X-Men First Class is the latest addition to the well-established X-Men franchise and after the slightly ridiculous (though fun) Wolverine Origins, this film again dips into the history books and takes us back to the first meeting between a young Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) and Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and the conception of the X-Men themselves. It takes us from Magneto's discovery of his powers (glimpsed in a flashback in the first X-Men film) to Xavier's decision to open his academy, and ends with the schism between Magneto and Professor X. We see some old friends looking very fresh-faced: Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence, to be seen next in Hunger Games) and Beast (Nicholas Hoult looking cute as a button in both lab-coat and blue-fur modes) and meet some original-flavour X-Men: Emma Frost (January Jones) and Azazel (an unrecognisable Jason Flemyng), and also discover who the mysterious Moira McTaggart is (mentioned at the end of Last Stand). Of course those who have read the comics will know all of this already but as a fan of the films only this was all new and exciting for me.
This film has a deliciously retro feel after the shiny newness of the previous four films. It begins in the 30s but the bulk of the action takes place in the swinging sixties and the whole look of the film feels period-authentic and gives the whole thing an originality and freshness that has been missing from comic-book adaptations of late. I'm a loyal X-Men fan anyway so perhaps I'm biased but I do think this is the only franchise that has been consistently good, complex, and original (Wolverine was a minor blip, but I have to say I still enjoyed it). I particularly loved the vintage-Bond undercurrent of much of the action - Emma Frost is pure Bond girl and the scene where she discovers uber-villain Sebastian Shaw's secret lair could have come straight from any of the 60s Bond films. The costume designer obviously had fun choosing the clothes on this one; I especially loved the contrast between Xavier's preppy Oxford blazers and chunky cardigans, and Magneto's sleek black turtlenecks and soviet-chic leather jacket and boots. And they both look spectacular in them, of course.
The casting is a dream in First Class. Obviously it's tricky casting younger versions of well-known characters with well-known actors having previously played them. However, instead of casting actors primarily because they look similar to Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, they have chosen actors who fit the characters. McAvoy is perfect as an under-matured Charles Xavier, he is smug and over-bearing but you can't help liking him and you can see how the more restrained and humble Professor X is going to emerge. However Michael Fassbender is the star of the show as the Angry Young Man who will become Magneto, he's always spellbinding and given a lead film role for the first time he really shines and makes the role his own. I'd even go as far as to say that he out-Magneto's Ian McKellen, who lacks the physicality that the younger actor brings to the role. The presence of Fassbender (and his oh-so-delectable German accent), as well as an appearance from German actor Ludger Pistor, and the general style and tone of the first act of the film, brings a touch of Inglourious Basterd panache to First Class.
I'd forgotten, until the credits went up at the end, that this film was directed by Matthew Vaughn (of Kick-Ass and Stardust fame) and scripted by Jane Goldman (likewise), and I was pleased to see that the dream-duo have pulled it off again. I suspect they also had something to do with the rather 'English' feel to this film; chunks of it are set in Oxford, London, or in English stately homes masquerading as New York or Russia, and with our two main characters being English and the general feel of the film being more provincial than previous entries in some ways it's refreshing to see a comic-book film that doesn't feel quite so 'hollywood'. This chapter is a welcome addition to the X-Men 'verse and I hope that some sort of 'prequel-sequel' is forthcoming as I definitely want to see more of this story and these actors.
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