X-Men: First Class… are you one of them?

After much thought (and watching clips from YouTube), I knew we couldn’t let this weekend pass without watching the latest X-Men flick. I was quite hesitant of this installment reboot given that the first three flicks ruined the X-Men of my childhood. Singer’s versions, I can tolerate. But when Ratner killed off Cyclops, Jean and the professor I was fuming mad. That is no way to treat legacy characters of the series! I gave up and couldn’t care any less for Wolverine’s spin-off.

Thankfully, X-Men: First Class has successfully restored my faith in the franchise. Matthew Vaughn’s take on the early beginnings of the Charles/Xavier friendship (and eventual fall-out) have garnered favorable reviews from both critics and viewers since it premiered. After seeing it earlier with my sister, I can say the movie definitely lived up to its hype. James MacAvoy and Michael Fassbender’s chemistry as the young Charles and Erik was so palpable you couldn’t help but swoon at their ‘bro-mance’ moments.

But really, their friendship has always been something I admired since the X-Men cartoons of the 90’s. They may have opposing views on their stand regarding humans vs. mutants yet they argue in a civilized manner. Plus, they also respect each other’s capabilities. 

Fassbender now is undoubtedly the film’s break-out star. His interpretation of Magneto has made the viewers sympathetic towards the character. How else would you explain comments on social networking sites about how they swooned over Erik’s accent and kick-ass, metal-controlling powers?

Story-wise, it was a nice tweak to have Raven as Charles’ foster sister in this adaptation. That plot actually worked for me. Another character I loved was Hank McCoy. In this film we see him as a geeky scientist who has his own emotional struggles before he transformed into the furry Beast we all loved. I can’t help but think this is where the first three films failed… by not casting Beast until the third one when in fact his character is synonymous to the X-Men as Storm, Jean and Cyclops were.

If you have not seen this, better do so within the next few days. It’s totally worth every peso you’re shelling out.