X-Men: First Class (2011)

You can't keep a greedy studio down! X-Men: First Class is the fifth movie in the X-Men series, which quietly died a few years ago, and is also the second odd prequel. It tells us in extreme detail all about how Professor Xavier and the man who will become Magneto first banded together and put together a team of young mutants and how they all stop Kevin Bacon from starting World War III. As if we cared. The director, Michael Vaughn, also made Stardust and Kick-Ass, both films that showed a sense of originality. None of that is here, unfortunately, as this is quite simply an unnecessary and very uninspired movie. I also don’t feel that it even follows its predecessors very closely in many ways, as those films often showed at least some connection to realism, whereas this film is pure fantasy, complete with actors that show no signs of restraint. This is the sort of thing that will be looked back on and considered campy in only a couple decades.

The trouble with prequels of this sort is that we know full well all the main characters make it out of this thing, so all hope of it being any kind of thrilling is lost. The possible exceptions are in the introductions of several new mutants. But these new characters not only have dumb powers (Stomach lasers? Butterfly wings? Instant crystallization? ???), but they also do not appear in any other movie. Unless there is going to be a sequel to the prequel where they are all killed off, their presence here does nothing but add more pointless, confusing nonsense to keep up with. Speaking of continuity, unless you are pretending X-Men: The Last Stand doesn't exist (and who would blame you?), this movie doesn't make sense in the general outline of the rest. In a flashback at the beginning of the third film, Xavier and Magneto are still good friends and Xavier is walking around fine. At the end of First Class they are already enemies and Xavier is in a wheelchair. Did these guys even try to make sense of the movie they were making, or did they just think we wouldn't notice or care? I think it is simply that they didn't care.

Even with all its faults, I was disappointed to find myself enjoying X-Men: First Class at times. That's because modern film-makers do know how to make an entertaining summer blockbuster. If only they could make them entertaining and memorable past three weeks. As a thriller, it never finds anything thrilling with which to connect. As a drama showing the relationship between members of the "Brotherhood," and also between Xavier and his "sister" Mystique, fails because it is all too contrived and predictable. As a chapter in a bigger picture, it flubs by disjointing itself from the rest of the series. As an action summer blockbuster, it is passable entertainment, and worth a mild recommendation to fans of the series. Just don’t expect too much.

5/10