Both fanboys and people who just want air conditioning with projected accompaniment will be pleased to hear X-Men: First Class is brisk summer fun, not the X-Men Muppet Babies movie that online smart-asses have been calling it ever since it was greenlit. While the filmmakers may have intended to make this prequel a deeper, darker, Batman Begins-style reboot of the whole franchise, First Class is more reminiscent of what J.J. Abrams did with Star Trek a couple of summers back. It reintroduces a few iconic characters, refurbishes them with some foxy-looking younger models, and tells a new origin story, complete with tricked-out action sequences and an intriguing plot that doesn't waste your damn time.
Just as the Abrams-helmed Trek gave us a Butch and Sundance: The Early Years-ish look at Kirk and Spock, First Class takes us back to the 1960s, when mutant enemies Professor Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) were dashing, thick-as-thieves potnas. It turns out Magneto — or Erik, as he known in the movie — is the resident Wolverine this time around, as the angry, leather-jacketed stud is out to kill the Nazi scientist (Kevin Bacon, just soaking up the evil) who offed his mom and made him a guinea pig when he was a Holocaust-surviving lad.
But the scientist is a mutant himself, looking to start World War III and annihilate the human race by staging the Cuban Missile Crisis. Magneto hooks up with Xavier, Xavier's shape-shifting little adopted sis Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and other heroic freaks to give Bacon his own Bay of Pigs when the CIA decides to fight freakish fire with freakish fire.
Even at two hours and change, First Class doesn't seem a semester long, like the last X-Men movie: It's engrossing enough to keep novices riveted and geeks from tearing down the theater. Director and co-writer Matthew Vaughn, who proved himself a reliable comic-book moviemaker with last year's Kick-Ass, does some smart things to keep this Class in session. He spends most of the first hour developing the characters, giving us reason to care about these outsiders before he sends them into battle in the epic, CGI-crazy climax.
The movie's also distinguished by its sharp, stylish look, a plush and pimped-out vision of the Swinging '60s. I'm sure Vaughn threw in Mad Men's January Jones — as half-nekkid villainess Emma Frost — just because it looks like she belongs with the Camelot-era decor. That splash of style is welcome in a movie that's more franchise gatekeeping than a bold reimagining.
But First Class still springs some amusing surprises, including cameos by familiar faces from the first three X-Men movies. Ultimately, what makes X-Men: First Class, well, first-class is its mix of compelling characters, captivating conflict and dynamic action. That's what people look for in comic books, yet seldom find in comic-book movies. Lesson learned.
