X-Men: First Class

Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class is so good, it's easy to overlook the inconsistencies with the legendary comic book series, and the problems that occur with continuity.

And there are lots of those issues: Mystique was never a childhood friend of Professor X; most of the students recruited for the team were not part of the original team in the 1960s; Sebastian Shaw, played wonderfully by Kevin Bacon, seems to be a composite of several comic book characters, and . . .

Well, you get the picture. There are lots of issues in this film that might bug some comic book geeks, and even annoy others.

But not me.

The X-Men storyline has always been about social issues. Those
-isms that create a lot of stress and strife, and the problematic nature of relationships. It's my opinion that the greatest aspect of X-Men was the complicated relationship between Professor X and Magneto: two strong, brilliant leaders who desire the same outcome, but hold perspectives on how to achieve it.


With a running time of more than 2 hours, Vaughn's movie runs long. But it's a necessary length, designed to allow the relationship between Xavier and Magneto to develop. The audience comes to appreciate their love and respect for each other, making the rift that occurs at the conclusion powerful.



This X-Men prequel lives up to the hype generated. It's also a worthy member of the X-Men movie franchise, the only comic book movie series that's never disappointed comic books geeks. Like me.