Can mutants co-exist with men? Or does one race have to end for the other to survive? The question that is posed forever in the X-Men series, the question on the basis of which two friends go on separate paths with Professor X forming his band of gifted youth called X-Men and Magneto putting together the group called Brotherhood. X-Men: First Class, that released previous week, connected the missing dots as it brought forward the beginnings of these two mutant leaders, and their differing ideologies. While the movie took the top spot at the US box office on its release, its earnings of $55 million are much lower than the $85 million earned by the previous movie in the franchise, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Having said that, the movie is earning one of the best reviews in the franchise and having recently watched it myself, I must admit that it is possibly one of the best movies of this summer. The movie is engrossing, mixed with the right tone and pace, swapping between scenes and characters smoothly, that keeps the audience happily glued to the adventure. Not for a single moment, do you sit back to check your watch, for in that moment you might miss a cool line, a great action scene or maybe one of the many references to connections with the previous movies of the franchise. And the acting by James McAvoy as Professor X and Michael Fassbender as Magneto is excellent, keeping the very spirit of these two characters alive, which in the previous films have been displayed by stalwarts Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan. This is a must watch for sci-fi fans! Last weekend also saw Fast Five become the first movie of this year to cross the $200 million mark at the US box office. Once the weekend numbers for this week are out, The Hangover 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides will also be joining this short list (still no one to make it to 300?).
While the summer season is filled with sequels or sequels of sequels, this weekend sees the release of an original sci-fi thriller, Super 8. Why the buzz around it? Well, it is directed by the creator of Alias, co-creator of Lost, director of Mission: Impossible III, director of the 2009 hit Star Trek, the talented J.J. Abrams. And if that was not enough, the posters of the movie prominently highlight the name of Steven Spielberg as producer of the film. The interest of movie-goers is also piqued by the mysterious trailer of the film that shows something heavy trying to smash itself out of a train bogey, but gives no further hint of the immense creature. Intriguing, thrilling, captivating... words that would possibly describe what Abrams has to offer this time around. A movie that falls in my must-watch category, especially for the ones who love the sci-fi genre. The summer season has come a long way but more importantly, it has a long way to go indeed!
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