xmen first class remember going to the media screening of “X-Men” in 2000. Jac (the publicist then and now) handed me the press notes, my friend and I sat down… prepared to watch well, ‘something called the X-Men that doesn’t even feature Brian Mannix’ (A joke only my fellow countrymen will appreciate).
Two hours later I was smiling – I’d just watched one of the funnest, slickest and most engrossing superhero movies since, er, um, let me think, er, “Superman : The Movie”!? Yeah.. probably “Superman”; “X-Men” was that good – and mucho credito to Bryan Singer. Here was a smart comic book movie that put performances and plot before anything else (the sequel would too; the second sequel – not directed by Singer but Brett Ratner – would forget the fundamental reason critics and audiences loved these films and take a Canon films approach to the material).
And to this day, that original “X-Men” remains one of the best films of it’s type – well, not even it’s type, but of the action/adventure movie genre. “X-Men : First Class”, which comes some 11 years after the release of that original movie (which introduced most of you to little-known Aussie Hugh Jackman who would become the film series’ break-out star), embodies everything Singer’s original did and more – it’s fun, action-packed, marvelously performed (If the Academy weren’t so frigid they’d definitely be looking in the direction of Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy’s direction; both are wonderful here.. a great double-act to boot) and best of all, equipped with a strangely relatable real-world story that’ll have 12 year olds and 80 year olds glued to their seats.
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