Ö÷²¥´óÐã

"eye candy, as opposed to any form of brain substance"

lol, keep it up Dr. K

X-Men: No Class!

I couldn't agree more. A wasted opportunity. It seems that this franchise reboot couldn't be shoehorned with the much needed Vaughn/Goldman sensibility required to make it worthy of our time and their involvement.

Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman are talented individuals both of whom, on the evidence of X-Men: First Class, should immediately move on to something more deserving. If they must stick to comic book action beats, thats fine by me, but perhaps just push on with 'Kick-Ass 2: Balls To The Wall' or perhaps some other original property.

Hasn't Mr Goldman (Ross) got a whole heap of fresh comic material just sitting about, littering up their kitchen? 'Turf' or 'Golden Age', anyone?

So a better title would have been X-men: Economy class?

I could not disagree more with Kermode's review.

I found it to be one of the best, if not the best film of 2011 so far.

The acting ranged from good to great and each of the characters got the right amount of screen time to justify their involvement in the film. The serious sections of the film were effective, as was the use of humour throughout, and I thought that the seriousness and the humour mixed together perfectly fine. While it was a little over 2-hours in duration I enjoyed it from the first minute until the last, I was never bored and none of the film dragged for me. There were areas that could have been improved upon, but no film is flawless and every film has room from improvement. It was everything I expected it to be going in and I was in no way disappointed with it as I left the cinema; better than the first and the third X-Men film and about as good as the second.

this review is going to divide people more than most.
cool.

Please let this mean that its OK.

I fell a little in love with Michael Fassbender watching Centurion and so have since watched everything I can find with him. The last three films I sat through were 300, Jonah Hex, and Inglorious all of which were the worst films I've seen in a long time. Please let this one be good or even OK.

Just have to say that I'm really admiring the authentic 1940s atmosphere of the clothes and hairstyles shown in the still. Also, Mystique was apparently 70 years old in the first two X-Men movies? Hm.

This film needed to be more of a reboot than a prequel. The nature of the source material works more as a soap rather than a self-contained three part story structure. If Eastenders had started halfway through its story, which was then followed by a prequel series which 'explained' how the characters found themselves in their contemporary setting it would look completely barmy. By tying themselves to Singer's original trilogy this new planned trilogy is going to turn itself inside out trying to join these stories together, which cannot leave any space for anything other than massive exposition.

Sapphire77@3

X-men: Economy class?

Nice.

"Is it particularly hot?"
"...Just for the women."

(Great exchange.)

I had about the same reaction as Dr. K had to XMFC. I also agree with Fwipit's soap assessment. The X-Men comics have always been that way; soap opera for kids. Open ended, never ending stories.
Mark seemed to shrug off the first cameo moment (there were two... the other involved Mystique). I don't think dropping an F-bomb in an X-Men movie is appropriate. That's just me. The actor's only purpose in making the cameo was to get a gratuitous laugh. They could have gotten that without profanity. It didn't even make sense given the fact that the two people approaching this person could control minds and control metal. There would be no reason for them to be afraid of this person.

I guess I can't really talk about this without dropping spoilers. Here's my own amateur review, but keep in mind there may be a few minor spoilers:

Was really interested to hear The Good Doctor's verdict on this one. After watching it, my friends and I got into quite a lively debate- delighted to see Mark coming down firmly on my side- the mixture of camp and serious *does* make for somewhat jarring cinema.

That said, I think this is a rather more interesting film than he gives credit. See, in comics the aforementioned cavalcade of tonal juxtaposition is not only common but, I would go so far as to say, intrinsicly part of the medium. Placing a brutal apocalyptic vision on one page, and a scantily-clad wise-cracking heroine on the next underlines both as archetypes and adds tension (in the artsy sense of the word) to the work as a whole.

My hunch is that this is Goldman and Vaughn's second attempt to do a wholesale import of the emotional grammar of comics into cinema. I don't think it was noticable in Kick-Ass (agreed: great movie!), where the tonal juxtaposition was sort of the point; but here- without parody to marry the two onscreen- it seems I'm not the only one who finds it hard to watch.

My friends loved it though, so perhaps the style has a future- perhaps this is just the comic genre finally coming out of its shell.

Thing is, the only way to do this is with a page 1 re-boot.

Too much of the old X-Men movies still loom over this film's style, feel and tone. It's the whole business of trying to link these movies to the existing movies as some sort of series.

