In all seriousness, though, it was phenomenal. It was better than the original, blew The Last Stand and X-Men Origins:Wolverine out of the water, and truly let X2 live up to it's name by putting it in 2nd place.
Fassbender was brilliant as Erik Lensher, His portrayal was incredible. If you were with him, you saw that he could be capable of compassion, but if you were against him, you truly saw how vicious he could be. However, he truly stood out when he channeled, as Charles put it, "Anger and Serenity." His final performance in the film is what truly set him apart.
James Mcavoy did a good job as Charles Xavier. He was very full of himself, yet he was always putting those around him before himself for the most part. The fact that he played Charles as a sort of sociable, and charismatic young man made his scenes with Fassbender's brooding and cool Erik all the more memorable as their chemistry really showed in these scenes.
10/10,This film showed me that a franchise can be redeemed without being rebooted,
How is he coming back? Unless there is some hand-waivy plot device in the next movie, he's pretty dead. I guess you've read something? I wouldn't mind him back, but there are many other great villains to explore.
I did really enjoy the movie but there was one very large problem for me.... Kevin Bacon?! WTF???
Seriously, Mr. Footloose? Worst casting ever IMO, tell me you didn't laugh when he put the helmet on his head?
Everything else about the movie I loved, If they just would have found almost anyone else for his role it would have been a 10 for me.
This was a very good movie but didn't have the extreme "wow" for me that Thor had.
I didn't mind Kevin Bacon. I actually thought he was decent enough but not overly impressive either. My issues are in my spoiler post and to why this movie was good but not great. I'm glad I went to see it and had a good time but this movie for me wasn't Thor and I doubt will be GL or Cap.
Saw it on Friday. I wasn't expecting that at ALL. Lots of people was expecting a peace of cr*p movie, and criticizing it pretty bad. They've made us close our mouths.
It was awesome. Specially Magneto, Michael Fassbender did a great work with the character, the 60's and the fear of a new war. I wish every Xmen movie were made like that.
I laughed so bad at the time Logan appears, lol. "Get the f__ out of here"
And most of all, when they go to VILLA GESELL- ARGENTINA. I'm from Argentina and I can assure you Villa Gesell was not like that Everyone at the cinema started laughin', But well, not important, but funeee.
And kevin bacon, perfect villian. Even I wanted to break his tooth
How is he coming back? Unless there is some hand-waivy plot device in the next movie, he's pretty dead. I guess you've read something? I wouldn't mind him back, but there are many other great villains to explore.
OMG, so much love for the "Magneto" track - I pre-ordered the soundtrack and suspected that one was the closing credits piece, which I loved in the theater.
just got back from seeing it. It definately lived up to the hype from reading about it recently.
Felt really developed background and atmosphere. I think basing the film in the past helped it feel more legit for some reason, like we were watching something that already happened, so it helps suspend reality a little bit.
This film wasn't really on my summer movie radar - what with Cap, Thor, Green Lantern and even Pirates; I wasn't expecting anything from this film - it's Fox after all - the last place you'd think when someone mentions "quality comicbook movies." Remember Fantastic Four(s), Daredevil, Elektra, X3? So I was pleasantly surprised that this is was such a thoughtful and well written story. I'm not a huge X-fan, so I had no idea who Azazel, Riptide, Darwin or this Angel were and I have just enough knowledge that I knew it was weird for Alex Summers to be so much older than his brother Cyclops. So I couldn't really care less that this plays havok with comic continuity - and they did do a pretty good job of fitting into the movie continuity - I can see Fassbender's Erik turning into McKellan's. The entire cast is great, but it really is Fassbender that is the human center of the film and the one that we root for. Sure Charles is charming and all do-goody, but the tragedy of Erik's past and how he's lived his life really make for good drama. If there are sequels I'm hoping we see them centered around Fassbender's Magneto and his brotherhood rather than Professor X's rather bland group of kids.
I also have to give a shout out to Kevin Bacon - he's had some bad directors and sometimes plays over the top. It would have been easy to go that way in a comic book movie. But he reins it in and makes for a fantastic villain. I also really, really liked how they showed the manifestation of his power - it was a great visual every time.
As for the best Marvel movie? I think I still enjoyed Spider-man 2 and Iron Man a bit more, but it certainly is the most thought provokingl. And I have to say no other Marvel movie has ever
made me cry. When Charles gets shot and the rest of that scene - brilliant.
Alright saw it this morning and I'm still in nerd heaven.
What worked:
-James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. Perfect casting. Nothing against Patrick Stewart or Ian McKellan but these two blew the memory of them out of the water.
-The 1960s backdrop, made it really accessible to hit the origins of these two to match what has been in the Marvel history for decades. The Holocaust situations, the Oxford journey of Xavier, absolutely perfect.
