JAM Reviews X-Men: First Class from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

X-Men First Class: Blu-Ray with Digital Copy: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Review by JAM



Long before they were enemies with opposing viewpoints on the mutant/human coexistence, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) were friends who worked together to find out more about themselves, what they were, and how to usher in the age of the mutant. Faced with an enemy they cannot overcome alone, they find other like themselves in order to take on the tyrannical actions of megalomaniac mutant by the name of Sebastion Shaw (Kevin Bacon), formerly known as Dr. Schmidt to the boy who would become Magneto.

From the beginning sibling-like relationship between Charles and Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) to the budding business relationship to something more between Charles and Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne), interpersonal relationships abound as mutants come together, some fearful of their powers, others proud of who they are, but all of them needed for the fight against Shaw and his band of Evil Mutants.

And what a fight it is as within the backdrop of the Cuban Missile crisis, boats fly through magnetic manipulation, heroes fight to stop a war between anyone and everyone, and the seeds are set for future confrontations between two men with respect and love for each other, but with pride and feelings that cause a gap between them.

JAMS Ink on X-Men First Class

Continuity. If I would have any issues with this release, it would have been continuity. See, I am an X-men nut. I own the majority of X-men issues ever produced since the reimagining of the team in the 70s with Giant-Size X-Men #1 and know these characters better than most I would say. And I own the movies that came before in which a number of these characters already appeared at ages that really did not work with this film. And do you know what? I AM OK WITH THAT. This movie was fun, full of X-Men goodness, and whether it worked with all the continuity of the X-Men Universe or not is ok with me. The characters were fleshed out even if they were out of their own timeline, and I am really looking forward to the sequels that are sure to come.

In a comic book movie full of beautiful women, I found it kind of odd that my favorite characters were the destructive weapon of mass destruction Havok and the Irish screamer himself, the Banshee. Seeing characters going through the learning curve of learning control and ultimately finding strength in their weaknesses is enjoyable and with many of the characters being “second” tier compared to Wolverine, Cyclops, or Jean Grey, it allows the power of teamwork to shine throughout in this film.

BLU-RAY Aspects

Sun powered energy blasts, scream powered sonic manipulation, blue-tinted shape-shifting mutants, Nazi history, 60’s psychedelic backdrops… You need to get this one on Blu-Ray. It is really too much fun and too amazing graphically to not enjoy the color contrasts and clarity on the Bliu-ray. Nazi Germany looks dark and dreadful, the groovy clubs look psychedelic, and the mutant powers look as amazing as you would expect. So I am definitely happy to recommend BLU-RAY YES on this one.

EXTRAS

Talk about extras galore on this one. From the fun digital comics included to the behind the scenes information in the Children of the Atom, there is something for anyone on this disc. Cerebro Mutant Tracker was pretty cool too giving mutant information on characters you were interested about. The extended and deleted scenes were pretty cool, but as I enjoyed the film as a whole I am okay with the cuts that were made.

• 10 Marvel “X-Men” Digital Comics with exclusive “X-Men: First Class” Backstory Comic
• More than two hours of never-before-seen extras, including:
o Cerebro Mutant Tracker: The complete interactive Mutant Database with interactive videos

giving fans the ability to learn about their favorite mutants in the X-Men film franchise
o Children of the Atom: An eight-part behind-the-scenes featurette, charting the film from

pre-production through post-production, including visual effects techniques and cataloguing

“X-Men” transformations through prosthetic make up and costume design

o “X” Marks the Spot: An interactive feature allowing viewers the opportunity to learn more

about specific scenes with talent interviews and behind-the-scenes footage
o Extended and Deleted Scenes
o BD-Live Portal with additional Cerebro Mutant Tracker profiles
o Composer’s Isolated Score
o Theatrical Trailer

X-Men First Class
Street Date: September 9, 2011
Screen Format: 2.40:1 (16:9)
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
(Some special features in 5.1 DD or 2.0 DD)
Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, Spanish, and French
U.S. Rating: PG-13
Total Run Time: 4 hours, 55 minutes
Closed Captioned: Yes

Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at http://jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.