The more things change, the more things stay the same; X-Men: First Class may be set in the 60’s, but it’s themes of war and prejudice, along with it’s call for tolerance, are still relevant today.  What makes this movie more than just another comic book story is how they take these ideas and weave them into a truly entertaining film.  Hey, they even make the old blue-and-yellow suits look classy.

It’s 1944, and Erik Lehnsherr has been sent to a concentration camp with his parents.  His anguish at the thought of being separated from his mother causes him to tap into powers that cause the metal fencing separating them to warp.  He’s shuttled off to be studied by Sebastian Shaw, with horrible consequences.  Meanwhile, telepath Charles Xavier is growing up in the lap of luxury, with everything a child could want, including best friend/adopted sister Raven.  Cut to the 1960s, and while Charles is wrapping up college studies, Erik is on a manhunt for the Nazis who destroyed his life.  When Charles and Erik come together to protect the world from Shaw, their friendship is tested because of their differing beliefs.  Charles holds out hope that humans will ultimately embrace mutants and they can all live together in harmony.  Erik, after his time in the camps, has nothing but disdain for a race he believes will try to destroy anything different.

As a comic book mythology, the X-Men began in the 60s in response to the decades fight for civil rights.  But with all the strides we have made, there are still many areas of prejudice, hatred and bigotry, which makes X-Men: First Class not only a rip-roaring ride of a film, but a study in how people behave when faced with things they don’t understand.  But this film doesn’t hit you over the head with it, or have these themes feel forced, they’re a natural outcome of the movie’s storyline.  The actors work well together and give believable performances (unbelievable abilities notwithstanding).  I did have to smile a bit at January Jones’ Emma Frost; such a beautiful woman, still in a Mad Men’s world.  Her performance left me wanting to know more about her character, there was so much going on behind her eyes, yet she never lost her cool.  With a name like Frost I guess it’s to be expected.  Kevin Bacon gives Sebastian Shaw real teeth, and while he does a great job of letting the audience know why Shaw is doing what he’s doing, Bacon is obviously having such a good time with playing the bad guy that you can’t help but follow him down to Armageddon.

I’m a huge fan of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen.  And you, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, are not them.  But that’s okay, there’s room enough for all.  Because in X-Men: First Class we’re not watching the fully formed Professor X and Magneto, we’re watching the story of how they came to be who they are.  For this, McAvoy and Fassbender are wonderfully cast in the roles of friends who will become the bitterest of enemies.  It’s a blast to see McAvoy’s Charles Xavier at university getting plowed and hitting on women with the same line over and over.  And Erik, before Magneto, really had me feeling for him even with his chaos theory of retribution.  It’s a cold, dead heart that can’t understand why Magneto became who he is, and Fassbender’s ability to portray a man torn between his love for his friends and his merciless anger is impressive.   Jennifer Lawrence, as Raven/Mystique, gives a performance that let me know her Oscar nomination for Winter’s Bone wasn’t a fluke.  She’s a girl who can’t see herself as beautiful unless she disguises herself.  A sentiment that will ring true to may teen and post-teen viewers.  In fact, Lawrence’s scenes with Nicholas Hoult’s Howard/Beast when they talk about beauty and acceptance are some of the most touching in the film.

The “oh, wow!” stuff?  Oh yeah, it’s here.  The special effects are seamless.  Hank’s feet, Raven’s shifting ability and Azazel’s…well, his whole self look organic and seem an integral part of their bodies.  The most amazing to me was Angel’s wings, that could go from a cool looking tattoo to fully realized appendages in sinuous movements that were so believable I wanted to reach out and touch them.  The art direction gives an authentic feel to the scenes, from a 1944 Germany concentration camps to the swingin’ kids of 1966 (though I thought it was cool that even in the 60s Charles and Erik dressed much like they do now.  Nice touch.)  And while the action sometimes moves too fast to get a grip on what’s going on where, it’s all crystal clear and staged perfectly.

What’s not to like about X-Men: First Class?  No Stan Lee cameo.  Sorry, Stan fans.  But if I’m being honest, I was enjoying myself too much to even notice.  In fact, only while tapping this out did I remember that Stan the Man usually makes an appearance, and ZOMG, did I miss it?  Nope.  He’s said that there’s no cameo for him in this film. Never fear, there are a few cameos that will have genre fans applauding.  No, I won’t be that reviewer and spoil ‘em.  You want your movie experience watered down, google away, I can’t do it.  Let’s just say the cameos are fun but don’t take focus away from the movie you’re watching.  Oh, and if you’re someone (like me) that stays through the credits to see the bonus scene, you can leave as they roll if you like.  There’s no scene at the end of the credits that teases at more to come.  What, Marvel isn’t giving you enough with The Hulk, The Avengers, Captain America, a Spidey re-boot and Iron Man 3? Seriously?  Yeah, I hoped for a teaser scene too. But with X-Men: First Class, there’s so much to love that a bonus scene would feel like overkill.  Almost.

