Written by: Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn. (Based on characters by Stan Lee,Jack Kirby and Chris Claremont)
Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, January Jones, Oliver Platt and Kevin Bacon.
Year of release: 2011.
Run time: 131 Minutes.
Budget: $120 Million.
I think the world all but gave up on X-Men after the shitty third film, which was directed by Brett Ratner-- who has a bad habit of fucking up everything he touches. A few years ago we were, of course, treated to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which seemed to be the coup-de-grace on the franchise. I liked the first two X-Men movies; I dug all the crazy mutants and the almost Shakespearean character development that occurred between the two great actors, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan. Make no mistake, the first two movies were four star films.
So how did I feel about this latest offering? It was pretty good. I mean, I didn't enjoy it as much as the first two, but it is certainly several rungs above the more recent mutant outings. The best part of the film is the dynamic between Magneto and Professor X, played by two younger actors. In the best scenes, you really get a sense of the tenderness between these two characters, who are due to end up as enemies later in the X-Men universe. The two actors playing these parts, James McAvoy as Professor X and Michael Fassbender as Magneto, shine in their roles. There is a scene where Professor X taps into a memory of Magneto's childhood that is really quite touching. When he is done, a single tear rolls down Professor X's face as he says: “Thank-you for allowing me to view that memory. It was really quite special...” And it's stuff like this that really adds to the intimate connection between both characters.
Where points need to be taken off is in how most of the female characters are portrayed. One of the mutants, who possesses fairy wings and the ability to spit acid, is a stripper who says something along the lines of: “I'd rather have [people] look at my body, than stare at my mutations...” It's supposed to be really sincere, but given the fact that every female character struts around in short skirts and low tops at the best of times, and lingerie at the worst, it's hard to take any of it very seriously. It's almost as if all of the serious dialogue is confined to the two male leads, who get to wear classy suits as opposed to bikinis. I'm sure if I was a woman, I'd probably be a bit offended.
This element of sexism extends to Mystique's character. In the first two X-Men, she was sort of depicted as the ultimate bad-arse. A femme-fatale who, despite her blatant sexuality, managed to punish men that sexualised her. Sure, she was no Clarice Starling, but it was a refreshing change from the more cliched female roles in much of the American action cinema. In this film, Mystique is reduced to an angsty twenty-something with body image issues. We get all the typical: “If only I could look normal...” type dialogue, and it's a bit shit. I realise that it's all part of her character arc, but I think it undermines Mystique as a character a little. The most absurd part of this arc occurs when she speaks to Magneto, who tells her that there is nothing wrong with her body. She sleeps with him, and from that point on accepts that her unusual lizard skin with a blue hue is beautiful after all. So there you go female comic-book fans: You too can accept your body, just like Mystique learns to, but only if a man gives you the nod of approval by sleeping with you. It's tacky, and it sort of makes you wish Jonathan Demme would make an X-Men movie with Jodie Foster in it just to counter-balance all the testosterone.
One of the great things about the X-Men franchise was how it served as somewhat of an allegory for the civil rights movement. You had these mutants who were being persecuted by 'normal' humans and the message was always that difference is something that should be valued. Though I was always skeptical that the message did anything to change the minds of bigoted adults, I always felt that young kids watching the movies were going to take away a positive message, which would resonate with them when confronted with someone who was different to them-- whether they be gay or black, etc. There is that pervading sense of allegory in this film, but I don't think it's as prominent as in the first two movies. That's not necessarily a bad thing though, I mean not every movie has to have some moral agenda attached to it.
I guess the underlying theme of this movie is redemption versus-- not necessarily forgiveness-- but something more along the lines of accepting the tragic events in your life, and using that anger to do good as opposed to bad. It's a universal theme that was a bit of a cliché back when George Lucas was writing Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader's dialogue. Ah, but this is a popcorn flick after all! I can hear some of you collectively mumbling: “If you want some meaning, review a foreign film, not X-Men”, and of course it's true. For the large part, X-Men: First Class is an entertaining piece of escapism. This is despite the fact that some of the mutant powers are a bit lame: Like the guy who can scream at such a high frequency that he smashes stuff, who I shall call Screech because I forget his mutant name. And the guy who hurls hula-hoops of death at his foes. Magneto makes up for this by having the most bad-arse power perhaps imaginable, and the film owes a great debt to Fassbender's moodiness.
In the long run, if you were going to see this movie, you probably would have already done so, and this review is not going to change your mind. However, if you're not fluent in the X-Men mythology, and are looking for some escapism, you could do worse than X-Men: First Class. Oh and I promise my next review will be of a more literary film.
Three stars:
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