X-Men: First Class...will be the BEST movie of the summer (2011)!

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Getting a 78 at metacritic. More than respectable. They've only got four reviews clocked in right now though. Be curious to see the score after they've added some more.

http://www.metacritic.com/movie/x-men-first-class/critic-reviews

It's getting a 65 now on 37 reviews (and an 87% on RT ). Still respectable. I'm sure it's great for fans.

I'll pick it up as a rental. Outside of watching the cartoon growing up, I neverr got into the series (though it's never too late and I probably should.) Personally I want to see some sort of adaptation of Gaiman's Sandman. Not sure how that would work on the screen thoigh (def needs to be TV).

[Conn]

****ing. Amazing. My only gripes are very, very small, and the great, atmospheric tone and excellence of the movie in general outweigh it.

But they are (spoilers):

Magnet's costume at the end of the movie. Kinda corny, even if its pretty accurate. The shirt was just ghey.

Their use of Havok (Alex Summers) in the movie. He is supposed to be Scott Summers' (Cyclops) younger brother, and that time-line just doesn't work at all. I mean, I guess it does if we're pretending that as comics get older, what's "modern" day doesn't change and "modern" day would be the 70's, or something.

So basically, they've made it impossible to continue this series in "modern" times, they'd have to make them all period pieces, if they were to continue re-booting the series. Which they probably won't, since another story of this magnitude doesn't really exist. The conflict/relationship between Charles and Eric anchored this movie and made it more than a superhero movie, and that's been used up now.

[Thinking Skins]

I liked it, but it just didn't hit home with me.

<spoiler>(I guess)

One thing is that I didn't like Magneto. He seemed to be too "happy" if that makes sense. Its like he was supposed to be all evil, intelligent and sinister, but I swear I could see a smile on the actor's face like he's proud/happy to be playing Magneto.....Other things...where's Juggernaut? I learned a different first class (but no biggie, I guess). I just really didn't fall in love with any of this first class of mutants. Sure they have powers, but they're not Storm, Cyclops, Angel, Iceman?

And I thought we'd figure out actually what made the helmet, but is that too much to ask? And whoever made it only made one? And it magically has the powers to resist telepathy? And Magneto couldn't control it, which means its not made of metal? That left me confused as hell. I coulda swore that Professor X build Cerebro. Now if the CIA has it can't anybody with telepathic powers use it to find the mutants?

But like I said, I think these were all minor things. Well the helmet kinda bugs me a little. But I would probably give this 3. stars out of 5. Its a good movie that I'd watch and it has a good story, but I'm just not in love with any of the characters enough to put it anywhere special. I really wish I could have fallen in love with Magneto's character because he's probably my favorite mutant. And he just didn't do it for me in this movie.

[TK]

This movie kinda came out of nowhere to me. Maybe I just hadn't been paying attention or something but I hadn't even heard anything about this until maybe 2-3 weeks ago.

Anyways, as someone who grew up reading Uncanny X-Men, why the hell are guys like Havok & Banshee in this & not the actual original first team of Cyclops,Jean, Angel, Beast, & Iceman? And if the Blackbird is in this, are the Shi'ar or do they leave them out of it?

Trailer does look pretty damn good but it just looks like revised history to fit someone's "cool story".

[Conn]

<Spoilers>

Weird, I really loved how Magneto was portrayed.

I will say that Juggernaut is missing, here. Because he's supposed to be Xavier's half-brother. He could already be locked up, for all we know. I thought that whole Mkraan (sp?) crystal thing happened when they were teenagers. And Xavier obviously knows that other mutants are out there, discovering Raven at such a young age (that relationship was interesting, not sure that exists in any comics though).

On the original X-Men...well, Xavier is way too young here to have found them yet. You notice that this first "class" of mutants aren't actually called the first X-Men...because that name was made up at the end of the movie, after all that. And some of them died. So to me, this is like a trial run for Xavier. And now that Xavier has his Mansion all secret, and Hank to re-build the jet, etc., that's where I see the "real" X-Men coming in. That's why Havok and Banshee being in the movie sucked, because he throws off the time-line completely. I imagine Xavier and Magneto taking years to build up their teams now, with Xavier finding Scott and Jean in a few years, etc. Wolverine has lots of stuff he needs to go through before he stumbles into the X-Men as a completed unit, and that's a while in the future.

