Read Mixed User Reviews for X-Men: First Class

5

JollyG87Dec 13, 2011

There was a good movie here somewhere, but it got lost when the studio hired 4 writers to helm the script. The main problem with this new X-Men movie is that it's all over the place. It's all over the place with its characters, its story, andThere was a good movie here somewhere, but it got lost when the studio hired 4 writers to helm the script. The main problem with this new X-Men movie is that it's all over the place. It's all over the place with its characters, its story, and its style. The main reason is that no scene lasts more than a few minutes. The movie jumps around so much that it's difficult to get involved. It was like the makers had three hours of material, and they were pressured by the studio to assemble a movie that was under two and a half hours. Because of this, the movie jumps around from scene to scene, and none of the characters get any moment to shine. The movie desperately tries in vain to get us to care about them though. The dialogue gives off this manipulatively sappy vibe to it, and director Vaughn accompanies it with some overly dramatic music. Speaking of Vaughn, I didn't really care for a whole lot of his directorial choices. He messes around with too many styles. Sometimes the movie feels like a live action comic book, and other times it goes for a campy Indiana Jones/James Bond vibe. It's like Vaughn didn't have a clear vision for how he wanted to tell the story. There's also a lot of unintentionally awkward moments that Vaughn could have fixed by presenting them in a different way. But "First Class" isn't all flaws. There's some neat visual effects, Fassbender plays an amazing Magneto, and Kevin Bacon plays one of the X-Men's most menacing villains yet, Sebastian Shaw. When the script doesn't suck, Jennifer Lawrence also has a few nice moments as Mystique. And there are a few moments where Vaughn's style meshes with the rest of the movie. But other than that, X-Men: First Class ends up being squandered potential. It would be nice for once in a comic book movie where the makers stop worrying about covering all of the bases, and instead, focus on a compelling story with rich characters to leave us wanting to come back for more.… Expand

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

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6

MarcDoyleJun 3, 2011

Much of the movie is fun, exciting, and dramatic (the first half), but the second half just becomes- to borrow the word used by a couple pro critics - tedious. January Jones and Kevin Bacon actually bring a lot to the table, which wasMuch of the movie is fun, exciting, and dramatic (the first half), but the second half just becomes- to borrow the word used by a couple pro critics - tedious. January Jones and Kevin Bacon actually bring a lot to the table, which was completely unexpected. (If only some idiot didn't shout "Kevin Bacon!" every time he opened a scene at my midnight show - followed by giggles). And James McAvoy is terrific. Based on his prior performances, I expected more from Michael Fassbender, though. He was so good in FishTank and Inglourious Basterds, but he feels a little wasted here. Setting it in the 60's is effective, but The Watchmen (another "period piece") just felt SO much more authentic and engaging to me - the story had more focus. The X-Men: FC story is just a little too scattered and untethered. There are some fun cameos, incidentally. And do not bother to sit through the end credits - there's nothing there. Bummer.… Expand

4 of 7 users found this helpful43

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6

grandpajoe6191Sep 21, 2011

"X Men: First Class", similar to "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", is a movie that presents the origin of its subject to the audience. Its a good summer blockbuster flick, but its over-concentration on the raging battle between two separate"X Men: First Class", similar to "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", is a movie that presents the origin of its subject to the audience. Its a good summer blockbuster flick, but its over-concentration on the raging battle between two separate sides (Mutants v.s Bad guys) may leave some audiences baffled or annoyed.… Expand

4 of 7 users found this helpful43

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6

jhcsmithJun 13, 2011

Not a particularly good film, but it is entertaining. Action scenes are engaging, but the dialogue is dull and the story line is average at best. McAvoy and Fassbender were stand outs whilst Bacon was poor. Certainly not as good as I had hoped.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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5