The simple fact is that there really is ONE way to do this (and Nolan has proved it by example) a full re-boot after drawing a clean line under ALL the the old X Men movies.

X Men could be done with more realism and thus would be taken more seriously but with the action blockbuster credentials intact. It's worked for Batman and X Men is one of those that could be successful in this respect.

I felt the Holocaust beginning was actually the best part of ALL the X Men movies and it was a great place to start things from. Problem was that all this got shelved and we ended up with horrible costumes, over-laden, CGI heavy action and no resolution of ideas.

There are moments of brilliance in this series but they always fall short of the mark that X Men could and should be hitting.

Never really ' got into' the whole X Men thing if I'm being honest, but toddled along to watch it last night as most of the cinema's still seem to be in half term mode with little to interest me personally. I was pleasantly surprised, kept me interested with some half decent action, and thought Fassbender and Bacon stole the show.

Will see XMFC this weekend (couldn't make it last night). I'm going to see it purely for James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. Who cares about plot? Not me! I'm happy to be shallow and proud and just go with the flow watching this popcorn fluff.

everything i do in life, i fail.

For me it is a mixed bag, on one hand it is conflicted film that doesn't know whether it is a Magneto: Origins film or an X-Men film. So for the first hour of the film there is a tug of war between the ideas probably a result of a screen play that was re-written twice and Bryan Singer's role in the production team.
So for me it is not an X-Men film, there is even a point in the film where the kids are just shoved into a room together whilst the everyone figures out what to do with them.

On the other hand it is solid Sci-fi/Comic Book fare, the effects are impressive and the look of the film has a lush 60's aesthetic. Fassbender and Lawrence are worth watching for too.

And finally it's another Marvel Film adaptation that is effectively selling its sequels before without having a firm foot in the here and now.

6oclockman: "Just have to say that I'm really admiring the authentic 1940s atmosphere of the clothes and hairstyles shown in the still. Also, Mystique was apparently 70 years old in the first two X-Men movies? Hm. "


The movie takes place in the 60's,the cuban missile crisis happened in 1962.

I understand everyone has the right to a view and the good doctors i respect more than most but what are people going on about here...
If i had never seen an X Men movie in my life, i would have still enjoyed this and i consider myself fussy on a general level.

I found it both funny and serious in equal measure.. The Action was great and didn't look to bad. There are people in dodgy costumes. SO WHAT YOU NUMPTIES! Its a costume drama for comic geeks, get over yourselves...

I've been to alot of films that are two hours of just complete boredom (Pirates of the Carribbean 3 being the worst i've experienced), this kept me captivated all the way through.

To 6oclockman.. if you were paying attention it did say that Mystique was ageing at half the rate of a normal human, so at 70 she's nearer to 35..

I wish people would just accept Super Hero Movies for what they are... A bit of harmless fun...

I think my main thought coming out of this film was 'Good but could have been better'.

The scenes with Michael Fassbender are without doubt the best in the entire film though Kevin Bacon does a solid turn as the villain Sebastian Shaw. James McAvoy is also impressive as a younger Charles Xavier before he becomes the refined leader we are so used to seeing. Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult and January Jones (all very very good actors/actresses) do well in their roles but with the size of the current cast you get the feeling that they could be underused in the next two films.

The planned Magneto Origins film would have been a better bet and I think that had that happened we could have been in Batman Begins territory in quality terms for a comic book origins tale.

'The Dark Knight' raised the game for Marvel/DC/Dark Horse etc films and there was definitely a missed opportunity here though I feel 'First Class' has done more than enough to set up a very good trilogy.

Also on another note

Fassbender for the next James Bond?

I'm going to disagree with Dr Kermode (not for the first time),
I really liked this movie. Ok there were flaws, I was annoyed by how quickly Rose Byrne stripped off, and the generally scanty nature of the women's clothing. However as others have said this is a problem as much with the source material as with the film.
It was a difficult line to walk between the serious themes and the humour and costume camp. But I don't think it was unsuccessful, I really enjoyed it. I thought MacAvoy was great, striking just the right balance for the young Xavier, giving him more humour and likeability, showing his conviction yet avoiding the too saint-like portrayal in the previous films. Fassbender was excellent (although his wandering accent was a bit annoying) and the two played off each other really well, making you believe the friendship while forseeing how it would end. For me that was the most interesting part of the film. I enjoyed the development there and the evolution of Erik into Magneto and would have liked more. It was a little crowded with the newly recruited mutants but there was certainly enough to make you want to revisit them later. In fact I will be revisiting them later this evening, because I'm going again. Gotta love those two for one Wednesdays.

