Film Review of X-Men: First Class: December 2012

Friday 14 December 2012

Film Review of X-Men: First Class - Information list about the characters and their powers

Here is a list of a few characters from the movie 'X-Men: First Class':

Beast/Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult): Hank is a brilliant scientist with only a few mutant features until a serum unexpectedly unlocks the superhuman Beast within.

Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne): A female CIA agent in the 1960s - a time when female operatives were very few in number. After Moira becomes among the first humans to witness the powers of mutants, she tracks down Charles Xavier, who helps Moira convince her superiors of the existence of mutants and a general understanding of working with them for the greater good.

Darwin/ Armondo Munoz (Edi Gathegi): Through 'reactive evolution,' Darwin can adapt to any situation or environment. Sudden underwater, he grows gills; in the dead of night, he gains night vision.

Banshee/Sean Cassidy (Caleb Landry Jones): Banshee's unique sonic blasts carry him into flight. Like other young mutants, Banshee's powers reach their full potential only under Charles Xavier's patient protection, and in a battle that will have global consequences.

Azazel (Jason Flemying): A demonic figure, Azazel can teleport by opening a portal into another dimension. He is a key player in Sebastian Shaw's plans to make sure that mutants inherit the planet.

Riptide (Alejandro Gonzalez): Never far from the side of his leader, Sebastian Shaw, Riptide creates powerful whirlwinds (small masses of air rotating rapidly) that can demolish buildings and challenge even the most powerful mutants.

Havoc/Alex Summers (Lucas Till): Alex can emit rings of super-heated energy waves, causing his targets to burst into flame. The athletic mutant has difficulty with his impressive powers, until Charles Xavier teaches him how to get full control over them.

Professor X/Charles Xavier (James McAvoy): The young Oxford graduate, a powerful telepath who can read and control minds, had long wondered if there were others out there like him. When Charles finally meets some fellow mutants, he joins them and teach them to get fully control over their unique abilities to try and stop the greatest threat the world has ever known.

Magneto/Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender): As a young man, Lehnsherr discovered, under horrific circumstances, his power to control magnetism. Now, he is determined to exact revenge on the evil who 'created' him. Erik and Charles form a fast and strong friendship, which is tested in a battle upon which rests the fate of mankind.

Mystique/Raven Darkholme (Jennifer Lawrence): A close friend to Charles Xavier, Raven is a shape-shifter who can assume the form of any humanoid creature she chooses. The mutant teen works hard to lead a 'normal' life and hide her gifts, but the battle between Xavier's mutants and Shaw's forces leads her on a different path.

Angel Salvadore (Zoe Kravitz): Angel, The beautiful ex-dancer possesses a stunning tattoo of insect-like wings, which become actual wings growing from her back, giving her the gift of flight. Her lethal power is a deadly acid, which she projectile vomits in combat.

Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon): Shaw, a force of pure evil, was a Nazi collaborator whose early research forever altered the life of a young Erik Lensherr. Shaw can absorb energy and re-channel it, and he will stop at nothing to start a war to ensure that mutants inherit the earth.

Emma Frost (January Jones): Emma, a platinum haired beauty and close partner of Sebastian Shaw, is a telepath who possess a diamond-like skin that is indestructible. Like Charles Xavier, she can project her thoughts into another's mind.

Monday 10 December 2012

Hey guys. My name is Eman and this blog is about a film review. The film that we are going to be reviewing is X-Men: First Class which is one of my favourite movies. This blog is created for my school assignment so I hope you will like it.

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this exciting X-Men prequel/origin story has plenty of action as the heroes and villains battle it out using their wide variety of special abilities, many of which can be deadly. Though overall the film's story goes to the 1960s setting, there are big explosions and attacks, as well as hand-to-hand battles and a few intense death scenes -- including one in which a boy's mother is killed in front of him and another in which a coin becomes a lethal weapon. The threat of nuclear war hangs over most of the movie. Expect moderate drinking and smoking; female characters sometimes appear in their underwear, skimpy costumes, or less, though there's no actual nudity. Language is infrequent but in a particular scene, there's being use a word which isn't appropriate to post. The movie include discussions about morality, self-acceptance, and fear of the unknown and (staying true to the original comic books) makes comparisons between the Holocaust (a destruction caused by a nuclear war) and how people react to the presence of mutants.

What's the story?

James McAvoy stars as Charles Xavier (Professor X), a powerful telepath who recruits a band of fellow mutants -- each with unique abilities -- in this work to the popular X-Men franchise. After a World War II-era opening sequence, the bulk of the story takes place at the height of the Cold War in the early 1960s, as Xavier joins with another powerful mutant, Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto) (Michael Fassbender), to track down the dangerous Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). Shaw and his gang are trying to kick off a nuclear disaster, while Xavier and the newly formed X-Men (including Xavier's childhood friend/foster sister, Raven/Mystique, who's played by Jennifer Lawrence) try to prevent World War III. Meanwhile, Erik may be pursuing his own agenda.

Is it any good?

Although X-MEN: FIRST CLASS isn't perfect -- it's a bit too long, some scene transitions are sudden and unexpected, and the dialogue has its bumpy moments -- it's more fun to focus on what's right. The brilliant casting, for starters, especially when it comes to McAvoy and Fassbender. Compared to the others, they're practically conducting a master class in the art of acting, regardless of the movie's otherwordly plotlines.

And the story is both an exciting action yarn and a weighty debate about racism, deliberate and good vs. evil. By explicitly linking the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany (Erik is a concentration camp survivor) with ordinary folks' growing fear of mutants -- a theme that has always been part of the X-Men story, from the comic books' earliest days -- the film asks whether the heroes actually have a duty to protect the world. Parts of that debate can get heavy-handed, but it does help elevate the X-Men films beyond standard superhero stories.

What families can talk about

Families can talk about the movie's messages. What do the mutants' struggles have in common with other challenges that people have faced? Why do people tend to fear what is different?
What does the movie say about revenge? Is Erik justified in his pursuit of vengeance? Do the ends ever justify the means?

What distinguishes the "good guys" and the "bad guys" in this movie? Do any of Shaw's arguments make sense?

Movie details:

Studio:	Twentieth Century Fox
Director:	Matthew Vaughn
Cast:	James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon,Michael Fassbender
Genre:	Action/Adventure
Run time:	132 minutes
Theatrical release date:	June 3, 2011
DVD release date:	September 9, 2011
MPAA rating:	PG-13
MPAA explanation:	intense sequences of action and violence