Xmen: First Class (film)

Writer/producer/director, Matthew Vaughn (Kick Ass) took First Class head on, directing what can only be described as a new era of Xmen.

The film dives back to 1962 when Charles Xavier (James McAvoy, Wanted) and Eric Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender, Inglorious Basterds) first meet and form the Xmen to band together and take down Sabastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) and, in a nut shell, stop WWIII!

First Class was a make or break version of Xmen. With the disappointing Xmen: Last Stand and the more hateful Wolverine: Origins acting as a catalyst for negativity and dismissal, a new Xmen film was never going to grab attention straight away. That was until Matthew Vaughn popped up and turned the 'Series Of Misfortunate Sequel Prequel Things' into something that Xmen should have been from the start.... 'Mutant, and proud'

The problem with the last 2 films were that not only were they very boring, but they were, well, awful. X3 seemed to grab no attention and slithered into the darkness as the worm of all trilogy closing films. We all know how painfully terrible Wolverine: Origins was so we'll not go there, but it does seem like what we first loved about the X films was just forgotten about. For example everybody likes to know what powers our friends have and people like to see how the individuals live with their powers and how they control it.

First Class takes Xmen to the next level, it provides entertaient and hits all of the above mentioned criteria. It not only brought forth new Mutants we haven't seen before on film e.g. Angel & Banshi, basically a fairy and a....well... Banchi, but it kept the ones we love e.g. Mistique & Beast. (Not forgetting Xavier and Magneto of course). Doing this gave the audience a chance to notice the small things e.g. During Xavier's first go in Cerebro, we see a young storm in amongst the rush of mutants being discovered. And not to mention the one line cameo from Hugh Jackman as Wolverine 'Fuck Off' when X and E approach him in a bar.

It would have been good to see scenes that lasted more than 5min. It seemed to rush though the story which meant that there was not alot intellectually to take in. Which in turn meant that the rushed end gave a feeling of 'is that it?'

Even with that It is an extraordinary film that shines a well needed light on this dwindling series. It will not be suprising if 'young Xmen' are seen again. Well worth a watch if you wish to feel hope for this series once again!

4 stars!!

Green Zone (Film)

From the director of the last 2 Bourns (Supremacy & Ultimatum)comes this "utterly unmissable" (Mirror)war based film.

The time is 2003 and the location is Baghdad. The mission is to find weapons of mass destruction hidden by Saddam's regime. Chief Miller leads the elite US Army team in search of these WMD and instead uncover a deadly conspiracy of murder and deception reaching all the way to the top. Miller finds that no one can be trustedand that the people who seemed to be his enemy, claim to beon his side.

Reading what Green Zone offers really sets the film up to be an epic war film filled with guns, mystery and a shit loada' bad language. But, it just doesn't deliver. Granted the action is pretty good and the storyline is riddled with intelectually factual accuracy about Baghdad back then but it is not backed up by likable characters or believable circumstances e.g. Throughout the whole film almost 3 US soldiers are killed whilst the whole fleet of enemies are wiped out.

Sitting though till the end feels more like a chore, it becomes boring halfway through and so the feeling of unfulfilemt sweeps over when the credits finally role up.

Maybe it has something to do with it's 15 age rating or that maybe it is trying to hard to be 'Bourne In A War Zone' but this film cries out for attention off the viewer and only gets in return a sigh of unsatisfaction and a un-holy hand gesture to move on and be gone.

2 Stars