We grade on three categories:
1. Faithfulness to comic characterization
2. Comic Action Quotient/Storyline
3. Acting
Reviews are graded on an academic scale of:
A, B, C, D, or F
X-Men: First Class
To be clear, this movie bore little resemblance to its comic roots. The good news is, the storyline was better! I found myself wishing the origins of Professor X and Magneto were as intricate and rich as the movie portrayed it. That said, there was no continuity with comics OR previous movies (except for a cool cameo). The grading paradox is clear: Resemblance to comics gets it a D, but a story that appeals to even non-comic readers would get it an A.
Category 1: B-
The action was amazing! From beginning to end, the mutants showed why they are to be feared. Whether learning how to control their powers or walking through military like it wasn't there, they rocked the theatre. Even better was the X-cameos sprinkled throughout the movie. Everything had a reason for being in the film and it made me wish these creative people had done the first three X-movies. The bottom line was, Magneto stole the show. In fact, if I were a mutant, I would have hung out with Erik. Not only was he one bad mamajama, but he made his point extremely well. The only detraction I saw was some gratuitous scenes that had nothing to do with the story. I graded it lower because these types of scenes insult the intelligence of the viewer because they have nothing to do with the story.
Category 2: A
Acting across the board was great.
Michael Fassbender did an outstanding job as Erik Lensherr/Magneto. His tortured past and his embracing of his future made for some memorable scenes.
James McAvoy was Charles Xavier to a "T". The compassion he had for even his enemies painted a picture of who he would become and why he chose a school.
Another show-stealer was Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique. Hers was the most interesting journey and the most sympathetic. It started far from her image from the other X-movies and gave a great glimpse into who she would be one day.
Though not a huge Kevin Bacon fan, I have to admit he did something right with his portrayal of Sebastian Shaw. I use a villain "killmeter" which measures how much the viewer wants the bad guy to bite it. Bacon's Shaw pegged the needle!
The other actors did a wonderful job of making you love their characters or moving the killmeter needle into the red.
Category 3: A+
Final Grade: A
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