When Eric/Magneto looks at Charles and says “Never.  Again.”, it’s not a cliched use of a powerful call to remembrance, but a heartbreaking expression of how we as human beings still have so much further to go in order to achieve true tolerance and acceptance.  Go see X-Men: First Class for the glorious popcorn blockbuster fun of it all, then sit back with your friends and talk about how this film addresses important issues that much of the mainstream media tries to avoid.

A few months ago, Bryan Singer, the man responsible for dragging the comic-book story of a group of superpowered mutants in a prejudiced world, known as The X-Men, kicking and screaming onto the big screen announced that he would be returning to the franchise after two disappointing sequels (X3 and last year’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.) Singer and producer Lauren Shuler Donner sat down with Hero Complex to discuss the future of the series, which will begin when Singer steps up to the director’s chair for the prequel X-Men: First Class.

First Class will focus on the friendship between a younger Charles Xavier (Professor X) and Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto) as they strive to bring equality to the mutant population, and as Xavier gathers what will become the first team of X-Men.

The premise has compelling elements to it, Singer said. “Just doing younger mutants is not enough. The story needs to be more than that. I love the relationship between Magneto and Xavier, these two men who have diametrically opposite points of view but still manage to be friends — to a point. They are the ultimate ‘frienemies’.”

So why did Singer find himself drawn back into the franchise after leaving Fox for Warner Brothers to helm Superman Returns?

“I genuinely like the people, and my personality meshes more with this universe than it does with other universes, I think; I see that now at this point,” Singer said. “I feel a connection to the X-Men characters and also the ensemble nature of the films. If you look at ‘Usual Suspects” or my last film, ‘Valkyrie,’ I feel especially comfortable with ensemble juggling. In the space between all the characters you can disguise a central thought that’s hidden in all the discourse. I missed that with the singular relationship story of Superman. And, well, it always gives you something to cut to…”

Now that he has returned to the series that effectively helped kick off the current superhero film trend, it seems that some people involved are looking way ahead at establishing a long future for the X-Men.

Shuler Donner also has pitched Singer on doing a fourth installment of the previously established “X-Men” franchise and Jackman had that lunch with Singer to coax him into a project as well, which may or may not be a “Wolverine” film, which Jackman has said will be set in Japan and released in 2011. “I wish I could be four people,” the director said with a moan. “I could make everybody happy.”

Singer turned to Shuler Donner and said of “X-Men 4″: “Hold that one off for just a little, I’m fixated on the other one right now.” She nodded and answered, “I will, I will … I’m holding it open with high hopes. It’s totally different [from 'First Class'] and it will be so interesting for you.”

How do you feel about Singer returning? Do you think the story should be carried on from X3? How do you think the writers can redeem the mistakes of X3 and Wolverine?

Well, this is unexpected — Bryan Singer, the director of X-Men and X2 who abandoned the series to embrace the failed Superman reboot and direct Valkyrie, is considering a return for X-Men IV. This is great news for everyone who sat through the mediocre X-Men: The Last Stand and the abomination that is Wolverine.

According to The Hollywood Reporter:

“‘I’m still looking to possibly returning to the X-Men franchise. I’ve been talking to Fox about it,’ Singer said at a talk at South Korea’s Pusan International Film Festival. He said he likes to ‘trick audiences into thinking they’re seeing fireworks, but they’re learning about themselves and listening to what I have to say.’”

This is far from a commitment from Singer, but nevertheless is a great sign for fans who adore the comics. If it does happen, though, The Last Stand will forever be a weird black sheep for the series, which is always annoying to me. After Wolverine last summer, Singer is just the shot in the arm that the series needs.

However, I’d take it with a grain of salt until he signs a contract — Singer’s a busy guy, with projects in development ranging from Excalibur to Jack the Giant Killer and a potentially unnecessary reboot of Battlestar Galactica.

The folks over at /Film got to talk to X-Men franchise producer Lauren Shuler Donner about the future projects with the group of mutants. Here is what she had to say on the subject matter:

According to Shuler Donner, there’s no truth to the initial claim at all. She announced that the film has no scheduled start date and will definitely not be kicking off in February. What’s more, she confirmed that no actors have signed contracts to appear in the film.

As well as the eventual New Class, then – whenever that might be – Shuler Donner revealed that she has been cooking up plans for several other mutant films. The two she named? An X4, reuniting the X-Men and a big screen outing for The New Mutants. X4, she said, had yet to be pitched to the studio, however.

This report here quickly throws out the notion of X-Men: First Class filming early next year in a previous article. The X-Men adaptations have spanned on for almost a decade, starting off with Bryan Singer’s first film in 2000. What continued on was not only the blossoming of a lucrative franchise but a starting off point for the full blast of comic book adaptations that still continue on. Whatever latest step they will take on the popular X-Men movie franchise, we’ll keep you up to date here on Atomic Popcorn.

Popular geek site, IGN, caught up with Anna Paquin and asked if she will return to portray the mutant Southern belle, Rogue, in the upcoming X-Men: First Class.

“Absolutely. Yeah,” she revealed. “I would hope I could do a little bit more action next time, though. I kind of find it ironic that I did three big action films and did, actually, no action whatsoever. I mean I got some really amazing emotional story moments, but I didn’t really get to do the physical stuff.”

