Kick-Ass director, Matthew Vaughn, turned 40 in 2011. He also directed one of 2011's best superhero adaptations, X-Men: First Class. Vaughn's had quite a year...and we're only halfway there. Of course, any man married to super-hottie supermodel, Claudia Schiffer, ought to be at the very top of his game. Vaughn had been scheduled to direct X-Men: The Last Stand after winning accolades for Layer Cake. Unfortunately, Vaughn was unable to take the job, leaving X-fans in the chubby-fingered hands of Brett Ratner....

Brian Singer was one of the producers and once again, lent his considerable soul to the storyline. You see, X-Men is Jewish at heart. And so is Singer.

The backstory for the lastest X-installment in the Marvel film franchise uses Magneto as its focus. In 1978, Jewish writer Chris Claremont defined Magneto as a survivor of Auschwitz. X-Men: First Class opens with Magneto as a young boy being observed by a Nazi scientist.

From there, things spring from the flat pages of comic book history to life. With terrific performances by James McAvoy, January Jones, Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt, Michael Fassbender, and last, but certainly not least, Kentucky-born break-out star of 2010 with her Winter's Bone performance, Jennifer Lawrence.

Lawrence will be playing the lead role in 2012's Hunger Games, the first adaptation of the best-selling young adult series by author, Suzanne Collins. She brings the same intensity audiences marveled at in Winter's Bone to her X-Men performance as a young Mystique, coming into her own as the blue-skinned shape-shifting mutant.

Cameos by Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Stamos brought cohesive authenticity to the latest Singer-inspired X-film. Kevin Bacon plays a marvelous psychopath...almost too well. Michael Fassbender's Magneto evolves before the audience's very eyes, making his villainous tendencies relatable, even sympathetic.

X-Men: First Class is the best superhero film in over a decade. Vaughn and Singer are a match made in Marvel-superhero heaven. On the Housel-scale, X-Men: First Class earns a heart-y 10/10, with no regrets or apologies. If you're an X-fan, see the movie more than once.

 


Comments

07/12/2011 09:23

I'll admit right off the bat that I'm not familiar with the X-Men universe other than your book. But I think you're right.

The Magneto storyline *made* this movie. The audience wanted Magneto and Prof X to be able to work together and stay friends. His feelings and motivations were very understandable.

The movie made me want to watch the rest of them, while keeping that character depth in mind. I'd probably have a completely different impression of their stories if I start off sympathetic to Magneto. :)

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