X-Men First Class

There have been talks about the next installment of the X-Men franchise, a sequel to the X-Men First Class, which made me decide to finally see the first one. I did see the first X-Men films but decided to just skip this one. That's probably one of the dumbest decisions. But hey, as the famous saying goes, "Better late than never."

I remember watching the cartoons when I was a little kid. In fact, I started re-watching it a few years ago to refresh my memory because I was starting to forget a lot of the details and characters. I didn't make it past episode 4 because I got busy with school and stuff. However, watching this film inspired me to continue re-watching it. I've always been a fan of the X-Men, both the concept and execution. I watched the first three X-Men movies, although only a tiny fragment remains in my memory. I remember it boasting an all-star cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry and James Marsden. I don't remember a lot of it, but I do remember enjoying those films.

I'm not sure if I'm just saying this because I have just seen it, but X-Men First class was probably the best one yet. I didn't even notice the time. The movie's running time was 2 hours, but it didn't feel like two hours because it was packed with all sorts of things. It had action, drama, and more action. The movie grabbed my attention from the beginning and didn't let it go until the very end. I was continuously anticipating the next move of Professor X and Magneto.

It also straightened up a lot of things for me. How Magneto and Charles Xavier went separate ways, how Mystique suddenly went against Professor X's team; it showed the "history" of the X-Men as a whole. As pathetic as this may sound, this is the first time I found out about how Beast became Beast. So I guess the movie taught me some things as well. I don't read a lot of comics so I'm not completely aware of how the story developed in the comics. However, I think the movie was able to stand on its own, exploring the different backgrounds of the mutants. I just wish they showed a bit more of the other mutants.

The whole cast of the film gave strong performances. It was nice to see Jennifer Lawrence in a lighter role, especially compared to Winter's Bone and The Hunger Games. This is no exception to the "if James McAvoy is in it, it's probably good" assumption (but I've only seen a couple o his films to make that statement a certainty). The whole cast did a phenomenal job, especially in the action scenes. I read how they prepared for the scenes and I can only imagine how tough it was to shoot mid-air or to imagine the effects. Hugh Jackman's cameo was surprising but still awesome!

I am now looking forward to the next movie. I am hoping Jennifer Lawrence's stint in The Hunger Games will merit her a bigger role in the upcoming movie. I also hope it will be able to maintain the whole cast because I already like this group of actors. If this movie is any indication of the spectacle that the next movie will bring, movie-goers better prepare for a whole new movie experience.