Rox22Jan 4, 2013

As a stand alone film, completely ignoring canon, it's pretty decent. Anyone not knowing a thing about the series outside of the movies will likely highly enjoy it. But, as an avid fan of the comic book series, this movie just takes FAR tooAs a stand alone film, completely ignoring canon, it's pretty decent. Anyone not knowing a thing about the series outside of the movies will likely highly enjoy it. But, as an avid fan of the comic book series, this movie just takes FAR too many liberties and makes very little sense. Kevin Bacon did a good job with Sebastian Shaw's character and portrays him well, but just did not represent (visually) him that well (not to mention his horrific German. His pronunciation was extremely cringe worthy to anyone who speaks German.) McAvoy & Fassbender are fantastic in their roles and do an almost perfect job of showing Magneto & Xavier in their early days. Everyone else ....... can just be forgotten. I thought this movie is made purely for entertainment and it seems to me that very little thought went into its writing, at least in terms of being true to its source material. While I appreciate what they were trying to do, they should have rather sold it as a reboot rather than a prequel to the other movies. Overall: A huge disappointment to fans of the original comics, but very good for everyone else. (At least it was better than Last Stand.)… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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5

DarmenJul 4, 2011

Not as good as the previous films but a decent movie nonetheless. The characters of Charles Xavier and Eric Lehnsherr shine while the rest are just passable. Still an entertaining flick and a solid installment.

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

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5

blokJun 5, 2011

Fassbender and McAvoy are good, Bacon and January Jones are not. The rest are just mediocre, probably due to the generally bad dialogue. Some of the action/cgi is good (Magneto, Azazel, Havoc, Shaw's absorption of energy), other is notFassbender and McAvoy are good, Bacon and January Jones are not. The rest are just mediocre, probably due to the generally bad dialogue. Some of the action/cgi is good (Magneto, Azazel, Havoc, Shaw's absorption of energy), other is not (Cartoonish Beast, fake Emma Frost). The score is occasionally good (mostly during action sequences) but mostly intrusive, sentimental and manipulative. The interesting moral/ethical/social questions -- which IMO are the most compelling part of the X-Men franchise -- are handled with unfortunate shallowness.

Overall, while I am a fan of origin stories in general and this one in particular, the entire movie was so cheesy and superficial that it left me sort of annoyed. Itâ… Expand

4 of 11 users found this helpful47

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5

imaginarysoundsJun 11, 2011

X-Men First Class isn't nearly as good as people have been making it out to be, but it's nowhere near awful.

What's strange though is that it's almost 50/50. As if two decks of cards have been shuffled together, the movie gives equal partsX-Men First Class isn't nearly as good as people have been making it out to be, but it's nowhere near awful.

What's strange though is that it's almost 50/50. As if two decks of cards have been shuffled together, the movie gives equal parts competent acting (mostly from McAvoy and Fassbender, who quite honestly MAKE the movie), decent stories and character development / cheesy dialogue , nonsensical logic, and bad super hero movie cliches.

The movie is almost certainly better than X-Men 3 and the Wolverine movie, and so any fan of the first two X-Men should give it a shot. Just don't expect TOO much. The movie just doesn't know how to be consistent.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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4

