about Maverick 管家仔囉哩叭唆

Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
Cast: James McAvoy (Charles Xavier), Michael Fassbender (Erik Lehnsherr), Kevin Bacon (Sebastian Shaw), Jennifer Lawrence (Raven)

A constant criticism of many superhero movies is that they try to do too much. Too many villains; too many storylines; too many characters. First Class has all of those… and yet still manages to emerge a crowdpleaser in the same way X2 did.

Let’s see: there’s the backstory behind Xavier and Lehnsherr’s friendship that turned bad; there’s the origin of Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters; there’s the origins of some of those gifted youngsters; there’s the first volleys in the human/mutant conflict; there’s the formation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants; there’s probably a superpowered kitchen sink as well if you look closely enough.

And yeah, some stuff feels a little skimpy as a result: the “great friendship” between the proto Professor X and proto Magneto feels more like a two-week uneasy truce; Beast seems to accept his blue furry fate with amazing alacrity; the Hellfire Club is never adequately explored.

But ignore all that and let what’s great about the movie fill your comic book loving heart with joy. Pulsepounding action scenes boast images that sear themsleves into your memory. Witty, snappy dialogue economically draws characters who feels fresh and vital and charismatic. There’s the fun of a young and lecherous Xavier using his powers to pick up the laydeez, while the “villainous” Lensherr actually seems to be far more savvy about the way things are heading for mutantkind. Indeed, the devil has all the best arguments here. Magneto is far more on-the-ball than Xavier. He’s not merely evil-incarnate-in-waiting; he probably considers himself the hero of the piece, fighting for his people. It’s this level of sophistication which propels First Class from being a mere competent superhero flick to a damned fine movie, period.