-Costuming. They made the blue and yellow that people had traditionally scoffed against work. It looked great and I hope it continues if the franchise continues.
-The storyline, I was shocked that this film was over 2 hours it didn't feel like it. Everything moved quickly and had a fantastic pacing.
-Azazel. He was fantastic and the effects and the look was much better than Singer's Nightcrawler.
-Chemistry. Outside of a few actors the chemistry worked between the major characters. It felt natural from the majority of the film.
-Kevin Bacon. Sebastian Shaw is a kind of meh character, most notable for being someone ignored in the Dark Phoenix Saga, he brought character to the role and definitely made him interesting to watch.
What didn't work
-Bryan Singer. I am not a huge Singer fan, I think he is outstandingly overhyped and a meh director but as a producer I found him even worse. This was supposed to be it's own thing, a standalone away from the X-Universe's continuity but given that he wrote the script and was buddy up to Vaughn throughout it was clearly obvious that this was his attempt to take back the X-Universe. He ignores X3 completely. Moira and what happens to her, the inclusion of Emma Frost, How Beast came to be, the look of Mystique, the cameos of the two notables from his X-Universe, this was his move to completely remind audiences that this came before his movies and they could connect.
Was it needed for Rebecca Romijin to be what Jennifer Laurence morphed into? No, it was her a few years older, chuckle, chuckle still just a nod to his continuity
,
the age of Cyclops and Storm in Cerebro just shows that he made them different ages than Origins Wolverine, another little snub, you could argue that we really don't know their ages in this but that's how I saw it.
, even
Magneto's final look, the suit was almost exactly the same as we saw McKellan in just red. It was like Singer allowed the helmet change and color change but wanted everyone to remember what his Magneto looked like
I could go on but it's really not needed this was Vaughn's film but Singer's influence was like a punch in the face. I enjoyed the film don't get me wrong but it was almost laughable how much he decided to undo what came after him.
-January Jones. She was laughably bland. Nothing about her screamed Emma Frost and the scenes where she was supposed to be sultry or serious came off as almost painful. You wanted to give her a hug and say "it's ok, I thought you were good." She has fantastic breasts but outside of that she did nothing but purge the horrid Emma Frost from X-Men Origins Wolverine from my mind but I wasn't a fan of the portrayal like I'm a fan of the character.
-Jennifer Laurence. I know she is Oscar Nominated and gorgeous but she came off as outmatched in acting talent throughout the whole thing. She definitely to me looks better than Romijin did but her acting was stale.
-Beast. I loved seeing Beast as Hank McCoy, I was even willing to ignore the liberties with his mutation (did Singer forget that in X-Men, there is a cameo from Hank in human form on the television?) but when he transformed it looked like a bad halloween costuming. The fur, the way it was stuffed in the suit, the attempt to mix the Morrison cat look over the Jim Lee Beast look in X3, it just didn't work for me.
when he changed himself into the cat you'd think he'd be a little more bummed or even depressed considering how much his character lamented about being normal
. I would have rathered they throw trunks on him and let the fur fly but it was a little knitpick.
-Angel and Darwin. Their acting was bad, Zoe more than the chap but they were throwaway mutants I wouldn't care about really and they showed it here.
-The Ending. I know it was supposed to be a standalone film that morphed into a prequel but it was so rushed in the last 10 minutes that it felt strange. Everything was working until that point and then it was like someone flashed the lights and everyone had to hurry up and go home. I would have rathered they end it on the beach and then explore the evolution in another film.
Overall I really liked it. More than Thor. Something about the 60s timeline and the way the characters were woven together just felt more natural than Thor or any of the other Marvel movies since Iron Man 1. It suffers from a disjointed ending as Iron Man 1 but overall it was a difficult call to which would be better. I think I just might give it to this as the best Marvel movie after a little thought. I hope this franchise continues for another six films if they are this quality. Both Fassbender and McAvoy said they'd love to continue so I hope Marvel/Fox locks them up and moves on it.
I never thought I'd see a 20th Century Fox film that was THE best Marvel movie. If they started at this caliber, there'd be no need for Marvel Studios.
Nice review Mike. Good read honestly. Agree with some and not with other parts. You're not the first person I've seen say best Marvel movie. I just cannot agree with that at all for me personally. This movie might only be # 5 for me to be honest.
Its tough. I loved Iron Man 1 and Thor. Spider-Man 1 & 2 don't hold up well, given I just watched them a couple of weeks ago although there are some classic parts but something about knowing it's in the Silver Age timeframe and how well it weaved in their own continuity into the established Marvel continuity was fantastic. By far better than anything 20th Century Fox has done with their licenses IMHO and I really hope that their Daredevil and Fantastic Four reboots are given the same TLC.
Everyone at the cinema started laughin', 
But well, not important, but funeee.
