the Dalaverse

Just got back from seeing "X-Men: First Class" (well, I stopped in at Austin Grill to see Megan and have a beer but anyway). Holy shit, you guys, IT WAS SO FUCKING AWESOME. I loved so very, very, very much about it.

James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender were even more well-cast than I'd hoped and I didn't think that was possible. They were absolutely perfect. And if your favorite thing about the X-movie franchise is the doomed friendship love between Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr, then this is the movie for you, my friend. The rest of the cast was good - lord, Kevin Bacon had some fun hamming it up supervillain-style - with the exception of January Jones. I've never seen "Mad Men," but judging from this and her abysmal job on SNL last year (worse host I have ever personally seen. At one point she asked for her line) she cannot act her way out of a paper bag. Makes me appreciate Rebecca Romijin anew, because she managed to pull off the kind of attitude you need for both Mystique and Emma Frost whilst naked and caked in thirty pounds of body makeup. Respect.

Alright, I'm just gonna break it down into random points of !!!!1! (and the couple of problems I had). This will get spoilery, and trust me, you do NOT want to be spoiled.

--surprise Wolverine is surprising! I had no idea that was coming, and neither did the theater; there was gasping and cheering and laughing and maybe some tears. It was kind of like when Leonard Nimoy appeared in XI, except I feel like everybody knew he was gonna be in it and they kept Jackman's cameo pretty quiet. Or maybe I'm just good at being a spoilerphobe. Anyway, THAT WAS SO AWESOME. Also Mystique shifting into Rebecca-face for two seconds, and the Stryker reference.

--They were in Oxford for like two scenes! What up Oxford! Mostly it was lingering shots over the sun-lit Bodliean (it hurts me that I had to look up the spelling), with an exit from the Radcliffe Camera (I muttered to Ingrid "I used to read there!"). And then they were at the Turf! My favorite pub in all the world! Except I'm not actually sure it was filmed at the Turf - it could've been the front room, but I don't remember that very well because we were always out back. But even if they didn't film inside, they were walking out of the lane under the Bridge of Sighs on the way out so it was definitely meant to be the Turf.

--Xavier picking up ladies with genetics prattle. So hilarious and yet...yeah, I'd fall for that one

--Mystique as Xavier's foster-sister was a really interesting twist. McAvoy and Jennifer Laurence had nice siblingish chemistry together. Adds some extra depth to the rift between Xavier and Magneto (not that it needs it, really). Oddly enough, I ship the older Magneto/Mystique way more than the younger pair. I do wish that Mystique had been given more to do in the final battle, though. Could they not find a younger stunt double or something?

--LOVED the '60s of it all, especially the fashion and the training sequence with the split screens, and the closing credits that looked straight out of an educational film reel

--Banshee's flying looked pretty sweet. I mostly liked the new-old kids, though Zoe Kravitz is...not good, and the guy playing Havoc was kinda blandly handsome. Blandsome.

--HOWEVER. Sooooo in the few hours they seem to have known each other, obviously Alex Summers and Darwin met, wooed, and made sweet sweet love only to be tragically torn apart? The way Darwin touches Alex when the supersekrit CIA facility is attacked...They were giving Charles and Erik a run for their money for a minute there, is what I'm saying

--Speaking of which, DAMN. McAvoy and Fassbender were playing up the subtext intentionally and nothing will convince me otherwise. Every line out of their mouths, every look they shared, the scene where Charles reaches into the brightest corner of Erik's mind, when they were LYING IN BED TOGETHER to recruit Angel, and then Erik cradling Charles in his arms after he gets shot. I was expecting some Charles/Erik. I don't think I was expecting quite that much, or that blatant (even when they each kissed a girl, I felt like everybody in the theater was handwaving it away). Plus the actors are fantastic and it provided the film serious emotional heft

--I've actually never seen Michael Fassbender in anything I can recall, so his performance stood out for me (I knew McAvoy would knock it out of the park, the dear boy). Also? He's pretty much the opposite of my type, but he so embodied Magneto - he was like a sharp-cut line of steel himself - and there were all those perfectly tailored clothes not to mention a wetsuit, and it made me happy in my ladybits

--I laughed at every direct contradiction of X3 canon. It's not really compatible with any of the previous films and that's a totally valid choice - if the comics can have umpteen continuities, why can't the films? But it seemed to me that X3 got the most thoroughly jossed, given that a different Moira was in that one and Xavier and Magneto haven't yet fallen out when they find Jean. Fuck X3. Fuck it in its stupid, convoluted, poorly written, character-assassinating misogyny.

--Speaking of, I was so hoping the racefail would be limited to that dreck. Unfortunately this is not the case. Of the two black characters, one joins the Hellfire Club/Brotherhood and the other bites it five minutes after we meet him - and is in fact the only mutant to die. And I freaking liked Darwin too, even if I'm pretty sure he was made up for the movie, mostly because the actor was charming. It's definitely the biggest flaw (January Jones and her limited range of facial expressions being the second). Stop pulling this shit, Hollywood. At least there weren't only single-gender fights, although I don't know how I feel about Moira getting flashy-thingyed and being annoying during the final battle. I really liked that she was a spy and integral to the plot, but still

--That camera shift to reveal that the fourth wall of Nazi Shaw's office was actually a medical torture chamber made my blood run cold. The direction was very good overall, with some beautifully shot sequences and zip-quick action, but I'm going to remember that particular shot for a long, long time. Welcome back, Bryan Singer

--I missed Stan Lee! I'm usually good at spotting him. Don't anybody tell me, I want to find him on the second viewing. Because I am totally seeing it again

Okay, I think I've worked it all out. I dunno how many of you know this, but X-Men movieverse was my very first fandom (well, I discovered Star Wars fandom first, but I never wrote anything for it. That saw the light of day. What Mary Sues? These are not the Mary Sues you're looking for. Move along). I saw it because I was obsessed with the '90s cartoon series as a kid and fell hard for Logan/Rogue. I might still be a little OTP about them, honestly. So X3 cut me deeply, the Wolverine movie was just aight, and I'm so glad that this one was genuinely good.