“X-Men: First Class” is set to release on DVD and Blu-ray on Friday as part of “First Class Friday.” The film stars James McAvoy (“Wanted”) as Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender (“Inglourious Basterds”) as Erik Lehnsherr in a precursor of events before the two become Professor X and Magneto respectively.
Also featuring a handful of other mutants from the comic book series, (some familiar and some not) as well as a strong supporting role from Kevin Bacon, “First Class” became one of the more well-reviewed movies of the summer. What’s GOing On columnists Sean Gourley and Matt Okarmus break down their thoughts of the film below.
Sean
As an avid comic book reader, I often have those worries about the geek aspects of superhero movies. Will the costumes look stupid? Will they get the back story right? What about the powers? The answer is almost always “no” to at least one of those.
“First Class” made me not care if something was off. It was just a solid movie.
My biggest question about the film was how well McAvoy and Fassbender would hold up in the roles established by Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan, two acting heavyweights. I was pleasantly surprised how well they did, especially Fassbender, who I had not seen in much before.
I really enjoyed the story. It was an interesting spin on the mutant-paranoia angle of many “X-Men” stories to tie it in with the nuclear-paranoia of the 1960s.
I enjoyed getting to see more of the back stories for Professor X and Magneto. That was well done without taking up too much time. I enjoyed the Magneto story the most, since it did more show you the groundwork of how the man became the villain.
The “X-Men” movie universe is still full of unused stories and characters. I’m hoping we see more of the franchise done as well as “First Class.”
Matt
I remember when I first read that they were going to take a new direction with the X-Men characters on the big screen and introduce them as basically kids, I was skeptical. Then I saw the first trailer for the movie and became intrigued.
What I didn’t anticipate was a movie that was only sort of on my radar would go on to become one of my favorites and one of the best I’ve seen all year.
And would also make me appreciate convincing my dad to see it instead of “Green Lantern” (Thanks Dad).
In my opinion, there’s usually no middle ground with comic book movies – they are either going to be done really well or they will look really bad. It’s usually the latter, but for every “The Spirit” there is at least a “Sin City” and movies like “The Dark Knight” can help us forget about the chaotic (though guilty pleasure) mess of “Batman Forever.”
The same thing happened with the X-Men franchise as the third movie and the Wolverine spin-off both left a little to be desired. But something felt different going into “First Class.”
It was fresh, inspired and delivered on every level. The acting was on point, the visual effects weren’t over the top and I wasn’t confused by the story (always a plus).
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m a sucker for the story of the “villains.” And this movie was just as much about the rise of Magneto as it was about the first class of mutants.
And something happened after that movie – I cared about the story of Magneto. In the past, I enjoyed characters like Wolverine and Gambit but now I’m curious about the backstories for other characters.
One thing is for sure – I am eagerly anticipating any news on a possible sequel.
*image source - Fox Home Entertainment
*
