X-Men: First Class Cast Mutates Beautifully – movie review

X-Men is the whole reason I love comic books. I was a big fan of the 90s animated series when I was a kid, and that got me into the comic books. There is no medium that I haven’t seen X-Men in, and it’s my favorite comic book movie franchise. There was only one thing that bothered me leading up to X-Men: First Class; after seeing it I would say this is probably the second-best movie in the franchise.

I want to get what bothered me about the movie out of the way first:  in what universe is X-Men: First Class supposed to take place? I heard that it was supposed to be a reboot of the franchise, but there’s one awesome cameo in the movie that makes that hard to believe. However, if it takes place in the same universe as the other movies, then Emma Frost is really out of place in First Class after being introduced in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Also, if it takes place in the same universe of the other movies, Alex Summers, AKA Havok, is now older than his older brother Scott – you know, Cyclops. X-Men: First Class also has practically the same beginning as X-Men, obviously with different actors, so it makes it harder to decide if it’s supposed to be the same franchise or a different one.

However, First Class is definitely the best X-Men movie since the first one. I’m not exactly sure why, but I think it’s the cast. Each individual cast member was amazing. My absolute favorite in the movie was Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr, AKA Magneto. Okay, I admit that he was fun to look at, but at the same time, Erik’s internal conflict is just always present in Fassbender’s performance. Erik, the character, is also very true to the Magneto I know. He’s annoyed that Raven and Hank won’t embrace who they are – even before the world knew that there was mutants, he didn’t think that the mutants should hide. It was a detail I appreciated.

On the other hand, James McAvoy as Charles Xavier was just odd. I mean, he was great, and he was inspiring as he tried to help all the other mutants become who they needed to be. However, when I think of Professor X, I don’t think of a dude that picks up women in bars, constantly repeats the word “groovy,” or chugs beer to the chanting of co-eds. In fact, the opposite of Erik, Charles was nothing like the man he would become.

The only other mutant that really stood out to me, and not because I always questioned his involvement in this movie, was Havok, played by Lucas Till. It’s really sad that I know that Lucas Till is the love interest from Hannah Montana: The Movie, but you wouldn’t know it watching him in First Class. Alex Summers really grows in the course of the movie. When they find him, he prefers to be alone, but he grows into this kind of family that’s formed. It’s also pretty cool seeing him learn to control his powers, but at the same time, it’s even funnier when he freaks out Charles Xavier, who falsely believes he’s prepared for everything. Given that the appearance of the character made me nervous from the beginning, and I knew Lucas Till as the boy Hannah Montana crushed on, Havok left me impressed.

There was a cameo that I don’t want to give away for anyone because I thought it was great not knowing he’d be there. However, there was one actor in the movie whose presence made me happy that I’m willing to give away – Ray Wise as the Secretary of State! It was just so odd, out of nowhere, to see Ray Wise, but there is never a time Ray Wise is on screen that you think, “Well, this is completely unwarranted and out of place.” It’s always exciting to see Ray Wise on screen.

Oh, and a fair warning – to the disappointment of the entire audience that was at the showing I attended, there is nothing after the end credits this time. On that score we were set up for disappointment.

I highly recommend X-Men: First Class for X-Men fans, especially those of the movies. Even the odd stuff that you have to question isn’t bothersome when you’re watching the movie. In fact, let’s classify it as a mutation. The X-Men franchise has mutated, and has come out stronger for it.