X-cellent effort

FOR comic book nerds there are few things more sacred then the X-Men and any attempts to transfer the iconic characters from comic pages to the big-screen are mercilessly scrutinised.

Franchise resurrections are often tedious and painful, especially if you enjoyed the first outing. However, with a legion of dedicated ‘fanboys’ anxiously waiting to pass judgment, I see no limits to the amount of revenue this film will make.

Since continuity has clearly been thrown to the wind in this franchise, Fox decided to start afresh and make this fourth installment an origin story, set in 1962.

The film is set in a world that is witness to vast social and technological changes, but amidst all this, something else is stirring. In the next step in human evolution some people have begun to develop supernatural abilities, these abilities vary from person to person and while some are keen to use their powers for good, others are less altruistic.

Deep in the Marvel Universe, in a time before he was Professor X, Charles Xavier is a brilliant geneticist (and telepath) who already imagines a peaceful world where mutants and humans can co-exist.

Eric Lehnsherr/ Magneto however, is an angry young mutant who is hell-bent on revenge for the horrible crimes committed against his family during the Second World War.

The film revolves around his perilous search for his former Nazi concentration camp guard, Sebastian Shaw, an evil mutant millionaire with plans to start the Third World War for personal gain.

Shaw plans to pit the US and the Soviet Union against each other in the hope of starting a nuclear war, thus destroying all of humanity and allowing mutants to rule … with him in charge, of course.

Luckily for Shaw he has some friends to back him up in this mammoth task, namely a telepath (Emma Frost), a teleporter (Azazel) and a guy who can control the wind (Riptide) …I could do with one of those in the office!
At the height of the Cold War between the democratic west and Communist east, this threat to world peace makes Xavier and Lehnsherr allies.

To make it a fair fight, Eric, Charles and CIA operative Moira McTaggart enlist the help of a group of young mutants including classic characters such as Beast, Mystique and Havok.

The heart of the film is not so much the action-dominated plot, but rather the budding relationship between Charles and Eric. Both James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender manage to hold the screen effortlessly and work well together to portray close friends with very different world views.

Fassbender, in particular, really impressed me with his performance. He managed to be serious and funny, bringing some much needed jocularity to the project. And, speaking of laughs, there’s also a great little cameo from Hugh Jackman as Wolverine who, in just two words, managed to induce rapturous applause from the audience.

However, for me, the best thing about this film is Kevin Bacon. He does such a believable job as a bad guy that, for a moment, I actually hated him … until I remembered he was the guy from Footloose.

So, the real question is, was this film as good as the original X-Men movie? No. Was it as bad as the last X-Men movie? No. This is a film that stands alone and cannot be compared to the rest of the franchise.

The only foreseeable problem now is the future release of The Wolverine, which will no doubt raise the bar … or limbo under it.

Showing in Dana Cineplex