X-men First class is a break from the previous X-men movies, yes there were explosions, yes there were special effects but no it wasn't this polished old soldier against old soldier slugging it out in the trenches type of movie. In actuality First class even with all the "line up" changes was like watching an Xmen comic brought to life. While Charles Xavier is the most powerful Psychic mutant first and foremost he is a TEACHER, he wants to help mutants learn to harness their powers and become not only masters of themselves but also positive members of society. All the other movies there may have been a classroom here or there thrown in, but the lessons seemed unimportant. It was as if they were treating them like you treat schools in other movies, the boring part just thrown in so that the kids can relate. While yes sometimes the mutant kids got bored with their regular school assignments Professor X wouldn't allow them to not equate one with the other. You actually get to see him taking each mutant past his fears to a more positive center.
Eric Lennshur is a complicated man, he was at the concentration camps in Warsaw. One of initial manifestations of his powers was seeing his parents taken away from him when they were separating the parents from their children. I think as far as raw emotion is concerned the scene at the beginning of X-men 1 where you see young Eric grasp the iron gate with his fledgling mutant abilities and be immovable by 8 Nazi soldiers before being knocked unconsciously was epic. So the fact that for X-men:First Class they revisited that scene and went in depth as to "What happens next". You wonder why Magneto hates humans(Thoooooough technically Shaw isn't human more on that later), how would you feel if just to see you special abilities again somewhere hurt a relative? I mean in X-men you just assumed the Nazi's killed his parents and while he didn't see how it happened it was enough to be angry. In First Class it no longer is a guesstimation you see how and why, you see his "
Virgin Vader Moment"(yes I mean the scene at the end of
Revenge of the Sith NOOOOOO! scream) and exactly how much power his anger releases. You see the beginning of his quest for vengeance and his distrust of homo sapiens sans superior(marvel has been known to call mutants
Homo Sapiens Superior) due to his dealings with the Nazis as a young Jew.
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I forgot I didn't finish this blog, I really did like First Class, no it wasn't perfect but it focused on more than just the relationship of 3 characters. It showed you that while powerful these people are still fragile, that their decisions aren't just straight, direct, and without doubt. I also like how they continued it in Days of future past, I don't remember Mystique being so prominent between Charles and Eric but they really are two brothers fighting for a cause in different ways. One looking at a more peaceful, steady, progression into a harmonies future while the other does not wish to wait. HE wants your action right now, he believes the slow way allows too much pain and if his choice is for the pain of HIS people or the pain of YOURS, yours can suffer until hell freezes over(which depending on if he has somebody mind controlling Bobby Drake may or may not happen quickly).
I love how they showcased Hanks intelligence, I don't think they really did Alex justice but it's hard to explain somebody's motivation when you didn't introduce it. Alex Summers is an orphan, to his knowledge a lone orphan and when his powers manifest he meets his older brother who is already this awesome super hero. Alex and Scott summers are one of the best Sibling Rivalry stories out there but since there is no Scott there really can't be a full Alex. This movie's Angel was a push, Darwin was a semi let down. Seriously the dudes powers are that he can evolve to survive anything, as a matter of fact if the Hulk is coming he evolves teleportation powers and gets outta Dodge. The bad guy played by Kevin Bacon was perfect, I liked their Emma Frost even if somehow she becomes a member of Magneto's Brotherhood instead of the leader of the Hellfire club.
Anyway rules are rules I still have fond memories of this movie and I might revisit the series once Apocalypse drops
