Uncannily good.

Caught the matinee (Deal alert! Best in Manhattan: AMC Kips Bay -- $6 all showings before noon!) of X-Men: First Class this morning and absolutely loved it.

This was one of the summer blockbusters that I did not have on my immediate MUST SEE list. I'm not sure why, other than I wasn't entirely impressed with what I had seen in trailers and still shots. But on the recommendation of a good friend whose taste has been spot on in terms of all geek-ery -- I knew I had to get a ticket.

In hindsight, how could this film NOT be awesome? With Matthew Vaughn at the helm (he of Kick-Ass, Stardust, and Layer Cake magic), a great cast led by Michael Fassbender (totally badass in Inglorious Bastards) and James McAvoy (totally badass in Wanted, but totally weird as Mr. Tumnus in Chronicles of Narnia: LWW --eh, Tumnus can only be weird and creepy, right?), and simply: it's X-Men -- all the elements of a great film were in place.  Throw in some good-looking ladies (more on this later) and it's geek ambrosia.

Needless to say, this one is going to give Green Lantern some tough competition. (I've already seen and loved Thor -- but First Class trumps Mjolnir in this case.)

Fassbender and McAvoy were eXcellent. Their acting prowess was on full display as Erik Lensherr  and Charles Xavier, respectively. The emotion, the motivation, the seeds of their two inevitable paths were explored extremely well. Two dear friends setting out on drastically different philosophies and methodologies with similar goals in mind -- peaceful resistance/assimilation vs. "by any means necessary".

Michael Fassbender was the real standout in this film. He really should be a big star. He's charismatic and has some serious acting chops. (I'm a big fan of Nazi killing in films, in fact Fassbender might be the best Nazi eliminator I've ever seen. He should continue doing this in future films.) AND he can shed a tear like a real man. (McAvoy-- ditto, but he's still kinda boyish.) Thoroughly convincing as the man who would be Magneto--you understand why and how he comes to develop his philosophy of protecting mutantkind without any regrets or hesitation. As a survivor of the Holocaust, you empathize with him and understand why "never again" is absolutely right. And yet -- when it comes to homo superior as the next evolutionary step and how humans are treading the fine line of extinction -- you understand how Charles Xavier must oppose his brother-in-arms.

Ok, the ladies. The less said about January Jones as Emma Frost, the better. Betty Draper in a skimpy outfit. Sigh. I think she could have done a much better job and played up the manipulative vixen (with a heart of gold!) that Emma Frost truly should have been.

But Jennifer Lawrence-- what a cutie! I hadn't seen her in anything before (though I've got Winter's Bone in my blu-ray queue) but I figured the Oscar nom must have been deserved. Her portrayal of a young Mystique really added depth to the character. In the comics, Mystique is complex, complicated, and kinda messed up. JL did a bang up job of adding some dimension to the cinematic version--a girl obsessed with her appearance and wanting to be normal. (Can you say obvious metaphor?)  She was great in the role. So how did Mystique grow up to be so one dimensional in the other X-Men films?  Sorry Rebecca Romijn (no-longer-Stamos) : P

And she's filming the Hunger Games now. I'm a fan of the book series (Though I have some issues with it. Battle Royale? Heard of it, Suzanne Collins?) and think she would be a great Katniss. (Elizabeth Banks as Effie and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch -- eh. I would have picked Kristin Chenowith and John Hurt. But I digress...) High hopes for this one. Hope it's bloody.


Real quick--

Awesome: 

• Two really cool cameos from other X-Men actors.
• Banshee's powers on-screen were excellent. 
• Kevin Bacon is a great villain. Footloose my arse! 

Sucky: 

• *minor SPOILER* At one point Mystique appears as Sebastian Shaw with his helmet on. I don't remember seeing her ever come in to contact with him to know what he looks like. So unless there was some off-screen moment/deleted scene -- seems like this was a mistake.
• Fassbender seemed to drop into his Irish lilt every now and then. He does speak multiple languages in the film, so it was a little jarring to hear it come out when it wasn't meant to be there. 
• Moira MacTaggart and Banshee both should have had thick Scottish brogues. Come on!

All-in-all -- I highly recommend it. Don't wait for blu-ray (though I will be sure to buy it).


GeekOmnivore SCORE:    Delicious. Want seconds!



*images sourced from around the Web. Thank you, Internet!*