X-Men: First Class - Review

I don't wish to sound like an angry Marvel-blogging fanboy - hell-bent on claiming that this film 'doesn't follow the comics'. But...

With 'X-Men: First Class' Fox, Marvel and director Matthew Vaughn had the chance to scour almost half a century of storylines in order to reboot a franchise that has yielded millions at box offices worldwide.

And all the press, the interviews and behind-the-scenes intent pointed towards a fresh start for the X-Men.But clearly the filmakers weren't confident enough to simply start again. Or rather they started again, but clung on to links with their predecessors that simply made me wince - embarrassed to have paid my entrance fee.

'Next thing you know I'll be going bald', quips James McAvoy's Xavier. Some of the lines in this film were so cheesey that when it finished and the lights went up I expected the row behind me to contain Wallace & Gromit or the Mouse from Fonejacker.

"I expected the row behind me to contain Wallace & Gromit or the Mouse from Fonejacker"

And after being taken over by Xavier one Russian military personnel says 'WHAT?' with such comedic melodrama, albeit in Russian, that I can only assume the director had been watching episodes of Family Guy the night before the shoot.

The premise is that this film explores the Xavier/Magneto friendship/rivalry. First thing's first, McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are great as Xavier and Magneto respectively.

McAvoy's more playboy Xavier is refreshing, and the first real time that 'Charles' hasn't been portrayed as the perfect leader who always knows what's happening.

And much like the transformation of Sabretooth from Tyler Mane to Liev Schreiber in X-Men to Wolverine, Fassbender is a better Magneto in many ways than Sir Ian McKellen, and far more believable as a villain.

Kevin Bacon is also a great villain as Sebastien Shaw, but even these three, the best performances on show, are let down by terribly timed lines.

The last line of the film for example: "I prefer to be known as...

...

...

... Magneto."

Why build tension in a line where we all know the one-word answer? Don't be fooled into thinking that this space is filled by hand gestures or facial expressions either - it's just a slow zoom.

The plotline is thread into GCSE history with the holocaust and the Cuban Missile Crisis featuring heavily. In fact you could probably remake this film using some BiteSize revision footage and scenes from the other X-Men films.

Particularly the first scene, a near carbon copy of Magneto bending some Nazi gates that was seen in the first film.

Maybe this is a deliberate hark back to the beginning of the X-Saga, but again I was under the impression this was a fresh start? Why does Beast feature but no Cylcops? Jean Grey? Iceman? Angel? The actual beginnings of the X-Men?

Oh wait there is an Angel. Angel Salvadore. Known these days as Tempest in the comics. But I don't want to sound like a Marvel fanboy.

Darwin is introduced as a new character, with his power to adapt to any circumstance an interesting one to display on screen.

So naturally he's killed after around twenty minutes of screentime.

The only other character to suffer from too little screentime is a cameo for the X-Saga's most successful feature. It has been said that this film will do well to be successful without the clawed-one but this minute-long segment shows that even that wasn't possible.

Sorry if I've listed a couple of spoilers but that is the challenge of this film. A reboot. The four X-Films before have been full of spoilers for 'First Class'.

And I'm afraid it's a challenge the X-Men have failed. I was not a fan of Star Trek or Batman when they rebooted and yet thoroughly enjoyed those films.

I get that the 'in-thing' in Hollywood right now is darker reboots (Thanks for that Christopher Nolan) but this one lacks any punch.

"I don't care whether or not that guy from Skins will learn to be blue."

I don't care about what will happen between Xavier and Mystique in any possible sequel, or whether or not that guy from Skins will learn to be blue. I don't care about Havok or Riptide (Did you know he was in it by the way? He's the suited-up whirlwind guy. Which isn't actually Riptide's power.) OK! OK! So I'm a Marvel fanboy!

But that's not the only reason I don't like this film. As a standalone sci-fi/fantasy it bored me. And in the climatic final battle my fellow cinema-goers and I thought of at least three other ways the good guys could have won in the car on the way home.

As much as my Y chromosome was pleased, as a film fan I grew a little tired of seeing scantily clad girls run about for very, very little reason. Then again January Jones seemingly didn't get the part of Emma Frost on her acting ability.

Verdict: All-in-all 'X-Men First Class' fails to buck a worrying recent trend of blockbuster superhero movies that promise so much and fail to deliver (See Spiderman 3, Wolverine and Iron Man 2). Despite decent performances from actors such as McAvoy and Fassbender, who do the best they can with some terrible lines, and even the return of Bryan Singer, First Class should head straight to detention. Bubs.

