Last weekend we saw X-Men: First Class, the fifth in that franchise, which gives the origin tale. I was surprised how good the thing was. It’s certainly the best of the X-Men and it has to be one of the best of the comic books flicks. There’s Batman: The Dark Knight, the first Spider Man, the first Superman, and this one is in this company. It’s kind of dark and disturbing, while still managing to be fun. It has an alternative history version of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which brought back fond memories, a plot that is both intriguing and character-driven plot, spectacular special effects that serve the story rather than just being time-killing fireworks, and Kevin Bacon! Technically, the movie was well-done also, with ambitious camera work and skillful editing that added greatly to the dynamic feel of the film. I’m realizing that it’s possible to take a conventional, even silly, genre and, if it’s done by a talented director, as Matthew Vaughn evidently is, the final work can be strangely satisfying.
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