With the failure of X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Fox set decided to fix the series. In an attempt to bring back the series to life, the studio planned to do something different. Matthew Vaughn was brought in to make X-Men: First Class. A film set in the 1960s and without any recognizable characters made it stand out. The film was a huge success and did the job it was expected to do. Though some say Days of the Future Past is the best movie of the franchise, it is known that First Class was the best film of the franchise. Here are a few reasons why:
The Chemistry
In films, where a number of heroes gather to work together, chemistry is an essential component. First Class has done a great job at getting the chemistry between the characters right. The portrayal of pseudo brother/sister by McAvoy and Lawrence was on point. It felt the two had known and cared for each other for years. Not just the two, but put them in any combination and they work out just as well. Well-written characters and the acting contributed to it.
A Real Supervillain
First Class brought a shift from the X-Men villains like a government agency and a mutant hating man. Having a mutant as a villain helps create a real drama. While many would say he wasn’t as good as Magneto and Stryker, he definitely brought a change. This fresh way of including a mutant Supervillain worked well for the film and is an important reason it is so successful today.
Moral Complexity
It is something the most X-Men movies had, owing to the comics, Though surely the fact that Sebastian Shaw starting a nuclear war was a strange concept. The movie did give a good reason for it. But the real complexity in the movie was between Charles and Erik. The two were friends who had differences and look at the world in different ways. And the audience was given a reason why. It made the movie better in many ways.
Laid the Groundwork
The movie laid an excellent foundation stone for the X-Men series to start afresh. The movie goes back to the 1960s, gives the series new faces. Fixes the past of the X-Men series. The Cuban Missile climax tied the historical events and was seemingly a new start. The film did an excellent job setting up the future, despite what followed.
Saved the Franchise
X-Men: The Last Stand did not do much other than take small problems of the previous films and made it big. The characters in the movie were vaguely written and had no depth. X-Men Origins: Wolverine made the same mistakes. Both films failed the X-Men series. This could’ve been the end of the series. But with the new storylines, excellent setting, a change in theme, and new characters saved the franchise. It was all done by X-Men: First Class.
