Class is in session when Charles Xavier and his young mutants hit Blu-ray and DVD, but will they pass the test or will they flunk this exam?
X-Men First Class kicked off the summer of 2011 and now has hit home video. Growing up I always love comic books and super heroes. I was always fond of the X-Men in particular, as I found the mutants to be more human than other heroes that were somewhat god-like. When First Class hit theaters I saw it opening morning and loved every minute.
Visuals
The film’s vintage colors of the 1960’s are warm and inviting. Filmed in soft tones, the visual style creates an aged feel. The special effects hold up quite nicely as well. Both the digital and practical effects look fantastic. Now, this isn’t the movie with which you want to show off the power of blu-ray, but its quality does warrant adding it to your collection.
Sound
The score comes through in 5.1 clear and crisp. There is even a special feature that allows you to play the movie with just the score.
Features
“Children of the Atom” is the making of the film. It is very in-depth, well paced, and offers fun little facts about the movie.
“X marks the Spot” is another behind-the-scenes feature. It can be played with the film or it can be watched on its own. When a segment is available about a particular scene, it is indicated and you can stop the film to watch it.
Cerebro Mutant Tracker is a visual library of many mutants from all the films. It’s a nice feature: once you have gathered all mutants on the disc, there are others to read about through the BD live feature.
Live Lookup Feature: this is my favorite use of BD Live. Live Lookup is powered by IMDb.com. During a scene, the feature will indicate which actors are in it. You can look them up and see their other work. I hope to see this on other films; it beats having to run to a computer to settle a bet.
Additional behind-the-scenes looks and trailers can be accessed from BD Live. I still don’t know how I feel about this feature. One nice thing is you can choose to download the content or stream it. I wish the content could already be on the disc; however, this is just my personal preference and nothing against the film itself.
Content
The set contains two discs: a Blu-ray and a digital copy of the film.
Verdict
For anyone who is a fan of comic book movies and wants to own a move that does the genre justice, I say you should buy this one right away, even though I have a feeling we will be seeing an X-Men bundle soon.
For the not-so-die-hard fan, definitely don’t miss an opportunity to see this movie if you have the change.
At a list price of $25, X-Men First Class passes the exam.