If you are looking for action and sci-fi adventure it’s here on Blu-ray and DVD. Just 3 months after it’s theatrical release X-Men: First Class a top-notch production that thrills blasts into your living room. Seeing the film on the blu-ray format the only difference in the presentation from theatre to home theatre is size, and it doesn’t lessen the experience all that much.
In the event you missed the storyline when it was released in theaters X-Men: First Class goes something like this: It’s the beginning of the saga of the special superheroes and we find Magneto (Michael Fassbender) being haunted by the death of someone close him. Escaping the clutches of the evil Nazi war criminal Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), Magneto meets Charles Xavier (James McAvoy). The two make a pact to find other mutants and help them work for justice. When Shaw rears his ugly head with super powers of his own, the world puts everything on hold in hopes for a miracle to protect them, enter the X-Men.
I love the screenwriting style of Ashley Miller (Thor) who brings so many dynamic characters to life with amazing super powers and in X-Men: First Class she presents some very imaginative baddies along with her heroes. Directed by Matthew Vaughn who gave us the action laden Layer Cake and Kick Ass nothing’s held back on his radical style of introducing characters with destructive powers. Here he puts Lee’s characters to the test and comes up with a winner. The film runs 2 hours and 12 minutes and is rated PG-13 for brief strong language, some sexuality and a violent image.
Now on to the quality of the presentation; the visual and sound presentation throughout the 2-Disc set is top notch offering 5.1 DTS-HD and some features in 5.1 Dolby Digital with optional subtitles on widescreen 2.40:1 for those who take their viewing seriously. In other words it’s very cool, especially since you can pause the action, rewind and slow-mo to please any wish you desire.
The disc has great features including some exceptionally awesome stuff like access to 10 Marvel “X-Men†digital comics with exclusive “X-Men: First Class†back story comic. When you started perusing this little gem I found myself in pulp heaven.
How about 2 Hours of never before seen extras including; Cerebro Mutant Tracker a complete interactive Mutant Database with interactive videos offering a learning experience for those who have never delved into the superheroes and a closer look for those that have. There’s behind the scenes, extended and deleted material and a lot more to keep you up late at night pressing the repeat button.
Included in the 2 Disc Blu-ray set is a fine little jewel us regulars lovingly call the traveler. It’s a digital copy of the film you can download onto your laptop or other portable device so you can relive the action no matter where you go. Oh, the schoolroom is definitely not the place to take it and I warned you here first.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A science fiction thriller (B+)