After “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” became a critical flop, 20th Century Fox (pre-Disney purchase) cancelled plans to develop “X-Men Origins: Magneto” in favor of a prequel titled, “X-Men: First Class” focusing on the X-Men’s early years, the friendship between Charles Xavier/Professor X & Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto and their partnership while squaring off against Sebastian Shaw. A mutant tied to Erik’s tragic past. Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Kick-Ass) signed on to direct the prequel. Fresh from earning an Oscar nomination for “Winter’s Bone,” Jennifer “J-Law” Lawrence signed on to play Mystique. Kevin Bacon also signed on to portray the main antagonist.
Released in 2011, (same year Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol came out) it received positive reviews and made enough cash at the box office. First Class reinvigorated the X-Men movies followed by three follow-ups “Days of Future Past,” “Apocalypse” & “Dark Phoenix.” Fox got Deadpool right in two movies. Last but not least, “The Wolverine” & “Logan” got X-Men’s mascot right. The latter’s my fifth favorite movie.
The highly anticipated “Deadpool and Wolverine” set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU for short, will be released on July 26, 2024. Which is three days before my birthday. Before it comes out, I wanna share my thoughts on First Class.
First & Last Elements
First: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicolas Hoult, Rose Byrne & Kevin Bacon all did a fantastic job for their respective performances.
Fun Fact: Kevin later appeared as himself in “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.” He was also referenced in the first movie.
Matthew Vaughn did a great job directing. He also co-wrote the script with Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz & Jane Goldman.
Action Sequences are really good.
Henry Jackman (Puss in Boots, Big Hero 6, Kong: Skull Island) orchestrated the soundtrack.
Cinematography didn’t suffer from technical issues.
Visual Effects are crisp and clear.
Prosthetic Make-Up transformed J-Law & Nicolas as Mystique & Beast.
Chemistry between Xavier & Erik serves as the main highlight. Their interactions with their allies also play an important part.
Character Development involving Xavier, Erik and their allies. As the story progresses, the friendship between Xavier & Erik will eventually shatter due to their ideologies on humanity.
Michael Ironside appears as a navy captain during the final battle. Mr. Ironside’s typecasted as a soldier from any branch of the Army. Notable movies including “Top Gun,” “Starship Troopers” & “Terminator: Salvation.” To quote George Lucas, “It’s like poetry, it rhymes.”
First Class takes place in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Many events happened in real life.
- Stan Lee, Jack Kirby & Steve Ditko created Ant-Man, Hulk, Doctor Doom, Thor & Spider-Man.
- Bob Dylan’s made his debut album.
- Dallas Waterfall Billboard was introduced and located in Dallas, Texas.
- McDonald’s added the Fillet-O-Fish.
- Taco Bell was born.
- Marilyn Monroe tragically died from a drug overdose.
- Sean Connery portrayed James Bond in the character’s first movie, “Dr. No.”
- Lawrence of Arabia became the biggest movie of the year winning an Oscar for “Best Picture.”
- Numerous future celebs were born such as Jim Carrey, Jon Bon Jovi, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Matthew Broderick, Clark Gregg, John Hannah, Emilio Estevez, Bobcat Goldthwait, Jeff Garlin, Arnold Vosloo, Paula Abdul, Stephen Chow, Tom Cruise, Tom Kenny, Wesley Snipes, Michelle Yeoh, Steve Carrell, David Koechner, Axel Rose, David Fincher, Baz Luhrmann, Aida Turturro, Tommy Lee, Joan Cusack, Flea, Anthony Kiedis, Bob Odenkirk, Mike Judge, Garth Brooks, Cary Elwes, Demi Moore, Harland Williams, Jodie Foster, Kirk Hammett, Jon Stewart, Andrew McCarthy, Felicity Huffman, Ralph Fiennes and the late Steve Irwin.
Mystique mentioned “Mutations or invisible ones like yours. Possibly alluding a reference to Susan Storm/Invisible Woman from “Fantastic Four.”
The X-Men wear yellow outfits. A nod to the early comics.
Remember that one scene with Erik who prefers Raven in blue form? It became a meme. “I prefer the real Raven.” “I said, the real Raven.” “Perfection.” By the way, Rebecca Romjin makes a cameo when Mystique shapeshifts in front of Erik.
Erik’s motivation to become the X-Men’s archenemy, Magneto makes clear sense. Besides his hatred towards humanity, Erik wants revenge on Shaw who killed his mother in front of him.
It’s confirmed Mystique slowly ages as a result of her Mutant genes. Wolverine also has a similar trait. His healing factor allows him to stay in his 30s-40s.
Prior to meeting Xavier, Erik hunts down former Nazis in order to find Shaw. Reminds me of “This Must Be the Place.” An underrated adventure dramedy with Sean Penn as a rock star dressed like Robert Smith, who goes on a journey to find a former Nazi linked to his past.
Hank mentioned Jekyll and Hyde. Marvel has a few similar characters obviously Hulk & Green Goblin.
The best part of the entire movie is Hugh Jackman’s cameo as Wolverine. He utters one F-Bomb in a PG-13 movie. It deserves Bonus Points for making me laugh so hard. I consider it the best use of a single F-Bomb in a PG-13 movie. “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” is the runner-up. Prior to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3″ as the first MCU movie using the F-Bomb, it was Wolverine who said it in a PG-13 movie. I give credit where credit is due. Thanks to the Multiverse, the X-Men movies are part of the MCU.
One scene has a few characters dancing to “Hippy Hippy Shake. The song was also used in “Cocktail,” “Uncle Buck,” “Angels in the Outfield” & “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.”
Last: Plot Hole 1 – Emma Frost is young. She never aged in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Plot Hole 2 – Beast created a protype of Cerebro. He’s never given credit in previous movies.
The Final Verdict: B, FOR BEAST MODE!
X-Men: First Class managed to fix the X-Men movies. If you’re trying to kill some time before Deadpool and Wolverine comes out, rewatch all the X-Men movies. Don’t forget to look back at the ’90s cartoon.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 