If there was ever a summer of origin story overload, 2011 is it. We’ve already had Thor and X-Men: First Class, and Green Lantern and Captain America are coming soon. So be ready, because we’ve also seen the good and the bad of origin stories. Thor was a disappointment. X-Men: First Class was a surprise. On the surface, Thor could have been a cool movie. A.) We have a superhero from another planet B.) Natalie Portman hot off her Academy award and C.) Anthony Hopkins is in it. The opportunity to take advantage of the other-worldliness is lost. The outer space painted in the film would be fit for a Saturday morning T.V. show. The cheesiness is glaring on the big screen. And then they made Thor look like a whining and weak son to his powerful father, played by Hopkins. It’s sort of hard to root for a superhero when that superhero just acts like a spoiled d-bag. And then there’s the villain, or what villain is more like it. Oh yeah, it’s his angry brother or something. Not that it matters, his only purpose is as set up for the epic battle at the end. What epic battle? Oh yeah, the one drowning is cheese-ball special effects that you probably won’t remember. There’s also an Earth storyline, which I guess is for the purpose of witty one-liners, none of them memorable. Thor is basically just going through the motions of origin superhero movie’s that came before it. Not worth seeing.
X-Men: First Class, on the other hand was actually kind of awesome. Director Matthew Vaughn (Kickass) brings freshness to the franchise that was lacking. After the last two X-Men films, adding another one would seem like a mistake. Instead, First Class may be the best of the X-Men series. A couple of things made it good. 1.) Great villains. The main villain, played by Kevin Bacon, basically wants to take over the world. Or destroy the world, he’d probably be fine with both. Bad guys out for world domination are always gold if they’re in the right movie, and this is the right movie. 2.) Magneto is Bond-like. His pursuit of his Nazi captor Sebastian Shaw (Bacon) has a slickness and coolness right out of a Bond film. This early storyline could almost be its own film. And the scenes have a gritty music background that only enhances them. 3.) Great montage scenes. There is an early montage that features Xavier and Magneto rounding up fellow mutants to join them. A Wolverine cameo stands out, and gets a giant, well deserved laugh. Then there is the montage of the mutants perfecting their powers. It is the “first class” if you will. This sort of training montage cumulates in Xavier helping Magneto find his inner strength. Professor X might want to take that lesson back if he could.
The great thing about First Class is that we have heroes and villains who know where they stand, and what they’re fighting for. And then there are characters like Magneto who seemingly tread the line between both. The movie even has the guts to change the account of the Cuban missile crisis (don’t let Sarah Palin see this film!) It makes sense, because superheroes have to fit into world events somehow. Thor is a bore, while First Class is a thrill ride. I guess origin stories can be either one.
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