"X-Men: First Class": A Film Critique

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read the review if you intend on watching this movie.

A standard staple to the summer season--the gratuitous action film--presents itself in the form of a comic book prequel, appealing to hard core fans of the franchise, their mothers, and even the girls who will never date them. This prequel required very little knowledge of the X-Men comic universe, which proves to be ideal for movie goers seeking a noncommittal form of entertainment. However the backstory of Professor Xavier, Magneto, and Mystique and the cameo by Wolverine provided fans young and old a more refined sense of intimacy with the characters, akin to having an old friend share a childhood secret.

Available at any theatre near you, "X-Men: First Class" offers viewers a visually-stunning retelling of the historical Bay of Pigs and the Cold War: a reinterpretation that involves mutants using the heads of state as pawns for a nuclear terrorist attack. In terms of its temporal and geographic significance, this prequel spans from Poland during World War II to Oxford, Washington, D.C., and Cuba during the Cold War era. This interweaving of historical event with fictional mutant characters anchors an elusive plotline to a few powerful scenes. However, in the context of our current educational system, “X-Men: First Class” could have single-handedly created an entire generation of Americans who believe that the Cold War was the result of mutant terrorist activity.

The thematic elements of “X-Men: First Class” are similar to those in the previous films: mutant visibility in society, the ambiguity of good and evil, and the complex nature of Magneto. Unlike its darker predecessors, “X-Men: First Class” thoroughly explores the questions of fitting in within society as the young mutants in the film struggle to define themselves in relation to the standards of human culture. The most potent example of this conflict is when the character Beast—played by British actor Nicholas Hoult—injects himself with a serum designed to hide the deformities of his mutation, which only served to enhance his mutated appearance. As a coming-of-age film, this prequel might appeal to the concerns of its target audience: 12-16 year-olds who find themselves at a crossroads between childhood and adulthood. With every coming-of-age film, a cast composed of the young and potentially talented is required. With every summer film, a cast with famous and infamous actors is necessary. This prequel succeeds in both criteria, as James McAvoy (Professor Xavier) and Kevin Bacon (Sebastian Shaw) acts alongside the precocious Nicholas Hoult and Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique.

While its cinematic themes are the film’s first-class strengths, the dialogue is passably second-class. The dialogue of “X-Men: First Class” appear to be so simplistic and generic in form that its screenplay resembles an amateur caricature of a Transformers script. However, the generic dialogue is only a minor deterrence from the overall entertainment value of the film. A viewing of “X-Men: First Class” will provide a ticket-buyer all the elements of an entertaining summer film: an unrealistic plot, genetically-blessed actors and actresses in various states of undress, explosions, and a cliffhanger for the off chance that the movie is profitable enough for a sequel.