X-Men: First Class (9/6/2011)

Rating PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some sexual content including brief partial nudity and language.

Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, and Kevin Bacon

Directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kick Ass and Stardust)

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 Lensherr 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 stop nuclear Armageddon. In the process, a grave rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and the Professor’s X-Men.

It wasn’t too long ago when Superhero movies were the laughing stock of Hollywood. There were TV shows and movies that were total disasters. Do you remember The Flash or Captain America? Then there was the worst one of all…the 1994 Fantastic Four, which was made with the intent of never being released (you can actually watch the whole thing on YouTube). But today the Superhero movies are Hollywood gold. They are filled with amazing special effects, top notch talent and solid stories.

X-Men: First Class is no different…and I loved it.

This is an origin story and that story starts in 1944 in Nazi Germany. Young Erik Lehnsherr displays telekinetic powers when he’s separated from his mother in a concentration camp, and drawing the attention of the German “doctor” Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). Of course Shaw wants to study, harness, and replicate Erik’s abilities. At the same time, in New York state, a wealthy British boy named Charles Xavier, who can read minds, meets a girl named Raven who can shapeshift but whose natural state is blue and scaly. Charles (James McAvoy) grows up to be a brilliant and compassionate scientist seeking to understand the genetic mutations, while Erik (Michael Fassbender) has grown up to be an angry man obsessed with taking revenge on the doctor who tortured him. Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) isn’t angry, but she is frustrated at being saddled with a mutation that, unlike Charles’, is physically obvious. Not only is there a lot there…it’s told in a fast-paced, high octane fashion that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Just in case you don’t know, Charles and Erik are destined to become Professor X and Magneto, one leading the peaceful band of crime-fighting mutants, the other at the head of the militant faction “Brotherhood.” And getting there is half the fun.

X-Men: First Class was directed by Matthew Vaughn, whose previous features made me pretty nervous knowing he was at the helm. But I’ll give him props…he nailed this one. The film strives to put the mutants’ powers in a real-world context, with real-world repercussions. It uses actual events like the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Nazis’ experiments with genetics as the backdrop. And it’s perfect.

I went into the theater with pretty high expectations. I wanted a great movie with a great story and even better action. I got all that and more.

X-Men: First Class is smart, thrilling, and a ton of fun…It’s Worth Buying…on Blu-ray!


SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
There are two characters and one scene you need to be aware of. Raven and Emma Frost are barely dressed throughout the film and there is one scene where several women are paraded into a room wearing just lingerie. Other than that it is mostly the violence that gets the PG-13 rating. But there is one F-bomb that is dropped by a very familiar face.

Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):

Q: What’s the message/theme of this movie?
A: In X-Men: First Class the line between good and evil is sometimes hard to see. Erik and Charles, though they disagree on tactics, are not enemies, and both men’s points of view are understandable. The issues they face are too complex to be boiled down to a simple “right” or “wrong” way to proceed. Meanwhile, the truly evil Sebastian Shaw is a reflection of each man’s worst potential: Like Charles, he started out being interested in the science behind mutation; like Erik, he came to believe mutants were inherently superior to regular mortals. Either man could go down the wrong path and end up like Shaw.

Q: How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
A: We need to understand that we should to be very careful about the path we are on. One bad decision can lead us down a road we don’t want to go down.

Read Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

What lessons could Erik and Charles have learned from this passage?

What lessons can we learn?

Q: How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
A: Share with your child/student about a time when you made a decision that lead to another bad decision. Discuss what happened and what consequences you faced.

Then ask your child/student to discuss a similar story that they experienced.

What is one thing you can do this week to trust in the Lord with all your heart and to stop trusting on your own understanding?

If you truly seek his will for your life, He will show you which path to take.