X-Men: First Class

Two men with a nearly brotherly bond, the fascinating teenager Mystique and the birth of several legends. And by its very nature, once a small, modest spin-off about Magneto, which under Vaughn's hands grew from a mutant matchmaker to the most anticipated blockbuster in recent months. When then the vengeful Erik Lensherr chases after the most sinister world gang against the backdrop of the Cold War, and the freshly graduated Charles Xavier teaches mutants how to deal with themselves, a well-deserved chill runs down your spine. Whether it's the story, the effects, the action, or the perfect actors (for me, McAvoy is the clear ruler). This tragedy has a clearly defined ending from the beginning, but by being able to stir up almost all emotions to the maximum, it reaches for the position of one of the comic book kings. (07/06/2011)

Very retro and very stylish younger brother of Singer’s original X-Men. To start with I would like to say that Vaughn is a genius, because such an incredible amount of story, twists and character development are combined in this compact unit. In fact, I wouldn’t mind if the movie were three hours long and the director added those scenes that definitely ended up on the cutting room floor. The action is first-class. And no shortage of shots that will have your eyes on stalks and even some pretty decent tricks (with the coin) are included to help the story and not just to look good and appear in the trailer to attract the audience to the movie theater. Almost all the characters are well-developed, no doubt about that, but First Class relies mainly on Fassbender and his Magnet (people are swines, I would have gone with him). He is roughly equally important as Wolverine was for the part one and he is at very least equally iconic, if not more. Logan’s appearance would have pleased me more if I hadn’t already read about it in almost every review. McAvoy’s Charles isn’t bad either, very surprising both for his playboy behavior and for his no-nonsense approach to the role. Almost all of the baddies have something to them, and mostly the mysterious Kevin Bacon (you can see how much he enjoyed himself) and the chillingly beautiful January Jones. Otherwise, it’s a clever summer hit that does honor to the brand and I wouldn’t mind looking back into the past like this again some day. (02/06/2011)

I didn’t go see the new X-Men, but the new Vaughn. Which was maybe a mistake because the studio slightly blunted his energetic, no-holds-barred work. But even this way it’s outstanding, but more accentuated sixties stylization (the places where this is comes to the fore are among the best) and being less episodic would have helped, as well as cutting down the length of the final, over-the-top showdown. Vaughn directs best with just a couple of actors and tension build-up spaghetti western style. It’s true that the characters are rather two-dimensional, but the actors easily raise the standard, especially the Fassbender - Bacon - McAvoy trio. (03/06/2011)

Somehow I can’t bring myself to give this movie five stars, mainly because I’ve never been exactly fond of X-Men. The movies were great, but I never thought, like with Watchmen, that they were perfect and that I would devour every movie that had the word X-Men in the title. Anyway, I don’t mind X-men and that was also the reason why I gave this movie a go. However, I must say that this film is probably the best thing that could have happened to the franchise, because in addition to great actors, it features an absolutely perfect story, which, if you do not know the source material, you do not know how it will develop in the next moments. And that it will eventually develop differently than is customary in American films? That’s the icing on the cake. If I said a moment ago that actors were great, then I need to repeat that because they were truly divine. That goes for probably everyone who appears in the film, and there are a lot of characters. For example, the one-minute cameo of Hugh Jackman is totally great. The same goes for the special effects. I felt a bit sorry that X-Men weren’t closer to my heart. But if another film is made, which could easily happen, I will think about going to see it at the cinema. It seems that I’ve grown fond of X-Men after all. (29/12/2012)

I self-critically admit that I expected more from Vaughn than he could realistically do. When the magnetic Fassbender and the musing McAvoy are on the screen, it's as dark, immersive, and adult funny as I'd hoped. First Class has a very serious soul - it revolves around collective guilt, revenge, and the right to rule the world. The best scenes are not the action scenes, but the ones which are most conversational, where it stands out how far the creators can descend and how suggestive this comic book saga can be. The more realistic and mature the X-men look, the more they have trouble dealing with the "teenage" element. Fortunately, Vaughn kept some distance and perspective, yet I was not interested in the first class with the exception of the mentors, and it seemed that it was makeweight. This wasn't the case in Singer's day. It's like all the energy and attraction falls on the central duo. However, this is rewarded with absolutely devastating energy, and although the film sometimes breathes heavily, in the end it offers emotions and depth related to the legendary duo. It's just the comparison with singer's coherence and composure that prevents me from being completely enthusiastic. Anyway, I'd be very surprised if a more stylish and soulful spectacle came to movie theatres this year. (30/05/2011)