DallasDogJun 5, 2011

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First, wow! They had legions of females in panties and bras in a non R movie, how did they do that? I guess they know their teenage boy audience pretty well. Writing? What writing? The plot was oddly compressed into short flashes of empty action, often repetitive dialog and outright dull in spots. The movie was uninterested in showing important elements in the character's development, most of the powerful moments in each character's life were hinted at for a moment before the plot rolled on. 4 screen writers in the credits -- it shows. The worst? (spoiler) When the young Magneto is urged then tortured by witnessing his mother's death into releasing his powers. How could he not use them against his mother's killer and eliminate him like he killed the guards? Instead he reluctantly bonds, we assume, since its never shown, with his tormentor, or at least passively goes off with him. Sort of set the mood for the rest of the movie's narrative. Mystique shows up naked and blue (at 11, pushing the exposure boundaries again) expelled from her previous life, which goes unseen and undescribed. Later, when other mutants are recruited then trained hurriedly, it feels forced and unimaginative, like the writers knew they had to include this to make any sense of the later movie but weren't worried about making it either interesting, funny, or believable. The worst tech effects were in the submarine, which seems more like a Hugh Hefner playboy palace underwater where crew members are casually clicking at crew stations, like they're waiting for dinner, not interested in the massive mayhem they intend to unleash. The Atomic power plant was absurd, nuff said. Finally, I have to vote Kevin Bacon the nicest, heartless, cruel bad guy in the movies. He has no electricity as an evil genius and his sudden acquisition of a mutant power feels like they'd shot the first half of the movie, then had a writer's conference and decided he needed one as well. All in all, shoddy work, showing how little respect Hollywood has for its customers and their ability to discern a quick and dirty script from a decent, well thought out one. Who's giving these people all this money? I do however, hope they keep stuffing in more hot ladies in bra and panties in these teen angst/super hero movies -- perhaps teen aged girls soon, sweaty and chattering as they change out of their skimpy cheerleader outfits -- a trend I feel most puberty wracked males have hoped for since their voices cracked and the girls around them began scowling at their lame, pimply, smiling attempts to hook up.… Expand

2 of 7 users found this helpful25

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4

Frmz84Jun 4, 2011

Really disappointed. Not b/c it was that bad, but b/c it had so much hype... "the next dark knight".... this was on par w/ the last x men wolverine origins film. There are a handful of sick scenes, but overall was kind of lame. Enjoyed ThorReally disappointed. Not b/c it was that bad, but b/c it had so much hype... "the next dark knight".... this was on par w/ the last x men wolverine origins film. There are a handful of sick scenes, but overall was kind of lame. Enjoyed Thor much more.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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6

ShiiraJul 23, 2011

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel is still alive. The eighty-two-year-old author, best known for "Night", a slim novel about his experiences in the concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald, is also widely known to be a vocal critic of the way the Nazi genocide of the Jews gets portrayed in the media. When NBC broadcasted the miniseries "Holocaust" in 1978, he called the television film "morally objectionable and indecent". As an addendum to Wiesel's assertion of television trivializing the six-million dead by filming the unfilmable, cultural historian Neal Gabler in "Imaginary Witness", agrees that the genocide narrative goes "beyond any traditional form," in which any depiction of the pogrom carried out by the Nazis is "a war between narrative and history". Has Wiesel seen "Inglourious Basterds", the 2009 film where narrative wins the war from the outset, since WWII gets reinvented by a post-modernist who utilizes the Jews as subordinates to a parallel history: movie history, which runs concurrent with their story of persecution, death, and in this case, revenge? Bypassing the iconography of victimization(ghettos, concentration camps) found in all Nazi-themed films, the Jews fight back in Tarantino's alternate take on WWII, as the film instead chooses to focus on a Hebrew commando team that specializes in the capturing and torturing of German POWs with gruesome acts of mutilation. While all holocaust-driven are largely predicated on large-scale killing and mass suffering, "Inglourious Basterds" has a filmic precedent that goes all the way back to the early-forties, an epoch when a Nazi-sympathizing Hollywood very rarely dealt honestly with the imminent German menace, but Charlie Chaplin directed, produced, and starred in "The Great Dictator", the first film about the imperiled Jews that mentioned them by name. Playing a barber who returns to the ghetto after a lengthy bout of amnesia, Chaplin fights the stormtroopers with slapstick, where in one scene, he dares to slap a soldier with a paintbrush, whitening the Aryan's face in the process, after the Jew balks at having to reproduce the 'W' in his race's namesake which he smudged off from a storefront window. Even better, Hannah, the Bear-Jew of her day, rather than swing a bat, whacks Nazis on the head, hard, with a frying pan. After her small victory, she tells the barber, "We should all fight back." In "X-Men: First Class", the filmmaker returns to Poland, 1944, where in the 2000 original, Magneto, then just a scared boy named Erik, reduces a gate into an iron heap through the unleashing of his telekinetic powers. For Wiesel, the comic book is the stuff of juvenilia. But to a younger generation, the comic book is viewed as the novel's equal, in which they would see no difference between "Night" and the Marvel origin story where the concentration camp setting of the scene is based on. By reappropriating the violence inherent in Nazi Germany through a comic book-based language, the "X-Men" saga challenges the hegemony of traditional film adaptations. A Nazi scientist named Sebastian shoots Eric's mother dead, which is par for the course in any film dealing with the holocaust, but unlike "Schindler's List", the shooting itself isn't the spectacle; it's the preamble to the summer movie pageant of CGI, as the traumatized boy inverts the file cabinet in the office, and sends objects flying around in the adjoining room. For all its contemporary trappings, in which "X-Men: First Class" borrows a Jewish trope that Tarantino himself pioneered(the holocaust survivor antihero), Erik kills Nazis in a film that's surprisingly reactionary, since it avoids using the word "Jew" to describe the people that he's avenging. It's coded. Whereas a WWII-era film such as "The Mortal Storm" substituted the racial label with the less-specific term "anti-Semitic", likewise, the "X-Men" saga uses "mutant" in place of the "J"-word in identifying Magneto as a Hebrew, perhaps for the reason that Hollywood wants to distance itself from its complicity in regard to the US government's isolationist stance leading up to the Pearl Harbor bombing. Interestingly enough, Chaplin wears a bucket which recalls the helmet Magneto is often outfitted with, in a scene where the barber and the SS officer hide themselves on a roof to escape capture. "Strange, I always thought of you as an Aryan," he tells the barber in an earlier scene, where the Nazi puts a stop to a ghetto liquidation already in progress. In essence, that's what Eric has become, both a Jew and a "great dictator"(Chaplin also plays the Fuhrer). Just before Magneto makes his getaway by helicopter in "X-Men", there's a cutaway to the American flag, a symbol that gains greater significance in the film's climax, where the magnetic field that he creates from the Statue of Liberty, has the potential of turning New York into one great crematorium.… Expand