So to me, this was very pre-"classic" X-Men, and was meant to be. It centered around Charles and Erik because many of those other characters are too recognizable for a re-boot, to have the movie not really focus on their stories.

Also, I imagine that it would be quite easy for Charles to wipe the minds of all the military officials, etc. that know about Cerebro and swipe it, the design/specs of the jet, etc. Especially since he has Beast.

Either way, none of it is consistent with the comics, I'm sure. Still a better movie than ANY in the original trilogy, though.

[Chachie]

Anyways, as someone who grew up reading Uncanny X-Men, why the hell are guys like Havok & Banshee in this & not the actual original first team of Cyclops,Jean, Angel, Beast, & Iceman? And if the Blackbird is in this, are the Shi'ar or do they leave them out of it?

Trailer does look pretty damn good but it just looks like revised history to fit someone's "cool story".

The movie kicked ass. I was too was troubled by the line-up not being the real original team but the dynamic between Charles and Erik was amazing and this overrode my distraction about the team. Beast was really cool too.

[Spartacus87]

QUOTE=Thinking Skins;8328587]I liked it, but it just didn't hit home with me.

<spoiler>(I guess)

One thing is that I didn't like Magneto. He seemed to be too "happy" if that makes sense. Its like he was supposed to be all evil, intelligent and sinister, but I swear I could see a smile on the actor's face like he's proud/happy to be playing Magneto

I never got this feeling at all.

In fact, Michael Fassbender is getting rave reviews for his portrayal of Magneto. Maybe you saw the blooper edition of the movie instead of the real one.

And I thought we'd figure out actually what made the helmet, but is that too much to ask? And whoever made it only made one? And it magically has the powers to resist telepathy? And Magneto couldn't control it, which means its not made of metal? That left me confused as hell.

Here's the answer to your helmet questions: who cares?

Literally none of that is important to the story of this film.

How did Beast learn how to fly a prototype jet like the Blackbird? Is it simply because he's just that smart, or did they just choose not to show him learning how to fly a jet? What was the Blackbird made out of? Where did Sebastian Shaw get a submarine, and how do the other mutants in the Hellfire Club know how to operate a submarine? So many questions the film didn't answer!

And if they did decide to answer anything about the helmet and where it came from...I don't know, maybe they'd save some of that for a possible sequel?

I coulda swore that Professor X build Cerebro. Now if the CIA has it can't anybody with telepathic powers use it to find the mutants?

Yes, another mutant with the same level of telepathic strength as Professor X. Good luck to the CIA finding that person. Especially considering they're terrified of mutants by the end of the film and don't want to work with any.

[88Comrade2000]

The director already said he changed things a little.

I read one review where the reviewer suggested Michael Fassbender be the next James Bond when Daniel Craig gives up the role.

[Hiro]

Amazing film. Easily ... EASILY the best X-Men movie made, and potentially one of the best "comic" movies made.

They really nailed the timeline, and I LOVED the portrayals of Professor Xavier and Magneto. While the timelines of Havok, Banshee and Emma Frost don't make sense in the original comic terms, I'm okay with the alterations since they did include mutants that were really under represented.

Spoiler:

LOVED the Wolverine appearance.

[Thinking Skins]

I never got this feeling at all.

In fact, Michael Fassbender is getting rave reviews for his portrayal of Magneto. Maybe you saw the blooper edition of the movie instead of the real one.

I can't talk about other people's opinion of him. Only giving my thoughts on the movie.

Here's the answer to your helmet questions: who cares?

Literally none of that is important to the story of this film.

How did Beast learn how to fly a prototype jet like the Blackbird? Is it simply because he's just that smart, or did they just choose not to show him learning how to fly a jet? What was the Blackbird made out of? Where did Sebastian Shaw get a submarine, and how do the other mutants in the Hellfire Club know how to operate a submarine? So many questions the film didn't answer!

And if they did decide to answer anything about the helmet and where it came from...I don't know, maybe they'd save some of that for a possible sequel?

See, if the movie had been named anything else, I'd be like cool. But this reminds me of when Wolverene went from being James to Logan and we got no explanation for it. I care about this stuff. Thats a powerful ass helmet because it blocks Professor X's powers. Are we to assume it just randomly appears out of nowhere. People weren't actually creating it to stop those powers? I find that really hard to believe and it kinda puts a sour taste in my mouth.

