Sure, there are probably dozens upon dozens of comic books that explore the early friendship between Professor Charles Xavier (Professor X) and Erik Lensherr (Magneto). But in the “X-Men” movie franchise, that relationship had only been illustrated by the allies-turned-enemies regretfully reflecting on their former friendship.
One thing to know the story, another to experience it
Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen were good enough in those scenes — in “X-Men” (2000), “X2: X-Men United” (2003) and “X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006) — that by the time the trailer came around for the 1960s-set “X-Men: First Class,” I felt like I had seen this story already, even without reading the old comics.
And yet “First Class” is totally worth seeing, because it’s one thing to know the story but another to experience it, and this latest installment is summer pulp entertainment at its finest. This is largely because James McAvoy (Charles) — who has a Ewan McGregor quality — and Michael Fassbender (Erik) masterfully mimic Stewart and McKellen without letting it stunt their performances.
“X-Men: First Class” (2011)
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Writers: Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman
Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence
While I felt the second and third movies in the trilogy were overblown toy commercials, the two prequels (the other is 2009’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” which takes place just before the first movie) have returned to the franchise’s character-driven roots.
That’s not to discount the simple pleasures of seeing iconic comic-book heroes and villains brought to life by Hollywood actors. Also, the Charles-Erik friendship isn’t the only relationship given new depth here. It turns out that Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence here, Rebecca Romijn in the trilogy) is the first mutant Charles meets, and while he treats her as a kid sister, she has kind of a crush on him.
Also, we see Beast (Nicholas Hoult here, Kelsey Grammer in the trilogy) in his “normal human” form, we learn how he transforms into his furry blue visage, and we learn that he and Raven had a bit of a thing.
Most characters used well
“First Class” flirts with “toy commercial” territory itself, but most of the characters are used well. For example, Caleb Landry Jones’ Banshee provides a sonar reading to Xavier in the final battle. There’s also a great cameo that’s totally superfluous to the story, but it’s worth the awesome one-liner.
Amidst all the superpower training and choosing names and getting costumes, a subtly strong performance comes from Lawrence (who broke through in “Winter’s Bone” and is now being hyped up for “Hunger Games”). Mystique serves the same purpose as Rogue in the first movie: The “Boo-hoo, I’m a mutant” character.
Mystique should be less sympathetic — Rogue couldn’t touch anyone for an extended period without killing them, while Mystique merely has blue skin. And she can transform into any visage without seeming to exert much energy. And she’s still hot when she’s blue. Still, I never felt Mystique was overly whiny; a natural on screen, Lawrence gives her a “normal kid” appeal.
Not so great is “Mad Men’s” January Jones, who is utterly bland as Emma Frost. She looks great in the part, which is probably why she is cast in every role she gets, but even without being a big comic reader, I know Frost should have had more zest even if she is an ice queen.
Frost is the sidekick of Sebastian Shaw, a slimy ex-Nazi who is the de facto villain of this piece. Although Kevin Bacon is fine as Shaw, we know that he — and his whole plan to start World War III via the Cuban Missile Crisis — is merely a sideshow. We get the requisite “stuff blowing up” finale, but ultimately it’s the scenes after that that we’re waiting for: Is Xavier and Magneto’s friendship strong enough to overcome their political differences regarding the mutant-human conflict?
Picking their sides
Even though we know the answer, the scenes are dramatic. And it’s neat to see the various mutants (admittedly, some are still little more than action figures at this point, but some are truly people) choose sides at set the stage for potential future movies.
As with the first “X-Men,” I wanted to live in this world a bit longer. I wanted a bit more Raven-and-Beast, and a bit more Charles-and-Moira (Rose Byrne). So maybe the screen-time balance isn’t perfect. But the fact that “First Class” is overly packed with tasty characters and relationships isn’t totally the fault of this movie, which I’d rank as the series’ best entry, edging out “Wolverine”; it’s a reflection on the medium’s limitations.
And it’s also a good reason to make a sequel. If there’s an “X-Men: First Class, Part II,” count me in.