I've never been compelled to comment on here, but I thought I'd offer my opinion just to add some balance. I rarely disagree with Dr K. so I was super surprised when I heard his opinion. Like DJM and oletaolyta I REALLY liked this movie, and I also thought this is the best film of 2011 I have seen so far. There was an odd moment at the end when my friend and I sort of sat in silence thinking 'do you want to say it first, or shall I?', and then we both agreed it was amazing. Re: the costumes - I really found the costume design to be spot on for the tone of the film and they were consistent with the comics (yes, even Emma Frost's underwear-as-outerwear and the furry cat-Beast). As a fan of the comics I was satisfied enough, but I really think the film just worked as a whole. The teen angst was balanced out really well with action and humour, and I think it does portray the message rather nicely, moreso than the other X-movies. The writing was amazing for most of the characters (I'll admit that there were a few flaws with regards to the supporting characters) and I particularly liked Mystique and Beast's developments. And whereas I thought Kick-Ass suffered from tonal whiplash (though I did like it despite that), First Class was consistent with its characters and subject matter and kept me entertained for its entirety (which is remarkable considering I tend to run away screaming at any film longer than 100 minutes).

"kick ass, that's a film"
Existentialist film critism from dr K?

Big Kermode fan but I am afraid I disagree slightly with this somewhat harsh review. I believe X-Men to be one of the 'better' superhero movies to tackle a big franchise. Yes, there are too many characters, a bit of cheesy dialogue here and there and to many women in bikinis BUT you have to commend Michael Vaughan for making a serious film that had lost steam interesting again!
The story is interesting and had me thinking of Watchman (which i like alot!, sorry Mark) the performances especially Fassbender and Bacon are brilliant, it was like Fassbender was born for the role hes has you gripped from start to finish! McAvoy is good and all the new fresh faces do make their parts there own especially Jenifer Lawrence as the new Mystiqe!
I thoroughly enjoyed X men and when it finished I really wanted it to kick into a sequel and i really do hope Vaughan is given another shot it really did make me smile alot and reminded me how good a franchise and how good a comic X-Men is!

I thought the film was good, but the ending seemed rushed, I think carrying on the shaky friendship between Professor X and Magneto into another movie would have been a better idea. It just seemed rushed , but I think it’s one of the better ‘superhero’ movies so far.

Concerning Kick Ass.Having just watched it again,third time lucky,I have come to the conclusion that it is possibly one of the most overated films of 2010.

You may think I have possibly overstudied the film with witnessing its third encounter,but no.I felt then it was a movie that was very cocksure of its self,over confident in oh so many ways.The fight scenes though were flash,in-your face and gory I couldnt help feel that it got midly repetive.The acting is good and N.Cage and Strong have good performances,no problem there.
But the biggest problem is that it an overated comic too.Miller has a good history with making some comics different,Old Man Logan comes to mind,though the ending issues left alot to be desired.But having at first read the Comic and then the film I coulnt help but feel Miller lost some edge in the story as it continued to a very,has to be said,likely ending.
At the end of the days its a film and comic about how the guy gets the girl and in that view it really isnt anything special or different,though it started out as somthing that wanted to be.

Now onto X-Men:First class.
....I agree with Kermode.

That is all.

Watchmen was an inferior film to X Men: First Class? I don't know what to say to this other than a) no, b) you're wrong and c) XMFC would have been a lot better if it has taken the historical dimension more seriously as, for example, it was taken more seriously by Watchmen. I mean, NATO missiles in Turkey being the result of Kevin Bacon rather than sensible nuclear strategy; please. It wasn't as bad as X Men Three; that's about all. It feels like someone's first draft with a lot of unnecessary characters, an under-considered central plot and too much cramming of random elements from the comic book into the film as opposed to developing (what the film claims are) its themes.

Why do they keep making X Men films, anyway? The first one was (merely) okay, the rest have been dire.

I went to see this film with realy high hopes as i enjoy x-men and a good origin story, however i could barely watch the film as a number of other cinema goers seemed to be busy eating polystyrene as they were so loud.

I found myself so frustrated with the noise i had completely lost the plot of the film and left feeling disappointed, confused and angry