'X-Men: First Class' is Just That

No one can seem to make just one movie these days. Everything is a series. Is there any reason the “” should exist? I thought the first one wrapped up the plot pretty nicely. Even ‘80s movies aren’t safe, anymore. You need to film another “Wall Street”? Really? Can’t you leave well enough alone? Apparently not.

So I had to roll my eyes, just a little, when I saw the preview for “X-Men: First Class.” Marvel is a movie-makers’ gold mine, having spawned dozens of features highlighting characters from the Hulk to Ghost Rider to The Fantastic Four.

The first “X-Men” flick was star-studded and well-received when it debuted 11 years ago. Since then, we’ve watched the mutants help save the president in “X2,” and debate a cure in a film ironically called “X-Men: The Last Stand.” By the time we got to “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” in 2009, the fuel tank was sputtering, and not even Hugh Jackman’s gruff sexiness could jump start it.

So what do you do when you’re lost? You go back to the beginning. And that’s exactly what “X-Men: First Class” does.

We see Professor X as Charles Xavier, a sweet-tempered young boy who happens upon a shape-shifting runaway named Raven (the future Mystique) in his kitchen late one night. You’re not alone, he tells her. “I’m different, too.”

And so begins the epic tale. And it is spectacular.

The writers cleverly center the gang’s creation around the real-life drama of the Bay of Pigs, and the natural parallels between the U.S.’s relationship with Russia and the humans’ relationship with the mutants adds depth to a film that easily could have been all special-effects flash and no substance.  

After seeing the film, my husband commented that this movie does for “X-Men” what “Batman Begins” did for “Batman,” and I had to agree.  Stripped of his gadgets and status, Professor X becomes a much more human and relatable character. Watching him grow from a flirtatious academic to the leader of a powerful mutant taskforce is fascinating, and James McAvoy is charming and heartwarming in the role.

But Professor X isn’t the real star of the show. That accolade goes to Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr, a Jewish man who, as a little boy, watched a Nazi doctor kill his mother in an attempt to extract Erik’s powers. With that back-story, it’s easier to see and understand why Erik transforms from Erik, friend of Charles, to Magneto, enemy of the X-Men.   

Thanks to this film, I won’t be rolling my eyes next time I see an “X-Men” preview; I’ll be looking forward to opening night. 

“Mutant and proud,” baby.

"X-Men: First Class" is playing at during the following times:

• 12:00 p.m., 12:30 p.m., 3:20 p.m., 3:50 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m., 9:40 p.m. and 10:10 p.m.
• In Digital Projection: 1 p.m., 4:20 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 10:40 p.m.