“X-Men: First Class” — Mutants on the Rise

After witnessing the abominations that were “X-Men: The Last Stand” and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” I was a little worried for the latest installment of the X-Men movie franchise; but a clever script, excellent cast, and Matthew Vaughn’s steady direction make “X-Men: First Class” one of the best Marvel movies to date.

The movie begins as the first “X-Men” did, with the young Erik Lehnsherr mangling a concetration camp gate with his magnetic powers before being subdued by five or six soldiers. After regaining consciousness, Erik is given an ultimatum by a Nazi higher-up, one that pushes the young mutant toward a life centered on vengeance. Upon growing up, Erik travels the world in search of the aforementioned higher-up, killing boatloads of Nazis along the way.

Along the road of vengeance Erik meets Charles Xavier, recipient of a brand new PhD and one of the world’s most powerful mutants. Together with the CIA, the two begin recruiting others of their kind, hoping to stop the political machinations of the clandestine Hellfire Club.

“X-Men: First Class” is noticeably and thankfully less sprawling than “The Last Stand,” focusing its efforts on a select few rather than cramming the movie with mutants at the expense of the story.

Michael Vaughn really humanizes the characters present by fleshing out their drives and fears, tackling more serious and psychological subject matter in addition to showing off their awesome powers (something that Brett Ratner did not do in “X3“). This idea is most present in Erik Lehnsherr, played perfectly by Michael Fassbender (“Inglourious Basterds,” “300”). The seeds of Magneto are sown here, beginning with the horrors of Erik’s early life and moving through a lifetime of rage and hatred up to his role as the Malcolm X of mutants. Magneto is not the villain here; he is the tragic hero, and Fassbender nails that facet of the character, so much so that we find ourselves siding with Erik in even his darkest of moments.

“First Class” has managed to turn around an ailing franchise without resorting to a reboot, and that’s something to be both admired and enjoyed. Here’s looking forward to the next X-Men movie.

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