AHHHHHHH!!!!
*Insert real fangirl squeal of glee and epicness*
X-Men has got to be one of Marvel’s best Universes. You have a human who suddenly realizes that they’re different; and who hasn’t faced people who are discriminatory?
The beautiful thing about X-Men is that they’re so realistic. Sure, you’ve got Batman who has no powers whatsoever, but these mutant abilities appear in children as well as adults. Just imagine that instead of having an ability, you’re separated from society because of something else. Whether you believe in something else, are born from somewhere else, or your heart leads you to unknown territory, you are considered different. And that scares the heck out of people.
X-Men: First Class was made at the perfect time. After finishing the Phoenix Era in the X-Men series (X-Men 1 to 3) they decided to please the fans with Logan’s aka Wolverine’s past in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. And man was that an awesome movie! In the newest addition to Hollywood’s take of X-Men, audience members learn about the beginnings of the Xavier Institute and introduce Eric’s aka Magneto’s past. You get an insight of how he became so evil, yet at times you understand why he believes in what he does. In every X-Men series and movie made, you can’t help but get angry at humans!
This time around, you can rage at the USSR and USA. Do those pair of countries ring any bell? After the end of World War II, these two countries became the world’s superpowers. First Class sends us back to the Cold War era, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Yay, Social! Director Matthew Vaughn integrated history and the X-Men universe seamlessly. I’m not a history expert, but from my knowledge the facts seemed pretty accurate. The reason why the USSR decided to put missiles in Cuba was because a certain individual wanted to see the world under a nuclear war. I don’t want to spoil anymore of the plot, but this movie introduces the Hellfire Club–something you may remember from 2008’s Wolverine and the X-Men cartoon.
So what’s so great about this movie? Well, how about everything? It’s a definite X-Men fan pleaser, and it also appeals to newbies to the X-Men world. Prequels are usually made after the actual series, but I suppose watching the series in chronological order is helpful, too. Those who love the works of James McAvoy (Wanted, Atonement) will love his portrayal of Xavier. And Michael Fassbender (Inglorious Basterds, 300) was the perfect man to play Magneto. And there’s a really awesome cameo somewhere in the movie. It was probably one of the best cameos in a superhero movie. Despite some of the inaccurate details in this movie (the reason why Xavier couldn’t walk, relationship between him and Mystique) they were reasonable and you were left with “Oh, so that’s why.”
I wasn’t 100 per cent about this movie, but leaving the theater I felt satisfied and craving more X-Men. I highly suggest watching it, and not necessarily in 3D either. There was enough action, story and emotion in this movie that wearing glasses on top of glasses would have ruined the experience. So now I’ll be off to watch some X-Men cartoons and movies, and wait for a year or so for another wonderful installment of an X-Men movie.