We’re now well into the summer action movie season. First I saw Thor, and now X-Men: First Class. I know I’m a little behind with the release here, but it was totally worth the wait. I think this has been my favorite in the X-Men franchise and seriously everyone rocked it, especially Michael Fassbender, who was voted to be the next James Bond post Daniel Craig (in a non-official poll of my colleagues when having lunch) — a move I could totally get behind. But I digress.
X-Men: First Class is a prequel delving into the story of how the X-Men came together originally. After checking with our resident comic expert, I got the skinny on what was the actual canon versus Hollywood liberties, but truthfully I really didn’t care. I know there are diehards out there who won’t be able to live with a few of the story changes, but I found it to be exactly what I wanted in a prequel. James McAvoy as Professor Xavier is exactly how I imagined. Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw had the trademark Bacon swagger and I kind of wanted to cheer even as I wanted to punch him in the face, which is exactly what you want in a great protagonist.
The absolute best part of the movie is the little additions for the series fans, which are greatness and perfect.
The only negative note was January Jones, whose performance as Emma Frost was pretty flat and seriously one note. I could never escape the idea that Betty Draper somehow fell into an alternative universe and she’s just as unlikeable there. The other mid-century touches were not as much of a miss, and the costuming and set design were awesome. I did find myself slightly distracted when coveting wallpaper, but recognize this could just be me.
