Not long ago, I saw the latest X-men movie, called X-Men: First Class. Below, I will talk a bit about what I liked and didn’t like about this film. In addition, I will provide a link to a Netflix Free Trial as a treat to movie fans everywhere.
The movie takes place in the early 1960s, during the Kennedy administration. The main characters are a younger Magneto and Charles Xavier, and follows their experiences until they cross paths and part ways by the end of the movie. This is the time before Professor X loses his hair or ends up confined to a wheelchair.
Jennifer Lawrence plays a young Mystique, and we witness how she grows into a woman, and how she ultimately ends up allying with Magneto. Kevin Bacon plays the villain of the film, named Sebastian Shaw. I found this character to be a cardboard villain, and he is evil enough that he makes Magneto look like Mr. Nice Guy.
I really wanted to like this movie, but found that I just couldn’t get into it. The main issue for me was that I failed to make an emotional connection with most of the characters in the film. Many of the characters, especially the less prominent X-men, are largely forgettable. Overall, X-men First Class did not do much for me other than answer a few questions left unanswered in earlier films. I have to admit I enjoyed the original X-men movies a lot more. If you have not had a chance to view the earlier films, you should definitely check them out, as some of them are free to watch online if you use the Netflix Free Trial.
As with all high-budget action flicks these days, the special effects of this X-men movie was very high quality. Another great moment in the movie was when the bad X-men storm a government center looking for other X-men to recruit. This scene is reminiscent of other X-men movies where X-men unleash hell during an encounter. There is a strange feeling of liberation when you see this happen, knowing that on most days X-men have to hide their powers to fit into society.
If you are an avid moviegoer, make sure you get a Netflix Free Trial. There is a great an ever growing selection of streamable movie titles and tv shows on Netflix, and using a free trial you can watch them at no cost for a full month.