Sorry to all my followers for the hiatus, I've been dealing with some personal stuff and battling general laziness. But here I am, back at it again!
Now, on subject. Today I'm reviewing X-Men: First Class. I'll be honest, I had seen little in the way of trailers and whatnot before this movie was released, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The title made me think of a movie that seems to be an inevitable follow-up to this one. The first class of X-Men at Professor Xavier's academy. But alas, it was actually X-Men Origins: Magneto and Xavier. Yet still awesome.
Say what you will about Marvel straying from the canon storyline, but this movie was actually quite good in my opinion. It tied in real world events to make the plot seem believeable, and went deep into Magneto's past (something I'd been looking forward to for a while). The dynamic between Mystique, Magneto, and Professor X was interesting to watch play out. We all know what eventually happens, but it was fun trying to figure out why Raven (Mystique) would leave Charles after so many years together. Small appearances from characters like Azazel and Havok made the movie all the more enjoyable. Though fans may have been unhappy with Cyclop's younger brother being almost as old as Professor Xavier, I thought the addition was at least fun to watch. I have learned to go into movies that are based on a series expecting them to take a bit of artistic license. Plus, it was fun being able to turn to my girlfriend when Azazel appeared and say "Fuck, it's Nightcrawler's Dad!"
Casting was actually done really well in my opinion. I haven't seen Kevin Bacon act in forever, and it appears to be because he was cryogenically frozen for the past ten years. The special effects weren't over the top, but remained outstanding. I won't give anything away, but if you've seen the movie, the part towards the end with the coin. That. Was. Awesome.
All in all, I would recommend this movie to people who never really got into the comic books. I can see where some may have trouble disconnecting the two, but those people are really going to miss out on a great movie. Easily a 9/10.