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5

feardrinkerJun 12, 2011

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As has been said my many already, Fassbender and McAvoy are very good as the young Magneto and Prof. X. The others are decent to poor. The choice of mutants to include is curious; it seems like we could have done better than the pole dancer who spits acid and the kid who screams as he flies. Also, one kid (perhaps the most powerful of the bunch) has to do a hula-hoop motion to use his powers. Beast was a good inclusion, on the other hand. *** Ultimately this film feels very familiar, too familiar for me. In fact they lifted so many existing chunks from previous films (Bacon's character feels like a two-dimensional Magneto with no history and no motivation) I was disappointed. If the series is to retain my attention the filmmakers are going to have to explore themes that we haven't already seen in the previous installments. *** It says a lot that the audience's reaction (at the theatre I was at) was strongest for Jackman's cameo. Wolverine remains the most compelling character the series has to offer, and yet his story has already been told (regrettably by a hack director) in Origins: Wolverine. Where does the franchise go from here? My guess is further downhill. This is not a bad action/comic book movie; it is middle of the road or better and will appeal to a broad audience. However it not great. Those of us desiring the best X Men film experience are still left with re-watching the first and second installments.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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5

JamesLJun 13, 2011

My review is slightly biased as I am not a follower of the series. I had seen one film at least 5 years ago and was not all that thrilled. In fact, I don't remember which one it was which bothered the male groupie who went with us. That said,My review is slightly biased as I am not a follower of the series. I had seen one film at least 5 years ago and was not all that thrilled. In fact, I don't remember which one it was which bothered the male groupie who went with us. That said, I enjoyed the escapism of a Sunday night but I thought the film was silly and cartonish. I found the teenagers behind me enjoying it greatly. At least Kevin Bacon did not look as silly as Ian McCallum did in the other film I saw. That hat looked ridiculos on him.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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6