Rogue is looking for some action

She continued: “You know, as much as I loved doing those films I was kind of like, ‘OK, so when do I get to beat someone up? When do I get to steal some powers?’ You know Sookie [Paquin's 'True Blood' character] gets to do more action than Rogue ever did. So I’m just putting that out there. More action please, for next time.”

I couldn’t agree more.

The recently announced X-Men: First Class includes Iceman, Rogue, Angel, Colossus, Jubilee and Shadowcat. The OC, Gossip Girl and Chuck creator, Josh Schwartz, will pen the scriptm which is aimed to “bring the franchise to a younger generation.”

I’m not sure how much younger we can get here, 20th Century Fox?

Fellow X-Men fans, there might be a ray of hope upon the horizon. Valkyrie and director of the first two X-Men movies, Bryan Singer was interviewed from Total Film magazine where he expresses a great interest in diving back into the X-Men universe. As most of you know, the latest movie that is currently on Twentieth Century Fox’s slab for production is X-Men Origins: Magneto. After being on a long development hell, it’s finally getting the wheels in motion after the recent success of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Take a peek at the interview where he shows his interest:

Will Singer be back for more mutant goodness?

I‘m eternally intertwined with X-Men now. What takes an audience four hours to watch – the first two movies – took six years of my life. So, to not be part of it….It’s a shame.”

Asked whether he wished he had directed X-Men: The Last Stand, he admitted he had that feeling “before I was watching it, during watching it, after watching it.”

Singer added: “It’s weird for me to watch it, because I’m so close to the universe. And also Brett is a good friend of mine. But, of course, I would love to return to that universe.”

And on the question of whether he might be interested in X-Men Origins: Magneto, he said: “Possibly. The only thing that concerns me about Magneto is that if the prequel were to follow the track I used in X-Men, which is Magneto’s history in the concentration camp, then I’ve lived in that world.

Personally I hope that Bryan Singer makes a leap back into the X-Men films again. After having a slight falling out with Twentieth Century Fox over whether or not he was going to tackle Superman Returns or X-Men 3, it would be quite a nice change to see Singer back in the director’s seat for another X-Men adventure.

The first big summer release of 2009 delivers big action, big special effects and big mutants. Unfortunately it doesn’t address some big questions. How are Wolverine and Sabertooth growing up as kids at the beginning of the film, but ageless after the first 20 minutes? How does adamantium change the shape and look of Wolverine’s claws? How many Twinkies did the Blob have to eat to get that big, that quick? And why, every time I say or hear ‘Wolverine”, do I think of Red Dawn. (Which I just learned is set to be remade next year.)

Wolverine is Sharp

Look, the bottom line is this: if you love comic book movies, you’re going to love Wolverine. If you’re a comic book purist and pick apart every comic book movie, you’re going to be frustrated and complaining about the demise of the franchise. I loved the movie. I thought it was fun and had great pacing to the tension between story and action. It gives you just enough back story to make it worth telling. And it introduced some new (to the movie goer, not the comic reader) characters that were pretty awesome like the well played tough but mysterious Gambit (Taylor Kitsch, Friday Night Lights TV show), an interesting but too quickly disappearing  Wraith (Will Am I of Black Eyed Peas band fame) and the makes-the-movie fun, wise-cracking Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds, Adventureland and Van Wilder). But overall it focuses on Wolverine (Hugh Jackman, X-Men 1,2 and 3, and Australia) and his brother/buddy/enemy Sabertooth (Liv Schreiber, Defiance). Here’s hoping that we get to see a future film with a lot more Gambit and Deadpool involved in the story. Wolverine and Sabertooth get top billing and do a great job carrying the movie. But Gambit and Deadpool give it the intrigue that gets a little lost as they focus on one hero.

There are a ton of great action sequences beginning with a fantastic war montage at the beginning of the movie that shows you just how old Wolverine and Sabertooth really are. The fighting continues as you see a special unit of super heroes formed for a secret branch of the military. And then the darkness begins as the true nature of what is being done is revealed. As the gap between the X-Men movies and Wolverine’s story is bridged, there is plenty of brooding, anguish and destruction to keep you from feeling like this is just a fun stroll down memory lane for our hero.

But memory lane is what Wolverine is searching for in his X-Men role. And while Origins provides some clarity to the audience, the answer to Wolverine’s amnesia at the end of the movie is pretty weak. I left wondering how Colonel Stryker is able to shoot so confidently that he can erase Wolverine’s memory of his past, but not impact any other brain functions…So, there are definitely some plot holes. But if you are looking for tight plot lines and deep congruent stories, you probably aren’t a comic book fan in the first place.

Go see this on the big screen. It’s meant to be enjoyed for what it is: an action packed escape from reality.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Wolverine Trailer

What more do I need to say besides I am very very excited about this film…Wolverine is coming to theaters not a moment to soon and I am stoked about what they have done with all of the characters thus far.

This trailer brings about some more questions for me about Deadpool, but without a doubt it looks like it will be more than 90 minutes of some ass kicking action.

Check out the latest trailer below and love it!!

Check out the stills that USAToday gave the interwebs yesterday.

Who is this guy?

Deadpool??

Deadpool or Cyclops??