Going into this summer’s blockbuster season X-Men: First Class was not only one of the films I was most looking forward to but also the one I worried the most about. X-Men and X2 are two of my favorite films but the instant Bryan Singer left to focus on rebooting the Superman franchise everything seemed to fall apart. X-Men: The Last Stand was a disaster and X-Men Origins: Wolverine was hardly the apology that I was looking for.
The idea behind X-Men: First Class has been kicking around for ages but much like the purposed Star Trek series Starfleet Academy it never seemed like it would ever come to fruition. The problem was that The Last Stand ended in such a way that there was really no way to move the franchise forward. First Class isn’t a reboot; it is Bryan Singer’s attempt to salvage the series he helped make a critical and financial success. The story is essentially an extended version of the origin story of Erik “Magneto” Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) and Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and the events that lead to the establishment of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters that was hinted at in Stinger’s original X-Men (and long since established in the pages of the comic book). Set in the 1960s, the film is also a Cold War drama and director/writer Matthew Vaughn’s tribute to Sean Connery’s James Bond films. To some the setting might seem a bit unusual, but considering the X-Men made their comic book debut in 1963 and were a direct reaction to the racial and political tensions that defined the decade, it’s a perfect fit. It also allows the film to fit within the timeline established in the previous films. I could drone on and on about how much I enjoy this film but I’d rather you simply watch it and decide for yourself. It’s not perfect but if you haven’t given the film a chance because you were put off by The Last Stand you’re really missing out on something special.
Watching the film again on Blu-ray is as pleasing as it was seeing it in theaters. The picture and audio quality is excellent and recreates the cinematic presentation perfectly. The bonus are exclusive to the Blu-ray release and while I would have loved an audio commentary from Vaughn and Singer they both make appearances in the 69-minute documentary Children of the Atom as well as the additional 20 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage included in the X Marks the Spot viewing mode. There are also a handful of extended scenes and a couple deleted moments (Lensherr in the Argentina airport, Kevin Bacon’s Shaw on a boat with Cuban generals and Xavier trying to seduce Rose Byrne’s Moyra).
The Children of the Atom documentary is fantastic, particularly the “Pulling off the Impossible” segment that focuses on John Dykstra’s visual effects and “Sound and Fury” which focuses on Henry Jackman’s score. Either segment could have been extended into to a feature-length documentary and I wouldn’t have complained. They do at least include the option to listen to Jackman’s score without the dialogue getting in the way.
There’s also a short featurette available to download or stream via BD-Live that extends off some of the “Dogfight” footage shown in The Children of the Atom.
All in all X-Men: First Class has been a wonderful way to spend a Friday afternoon. I suspect I’ll be returning to relive the experience in the near future.