As far as beast flying the blackbird, that was at least addressed in the movie, "I designed it, of course I can fly it". I'll admit, when I heard that line, and especially when I saw Beast's initial experiments go wrong with the dna stuff, the wings for Banshee. But he really got the Cerebro right the first time and the blackbird? Thats not a big deal to me though. Maybe others will stress about it, but I'm willing to give it a pass.

Yes, another mutant with the same level of telepathic strength as Professor X. Good luck to the CIA finding that person. Especially considering they're terrified of mutants by the end of the film and don't want to work with any.

The thing is that in the earlier X-Men, when Jean Grey uses Cerebro it injures her. Beast designing it seems cool, but the whole question about the CIA having its powers just puzzled me.

I'm not saying its a bad movie, but these are just the queezy feelings that I had walking out of the movie.

Oh yeah, I REALLY didn't like Professor X (really everybody's, but Professor X's in particular) treatment of Mystique's blue skin. Isn't his thing supposed to be about being proud of who you are and your abiliities? Yet he's telling her to try to fit in? In sequels I do wonder how he's going to treat Beast? Is he now going to call Beast ugly for being blue? What about nightcrawler if he makes it into later movies? That had me mad that Magneto was the ONLY voice of reason on this subject. The professor X I grew to love as a kid was the one who accepted everybody. Maybe he grows into that role (I mean he's basically a kid in the movie), but I didn't like that part of the movie either.

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

@Thinking Skins

I think your problem is that you have preconceived notions about these characters. You'd be better off approaching this film as if you'd never heard of the X-Men.

Much easier that way.

[Thinking Skins]

<Spoilers>

So to me, this was very pre-"classic" X-Men, and was meant to be. It centered around Charles and Erik because many of those other characters are too recognizable for a re-boot, to have the movie not really focus on their stories.

Yeah, I really had no problem with it centering around Charles and Erik, as this is the story I've wanted told for a while now. I loved the attention it received. I have mixed feelings about the new mutant class. I feel like the movie overall would have been deeper if it showed some of the other characters we love, but at the same time a Cyclops character would have taken away from the Charles and Eric friendship thing because of the attention he'd demand.

One thing that this movie did REALLY well that Wolverine did horribly is showing the conflict between humans and mutants. This is one of the driving forces behind Professor X and Magneto's personality so it couldn't be ignored. Wolverine was basically a BS action movie with no underlying concept of societal treatment of mutants and that REALLY pissed me off. The concept of morality takes on a different meaning in X-Men because you're forced to wonder if it means eternal optimism ala Professor X, or survival of the fittest ala Magneto.

Also, I imagine that it would be quite easy for Charles to wipe the minds of all the military officials, etc. that know about Cerebro and swipe it, the design/specs of the jet, etc. Especially since he has Beast.

Possibly. But still (and this may be me jumping the gun a bit), did Beast say that it enhances the power all mutants? I seem to remember Emma Frost saying that Azazel's power had been increased and thats how she knew they were recruiting.

Either way, none of it is consistent with the comics, I'm sure. Still a better movie than ANY in the original trilogy, though.

I don't know if I'd put this above X2 or even X-men really. Its definitely above X3 and Wolverine though.

---------- Post added June-4th-2011 at 08:08 AM ----------

@Thinking Skins

I think your problem is that you have preconceived notions about these characters. You'd be better off approaching this film as if you'd never heard of the X-Men.

Much easier that way.

Really, thats what I was trying to do, but its just like with Jean Grey in X3 or Rogue in X-men and X2, there are certain lines I don't want crossed and Professor X being so judgmental is one of them. Magneto smiling at the camera is one of them.

I honestly think it was a good movie and I'm glad I saw it. I just don't think its time to put this in the HOF of comic book movies. People were saying this was better than Batman Begins or Dark Night and I just don't see that. Given both have their disagreements with historical stuff, Christian Bale made me fall in love with that character. Nobody in this movie made me fall in love here. Take that back I fell in love with Kevin Bacon's character, but he dies.

[Larry]

How did Beast learn how to fly a prototype jet like the Blackbird? Is it simply because he's just that smart, or did they just choose not to show him learning how to fly a jet? What was the Blackbird made out of? Where did Sebastian Shaw get a submarine, and how do the other mutants in the Hellfire Club know how to operate a submarine?