6/10

2010!!!

Hi!

A belated merry christmas and happy new year to all! To kick the year off here's my review of Sherlock Holmes!!

Enjoy!

Mark A.

When re-inventing a franchise there are often eyebrow-raising choices made - and the latest incarnation of Sherlock Holmes is no different.
Amongst its cast and director’s back catalogues are Iron Man, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Wedding Crashers, Alfie, Body of Lies and Hancock.
And yet this eclectic mixture of talent comes together for a thoroughly enjoyable piece of cinema - superbly casted and well written.
The story follows Holmes and his accomplice Dr. John Watson, played superbly by Robert Downey Jnr. and Jude Law respectively, as they follow several murders committed by a mysterious and brilliantly creepy Mark Strong as Lord Blackwood.
The story pits Holmes’ methodical and logical detective work against the seemingly supernatural Blackwood, who escapes capture by Holmes and even death before using his dark arts to plot against a higher power.
The detective duo’s partnership works beautifully without edging towards stereotype or cliché, Downey Jnr. has said of playing Holmes that he likes the ‘weirdo’ in him, and that is conveyed in several scenes, no less when he plays the violin to co-ordinate a gang of flies.
These quirky moments are joined with pieces of humour and subtlety not necessarily seen in Ritchie’s films before, but are joined by some more familiar action sequences though these are well thought out and allow us to see inside Holmes’ brilliant mind.
The action slows and we are given a voiceover by Holmes’ that spells out his plan of attack, each stage is carried out, time rewinds back to the point of the narration beginning, and we see his plan carried out in full flow.
The device is clever and adds to the fight sequences detail that otherwise might overwhelm, along with the sprinkle of Holmes’ catchphrases and the few touches that make England in Holmes’ time so recognisable, the setting of the film is just right.
The story itself feels very Holmes, with nearly all of the revealing towards the film’s climax, and there is no Columbo reveal for the audience at the beginning so the viewer travels with Holmes and Watson as they unravel this seemingly unearthly villain to the summit of his megalomaniac scheme.
Guy Ritchie mentioned Batman Begins whilst making this film, in relation to how a franchise reboot should be, and although Holmes may not be as deep and dramatic as the Christopher Nolan work, this movie is on parity in terms of humour, performances and enjoyment.

The Men Who Stare At Goats

Hi!

Apologies for no new posts recently, this is due to a family emergency. Hopefully the following review of 'The Men Who Stare At Goats' starring George Clooney and Ewan McGregor will make amends.

Mark A.

'The Men Who Stare At Goats'

By Mark Allaway

This was the second film I have ever been to see after seeing just one trailer- and as the first was Michael Mann's 'Miami Vice' remake I didn't have high hopes.
I was pleasantly surprised at this film which quite simply should be taken as seriously, or otherwise, as it takes itself.
The Men Who Stare At Goats, based on a novel by Jon Ronson, is a film seemingly about a war reporter looking for redemption from a failed relationship by burying himself in his job and getting the next big scoop from Iraq.
In the process he meets Lyn Sanders, a man who claims to have been part of a US military programme training soldiers as physic spies- or 'Jedi Warriors'.
Yes you read correctly, and with no sense of sarcasm, 'Jedi Warriors'. And yes this stars Ewan McGregor- Obi Wan Kenobi himself.
The Star Wars references are vast- from the blatant name droppings of 'Jedi' to a marvellously framed shot of Jeff Bridges looking like Qui-Gon Jinn and George Clooney looking like Anakin Skywalker.
There are other intertextual puns, including one of the greatest comedy lines McGregor must have ever produced- 'The Silence of the Goats' sounds corny but should have you in stitches.
Realistically I found myself asking what the film's plot actually was when I left the cinema, but to question this film is to drain it of its genius.
Director Grant Heslov directs some big names here, and gets a stellar comedy performance from Stephen Lang who as General Hopgood is my favourite character here- he can be seen in the trailer running into a wall.
Everyone here plays their role, from McGregor's surprising American accent, Clooney's turn between making his character seem crazy then deep, Hopgood's pure look of bedazzlement and Bridges' hippy character Bill just the icing on the cake.
The de-bleated goats, LSD and one-armed cheating bosses will no doubt have you raising an eyebrow or two in this film, at the ending in particular no doubt, but at the end of the day which do you prefer at the cinema- to laugh or to understand?

A surprisingly quirky film, with a feel of indie about it in its messages and plot devices, humorously brought to life by its fine cast.
4/5 ****