I haven’t wrapped my head around First Class enough to post all of my thoughts about the film but, off the top of my head, the thing that sticks out the most is the camaraderie. I love it. It’s something we haven’t seen to this extent in any of the previous X-Men films, but they pull it off in First Class and it only gets better as the film progresses. As has been said countless times, McAvoy and Fassbender are great. It’s a treat to watch them in their individual scenes and they’re even better when they’re onscreen together.
I also really like the back-and-forth banter, and teamwork, between the younger mutants. Banshee, Beast, Havok, etc. are pure fun. I really like Hoult as Beast. When he was first cast, I thought, “He looks like he could make a good Cyclops.” It’s clear, however, based on his performance, why they chose him to play Hank. Banshee and Havok have minor roles, but they’re good. Jones is probably my favorite of the recruits.
In fact, I like almost all of the performances. Lawrence, who doesn’t have the attitude of Romijn’s Mystique, and shouldn’t as this is a younger and more inexperienced Raven, really sells her character’s longing and need for acceptance. Also, despite being an unconventional choice, Bacon nails the ruthlessness of Sebastian Shaw. The weakest link, in my opinion, is Jones as Emma Frost. Sometimes, I like her. Other times, I don’t. Although she exudes the appropriate amount of *****iness every now and then, I think she’s just too damn mousy to play the Emma we’ve come to know in the books.
Other than that, my biggest complaint about the movie is with regard to the visuals. Sometimes, I wasn’t a fan of the look of the film, particularly the effects work. Some of them really took me out of the movie, and sometimes the movie looks a bit cheap. There’s questionable wirework toward the end of the film, and some effects, such as Mystique’s transformation, Emma Frost’s diamond form, and Cerebro, could have looked better. As dated as the effects look now, I still haven’t seen a Mystique transformation as natural and seamless as those featured in X-Men or X2, and First Class Cerebro doesn’t hold a candle to its predecessors either. Also, contrary to trailer appearances, I’m not completely sold on Beast’s look. It isn’t as lazy looking as it is in The Last Stand, but it could have been better (I really like how he looks in the international trailer, but it appears they changed the final product).
Other than that, First Class is well done and much, much better than Fox’s previous attempt at an X-Men origin movie.