Same reason Captain Kirk (Or Buck Rogers, for that matter) can walk up to an spaceship built by a race no human has ever met before, walk up to a control panel that has 127 colored, blinking buttons on it, none of which are labeled in any way, not even with alien labels, and pilot the spaceship.

They're just that good.

[skinfan2k]

I just watched it. This movie was amazing. This is a 95 out of 100 for me

[Hiro]

Oh yeah, I REALLY didn't like Professor X (really everybody's, but Professor X's in particular) treatment of Mystique's blue skin. Isn't his thing supposed to be about being proud of who you are and your abiliities? Yet he's telling her to try to fit in? In sequels I do wonder how he's going to treat Beast? Is he now going to call Beast ugly for being blue? What about nightcrawler if he makes it into later movies? That had me mad that Magneto was the ONLY voice of reason on this subject. The professor X I grew to love as a kid was the one who accepted everybody. Maybe he grows into that role (I mean he's basically a kid in the movie), but I didn't like that part of the movie either.

I didn't get that impression at all. <<SPOILER ALERTS!!!!>>

Professor X's talk of Mystique's appearance mostly was due to her disdain for her appearance. He even said "Hank has a solution for your supposed cosmetic problem." Never did he once make a mention of not liking Mystique's look, that was Hank. The only reason he was surprised in the kitchen near the end was the fact that she was naked. Considering their brother/sister relationship, that'd be like seeing your sister just standing there talking to you in the buff. I know I'd be like "put some damn clothes on."

James McAvoy's portrayal of Professor X was dead accurate, as he accepted and loved all the mutants, but merely saw them as equals with humans. Hell, he loved seeing Hank's feet. Magneto's love of Mystique's true apperance was more of his own love for anything and everything mutant. To him, mutants are homo superior. So for someone like Mystique, who is so very mutant in every way, of course he's going to find her beautiful. Just like how he even commented that Hank never looked better when he became Beast.

[Hubbs]

Saw it tonight. Really liked it. I assume there will be sequels, because I'm sure it will kill at the box office.

Don't stay after the credits, though. About 1/4 of my theater did. There wasn't an additional scene.

[CoolUsernameHere]

First Class was a bunch of fun. It's no Dark Knight, but great as far as action films go. McAvoy and Fassbender's performances were top-notch.

Can't wait for more to come from this series. I expect this series, like the Nolan Batman series, will improve quite a bit with the second installment. Now the fun can really begin since the introduction and explanation are out of the way.

[DarrellsMyHero28]

I am seriously confused by what I am reading in this thread.

The writing for this movie was absolute garbage. The only explanation I can think of is that someone paid the writer per cheesy line and cliche.

I literally facepalmed myself. I was so disappointed in the script and the **** like "No, not G-men...more like...X-men" type lines.

Not happy with this movie.

[boysetsfire]

People keep saying it's easily the best X-Men movie out there. Isn't that not saying much about this movie?? Anyway I haven't watched it and I hated all the other X-Men movies.

[DM72]

Saw it tonight. Really liked it. I assume there will be sequels, because I'm sure it will kill at the box office.

Don't stay after the credits, though. About 1/4 of my theater did. There wasn't an additional scene.

If you were the "best boy" wouldn't you want people to see your name.

[Hubbs]

If you were the "best boy" wouldn't you want people to see your name.

Huh?

[DM72]

Huh?

You never heard of the best boy?

[styx491]

In a film crew there are two kinds of best boy: best boy electric and best boy grip. They are assistants to their department heads, the gaffer and the key grip, respectively.

[CoolUsernameHere]

I am seriously confused by what I am reading in this thread.

The writing for this movie was absolute garbage. The only explanation I can think of is that someone paid the writer per cheesy line and cliche.

I literally facepalmed myself. I was so disappointed in the script and the **** like "No, not G-men...more like...X-men" type lines.

Not happy with this movie.

I agree, there were definitely some flaws in the movie. There were definitely some cheesy lines, and January Jones was terrible. But I enjoyed the movie nonetheless.

[Hubbs]

You never heard of the best boy?

No, I have no idea what you're talking about. (Really. Now I feel dumb. Fill me in?)