The upcoming summer movie season will be everything a comic book geek could want – and then some.
Thor. Captain America. The Green Lantern. And, of course, those wascally mutants known as the X-Men.
The first three heroes will be making their big screen debuts, but “X-Men: First Class” could trump them all. Consider the cast – James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, January Jones, Oliver Platt, and Kevin Bacon to name just a few. But the stealth weapon here is director Matthew Vaughn, the man who gave us “Kick-Ass.”
That rollicking ride showed Vaughn knows how to deliver an action-soaked adventure with colorfully clad heroes. And it can’t hurt that Bryan Singer, who directed the first two superior “X-Men” films, penned the story behind “First Class.”
We’ll get our first peek at the new X class Feb. 10 courtesy of Facebook. The social media site is exclusively hosting the first trailer for the film, set for a June 3 release. The site will soon offer an “X-App” which will feature more special content in the runup to the film’s debut.
And now, here’s the official synopsis of the film:
“X-Men: First Class” charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga, and reveals a secret history of famous global events. Before mutants had revealed themselves to the world, and before Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Not archenemies, they were instead at first the closest of friends, working together with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to prevent nuclear Armageddon. In the process, a grave rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men.
(Photo: Michael Fassbender plays a young Magneto, a mutant who can make scrap metal do his bidding, in “X-Men: First Class.” Photo credit: Murray Close)
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I like Matthew Vaughn but I know how the executives are when it comes to this franchise, they are going to wimp out on any real change in both the tone and look of the movie.
My problem is that I have heard the hype for X-Men everytime the movie comes out and I simply cant generate the excitement any longer. When they show me the trailers with good acting, great “combat” and faithful dialogue then I will be less skeptical.
Personally, I think Bryan singer made very watchable films, just not that RE-watchable. I always thought the X-Men were better as a symbol for the primacy of the individual and their gifts, but Singer lets the racism/homophobia symbolism weigh the story down to the point that I just can’t enjoy the experience. I’m hoping Matthew Vaughn will give me a COOL X-Men movie, at long last.
In order to give the X-Men story the kind of dynamic it needs you almost need two films. (notice I didn’t say three). It seems to me that they might establish right off the bat that both X and M are best friends and then spend the entire film showcasing their differences, to the point where we would be forced to wonder how they ever could have become friends in the first place.
When this happens, I’ve noticed that the whole film seems to want to rush to that moment when the friendship falls apart rather than make the dynamic the most important part of the story. It works better as a character study than as a superhero film.
That said, I hope I’m wrong because I’m looking forward to it.
Go “Green Lantern”! A superhero that protects the entire Solar System? X-Men need not apply…too weak for the job.
What about Phoenix Mike B?
The racial tensions are central to the X-men in the comics, it’s just that before they started with all of the goofy gimmickry of the mid 90’s, it was so much a part of the story that you didn’t have to be beaten over the head with it.
Thing I wish about the reboot, is if the characters being used weren’t such a mash up of different era’s of the X-men. Only thing I see in terms of the character changes is the apparent establishment of the hellfire club as all former x-men (which I don’t thing is true)
But you never can tell. I hate to admit that I liked Origins:Wolverine. Didn’t make a lot of sense, but it was kinda fun, maybe it will be at least good enough to keep the franchise fresh in the minds of people to give the golden age comics a try.
I am a HUGE X-Men fan. Have been since I first viewed the old animated series as a kid in the early 90’s. I started to get into the comics after that. The movies I have a love hate relationship with. They are well made (sort of) and have the action that satisfies the inner geek in me, but they don’t embrace the mythology of the X-Men universe. It’s just another Sci-fi franchise with some characters showing up with powers. Don’t get me started with how they ruined the Dark Phoenix saga in the third movie.
That is a pretty god history Eli, but _I_ started collecting the X-men in the mid 80’s. I have most every X-Men from number 104.
I gifted them to my nephews, they can read them or sell them for college. I also have almost every Avengers from #41, and every Cappy from strange tales #61 to 319.
I was a big collector for a period of time.
sorry, tales of suspense, not strange tales.
That’s pretty impressive Douglas. I’m still playing catch up with some of it. They create so many different series all the time it’s hard to keep up. Fortunately with the internet now I can search and find certain series and stories that I want. If only some of those stories would hit the big screen.