Plot: This prequel is the origin story of Professor X/ Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and villain Magneto/Erik Lehnsheer (Michael Fassbender). Erik is a holocaust survivor, and he is hunting down Nazis war criminals, and especially Shaw (Kevin Bacon), a scientist who killed his mother. Shaw is busy trying to stage the Cuban missile crisis believing the radiation following a nuclear war would create millions of mutant people. Charles, Erik and the CIA work together to stop Shaw.
Review: Origin stories are the most interesting part of super hero movies, and that is true here. We are familiar with the characters, and it is interesting to see them as freaky people turning into superheros.
Throughout there is a theme of "I need to accept myself and my differences -- other people need to accept this too." When Stan Lee wrote these stories in 1963, I am sure it was an allegory for race, and it still is, but today the theme of accepting diversity applies even more widely. X-Men teaches that differences are desirable gifts, which is good for young people who are certain that their differences make them rejects.
The second theme is balance between selfish concern for the clan and humanitarian concern for the whole society. This conflict plays out with Charles against both Shaw and Erik.
The best part is the group acting among the different minor superheros. Janes McAvoy plays Charles with a good balance of patrician wisdom and uncertainty. Kevin Bacon owns the screen during his brief scenes. The special effects are up to standard, however they did a nice job with Mystique's shape shifting, and how Angel could fly on her dragonfly wings.
Most of the superhero powers are ridiculous; they seem less ridiculous because they are familiar. The superhero battle scenes were more strange than cool, and they broke up the flow of the movie. It is not that interesting watching someone wield magnetic force. The final battle did not seem climatic or dramatic or fun.
Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence
Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
Rating: 2.5 stars; An interesting and entertaining movie, but not that fun to watch.
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