TVJerryJun 7, 2011

This prequel details how the mutant coalition got started. After Professor X and Magneto discover each other, they set about recruiting young people with special powers (some of which are pretty inane). It starts out promisingly withThis prequel details how the mutant coalition got started. After Professor X and Magneto discover each other, they set about recruiting young people with special powers (some of which are pretty inane). It starts out promisingly with compelling backstory and interesting characters, but soon barrels into predictability and noisy videogame combat. While some of the effects manage to dazzle, others are just dumb. Overall, it's not bad, but not in any way outstanding.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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5

RoeylJun 4, 2011

Disappointing. The movie's main flaw is the lack of real action scenes. Of course you have plenty of scenes with mutants showing off their super powers, but there isn't ANY combat scenes! All you have are great special effects with powerfulDisappointing. The movie's main flaw is the lack of real action scenes. Of course you have plenty of scenes with mutants showing off their super powers, but there isn't ANY combat scenes! All you have are great special effects with powerful mutant powers but that's it. On the other hand, what kind of interesting confrontation can you develop with these abilities? Nothing seems to be the answer. The other X-Men had a lot more punch, simply because mutants like Wolverine are more charismatic and can actually get into combat! (His appearance was nice by the way, though short). The rest of the movie was okay, but the story sometimes seemed to get lost. All in all, X-Men: First Class is not a bad movie, but isn't great either. I think it could have been much better, like its trailer was.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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4

RogerSmith97Jun 14, 2011

This Film Is The Worst In The X Men Series.. The Acting Is So So But The Plot BLUCK! Overall I Score This Movie A 4

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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4

melchaiosJun 5, 2011

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm really puzzled by all the high reviews. To me it looks like every new x-men release is worse than the last. They're more cheessy, inacurate and mediocre with each release; and worse of all, they contradict themselves (do they not watch their own pictures to give some coherence to the story for christ sake?). Xavier is shown on his two feet in wolverine origins, but it turns out he got crippled here?; xavier and mystique are like-siblings and they didn't even say hello to each other in the original films?; xavier and magneto are still shown as buddies when they went looking for the young jean grey, and in this film they already parted ways?; beast and mystique are 60+ f****ing years old in the last movies?. X-men selection is also weak, Havoc is only interesting one but handled poorly, beast and mystique are good but only as sidekicks, they're not good enough to support a central role; banshee is bad choice, pixie too (why did they call her "angel" in the movie anyway?), and who the hell is Darwin and why did they sacrificed him like many other african american sidekicks in movies? (that's just weak and stereotyped scripting, i'm sorry). CGI is adequate at best, shaw, magneto, azazel, diamond ema frost are among the best; kitten beast, banshee's scream, and havoc's ula-ula power among the worst. Some actors keep the movie floating, I liked Kevin Bacon, evil yet charming and speaks german well, Fassbender really surprised me, McAvoy is adequate (although he played a rather gay Xavier). Marvel, give the x-men saga a rest, focus on Avengers, and in a couple of years give x-men a reboot; by now I think it's unlikely you'll raise it again… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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6

alienchaosJun 20, 2011

This one was so much better than the first 3 by that other hack of a director who absolutely ruined the franchise name with the 3rd one. While the stupid soldiers, captains, generals and other political leaders was way overdone and in no wayThis one was so much better than the first 3 by that other hack of a director who absolutely ruined the franchise name with the 3rd one. While the stupid soldiers, captains, generals and other political leaders was way overdone and in no way realistic, the flavor and spirit of the X Men was there to some extent. Magneto and Prof X are much more appropriately aged, the mutant powers are fairly realistic (although there a couple of goofy instances such as with Beast and Angel Salvadore). The movie started out edgy but unfortunately didn't carry that ideal all of the way through. The first half is much better than the second half. I have a wait and see attitude with this one and expect a lot from the second one which I'm sure will come in a couple of years. It's no current Batman iteration but there may be hope...… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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6

rnnbrwnJun 4, 2012

Fassbender and McAvoy are brilliant but it's a wee bit of a boring, clichÃ©d story, with the young X-Men providing very little in the way of storyline. Good fun, though.