‘X-Men: First Class’ Debut Trailer Inspires Hope

When I say this trailer ‘inspires hope,’ I don’t mean of nations or anything like that. I am simply referring to the fact this trailer proves an X-Men film can be done in a tasteful manner. No tight black leather suits, no stampede of hundreds of mutants, and no ugly Magneto helmet (I hated the helmet in the first films). This film seems to really focus on the two main opposing forces in X-Men, Erik (Magneto) and Charles (Professor X). While the first two films did indeed feature this dynamic, I think the writers’ inability to hone in on these two, and their obsession with having every mutant imaginable show up in each film, hurt the previous X-Men narratives.

While I haven’t seen anything resembling a final product or had an opportunity to dive into the story, I think this trailer should give any comic fan hope. Personally, I thought the first four X-Men movies were comprised of almost entire garbage. The first two less than the last two, but even those first two films had their glaring failures. When I imagined X-Men, the look in this newest chapter helmed by Matthew Vaughn is what I pictured. Hit the jump to see the debut trailer from X-Men: First Class.

First, check out the trailer; then catch my thoughts at the below.

Pretty sweet right? The music in the trailer was especially well chosen. It really sets the mood for the introduction into a new world featuring the mutants. I must say, this film looks spectacular from a visual standpoint, something most of the previous X-Men movies also featured. But the thing that seems to set this first glimpse apart from the others in my mind I can explain simply referencing other films. While I am not for one second going to compare a movie I have not seen with one of my favorite movies of all-time, this trailer reminds me of Batman Begins vs. the first four Batman films. Like Nolan’s take, it feels like a fresh look at the franchise.

This film seems to have a team in place that really understand what makes the X-Men a great narrative. The film doesn’t resemble some CGI-cluster-blockbuster looking to capitalize on the prominent comic name to score numbers at the box office. While this film obviously was created to make money, I think Matthew Vaughn and Co. have really set out to create a mutant flick they can be proud of. This is the mindset employed by Christoper Nolan and his Batman franchise. Of course he set out to make money, but his number one goal was to make a film he was proud of; he wanted to make a film that was hardcore and not the flashy manipulated crap from the early attempts at a Batman film. By making a great product, the money came in the end.

Like I said, I won’t even start by saying that X-Men: First Class is a good film, or anything in the neighborhood of a Batman Begins. I will say, like I said in the title for this piece, this trailer inspires hope. X-Men: First Class looks like the mutant project I always wanted. I know not everyone thinks the first X-Men films were failures like me — think what you want — but this film seems to understand mutants for more than just their powers. The feeling of the mutant’s humanity is prevalent. This movie could suck, but from the trailer, I would say that is unlikely.

X-Men: First Class hits theaters June 3rd, 2011.

Are you as pumped for this Matthew Vaughn product as I am?