Review: X-Men: First Class

This First Class delivered one hell of a movie, with an awesome performance from among others, Michael Fassbender (left).(20th Century Fox/aceshowbiz.com)

I don’t know what Hollywood was doing a few years ago, but it sure did churn out some really awful sequels. I’m talking terrible, not just the every day disappointing sequel which usually happens with most movies, but these were stinkers. The third Spiderman, the third Pirates – man were they just beyond bad. And with those, you have to throw in the third X-Men – holy Moses was that terrible. Follow it up with the dud that was Wolverine and the X-Men franchise seemed dead in the water. That is, until now.

X-Men: First Class is stylish, fun, flat-out entertaining and exactly what this franchise needed. The biggest key to its success is the complete lack of big A-list stars in the cast. When James McAvoy is your lead name, it’s safe to say nobody has any great idea who these actors are, which only does great things for a movie. There were no hyped up expectations for names or pressure for anyone to do something extraordinary, and we didn’t have to look at a character and think of a tabloid article or sex tape. These young guns were awesome, and brought an energy that was missing since the first X-Men.

There are two remarkably vague things that separate  a summer blockbuster from a genuinely good movie – a solid story and good action. This film had both of those, and a tip of the cap certainly goes to director Matthew Vaughn for crafting this origin tale that draws you in from the start and ends with a bang and an awesome final scene. The action is also there, and not in an overwhelming sense either. It’s there when needed, and when it fits the story. The effects are great, the fighting is great, and aside from one tiny two-minute battle among two kind of lame characters (you’ll know it when you see it), it made it a genuinely good movie. (Oh, and January Jones is insanely hot.)

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS: (out of 4)

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