If you are looking for action and adventure then you will not want to miss X-Men: First Class a top-notch production that thrills. The explosive storyline under the able direction of Matthew Vaughn contains all the explosiveness you would expect from a prequel to Marvel Comics famous X-Men.
It’s the beginning of the saga and we find Magnito (Michael Fassbender) being haunted by the death of someone close him. Escaping the clutches of the evil Nazi war criminal Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), Magnito meets Charles Xavior (James McAvoy). The two make a pact of finding other mutants and helping them work for justice. When Shaw rears his ugly head with super powers of his own, the world puts everything on hold in hopes for a miracle to protect them; enter the X-Men.
I love the screenwriting style of Ashley Miller (Thor) who brings so many of San Lee’s dynamic characters with amazing super powers to life. And in X-Men: First Class she presents some very realist baddies along with her heroes. Directed by Matthew Vaughn who gave us the action laden Layer Cake and Kick Ass nothing’s held back on his radical style of introducing characters with pugilistic powers. Here he puts Lee’s characters to the test and comes up with a winner.
I would be remiss if I didn’t commend Kevin Bacon on his performance as the sadistic Sebastian Shaw. Putting all his energy into making the evil Nazi a heinous person makes the film work. And without his central antagonist being believable as the Joker (Heath Ledger) in The Dark Knight or the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) in Spider-man 2, X-Men: First Class would be just another movie.
Vaughn keeps the movie going at a fast clip developing his mutants as he rushes along. With so much content one would have thought the film to exceed three hours, but the little over two hours works for him. When the film ended I wanted more of the powerful heroes and their extreme exploits. Perhaps we have not seen the end of this saga.
The film is rated PG-13 for brief strong language, some sexuality and a violent image. Directly targeted at teens and twenties, X-Men: First Class hits the bull’s eye.
FINAL ANALYSIS: An exciting film with fantastic characters. (B+)
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
