X-Men: First Class

Review: Can I just say something crazy? I actually prefer the McAvoy-Fassbender trilogy (I’m not acknowledging Dark Phoenix) to the Stewart-McKellen trilogy. Really the only downside is that Wolverine only REALLY appears in one of the movies. I think First Class & Days of Future Past are my favorite of the X-Men movies (if we exclude Deadpool). So on that note, I love this film. The callbacks throughout this film are great, both witin itself and related to other films (e.g. the coin being used during the finale). I think it’s funny that during the final battle everyone is like laughing after they land a blow, meanwhile Magneto & Professor X are agonizing & fighting for their lives. I also want to say I’m a fan of using real events (Cuban Missile Crisis) to advance your story, a trend the films continue to do, a la ‘Forrest Gump.’ Also my last note is just a fun tidbit, the first time I watched this movie was at a theater in the Cayman Islands with my family and I think that’s the only team I’ve ever gone to a movie theater internationally.

High: Like my high for the OG X-Men film, it’s the cast. I think McAvoy & Fassbender are brilliant castings that built upon the already fantastic castings that were Stewart & McKellen. Like genuinely, they’re perfect representations of the characters in this stage of their lives. The rest of the X-Men recruits are also so well cast, specifically Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, & Lucas Till.

Low: In what I think is a great film, Kevin Bacon (no fault of his own), does play a slightly forgettable villain. I always have to think what’s Kevin Bacon’s name in this? And what can he do again? And I’ve genuinely seen this movie probably 8 times. Also, more of a complaint than a low. Why the heck would you kill Darwin so early like that? That was such a horrible decision. If you weren’t sure how to adapt the character to screen effectively, then just don’t. But don’t put him there just to be the early sacrifice.

Rating: 9/10