor at this particularly difficult moment!).
In the end, the film's success or failure rests squarely on the shoulders of the two leads and, thankfully, both James McAvoy as Xavier and especially Michael Fassbender (incidentally, both he and Bacon are made to speak in a variety of languages throughout!) as Eric deliver the goods. For the record, the film's most awe-inspiring moment/special effect is the one where Magneto 'compels' Bacon's sub out of the sea (in full view of dumb-founded American and Russian battleship personnel!) and brings it to land on a sandy beach – where the ultimate battle (at least of this 'new' first entry) is raged. By the way, it was also nice to see the likes of Michael Ironside, Ray Wise and Rade Sherbedgia in minor roles.