Xperience: X-Men First Class Soundtrack Review

We've all seen the film. We all enjoyed it! But did we all notice the aural EPIC-NESS that is Henry Jackman's soundtrack??

Well I heard the OST before I even saw the movie (with it being released here in India on the 10th & all...) so I could recognize the awesome tracks as they were being played in the background. Now the OST doesn't release until June 28, but who says I can't do a review for all the songs? I've heard em all, haven't I?



The track listing is as follows:
1. First Class
2. Pain and Anger
3. Would You Date Me?
4. Not That Sort Of Bank
5. Frankenstein’s Monster
6. What Am I Thinking
7. Cerebro
8. Mobilise For Russia
9. Rise Up To Rule
10. Cold War
11. X-Training
12. Rage and Serenity
13. To Beast Or Not To Beast
14. True Colors
15. Let Battle Commence
16. Sub Lift
17. Coup d’État
18. Mutant and Proud
19. X-Men
20. Magneto

Now we'll look at the soundtrack from two points of view: 1) Movie pov 2) Easy listening

From the movie point of view all the tracks are amazing! They start with a strong undercurrent of music signifying the confusion, pain, seething anger- bascially all the emotions a mutant would face trying to fit in a world that fears them :) So though some may not be great to listen to on your ipod, they definitely fit in with the emotion that Vaughn tries to capture in his movie...

Lets start off with the tracks that are great to listen to on your ipod!

First Class is a great musical piece, starting off with the XFC musical "theme"- if you will- with the brilliant violin orchestral music! This type of epic violin music (eg. the background tracks played in trailers) REALLY lifts me & gives me such a surreal feeling! Then the electronic guitars come into the mix & it lifts it's COOL rating even higher! The melding of the two instruments- classical & modern is really nice!

Not That Sort Of Bank starts of with the 'Magneto' theme of the movie. Starts off with a bang & ends with some quiet guitar playing & foreboding violins. And after that quiet lull, the controlled violins once again come into play with some great beats in the background. Frankenstein’s Monster starts off with this typical gothic/Frankenstein theme that once again goes into that cool Magneto theme! As the track continues the tension builds & it gets more epic as it goes on...

Now imo, The OST really starts picking up the pace & getting pregressively better from Track 7 to 17. Before Cerebro, First Class is really the only track that is REALLY great for ipod listening. Cerebro has a calm, understated feel about it, but the frenetic violins playing the First Class theme are great as always. Mobilise For Russia has the foreboding violins signifying impending doom & the undercurrent of other violins playing, depicting the fight against it. It ends with a brilliant crescendo!

Rise Up To Rule starts quiet but once it gets in it's groove (by about 00:25)? WOAH! It's friggin amazing! lol. Then it goes into the synths & that really gives a great vibe to the song. The great many variations in it make it one of the greater songs in this OST. It's also the longest song in the album at 5:56. Cold War starts quiet but here we get a different violin play, a really cool beat.



Then onto my fave track from the whole album! X-Training from the get-go you know this is an awesome track! It has a great starting, a very Iron Man vibe to it...I was slightly peeved the song wasn't played right from it's amazing start in the film. Great beats & guitar play! And even the First Class 'theme' I spoke of before is played differently here primarily with electronic guitars instead of violins, which feature but it's mainly the guitars. It's so good it's currently my mobile ringtone! :P

True Colors starts with a very grungy violin routine that sounds brilliant. Towards the end it goes softer & finally ends in a soothing piano played tune. I think that tune is played when they pan on Mystique's body the first time she decides to go nude. Let Battle Commence alternates from quiet vibes to brilliant beats that seriously would do great on any Lord of the Rings battle scenes! A nice variation in this piece too,  & it also happens to be the second longest track at 4:45. Sub Lift starts & continues with the usual First Class theme, but it's done in such a way that it doesn't make you feel like a repetition. This eventually gets into synths & a more electronic rock vibe.

Coup d’État goes into a slow grungy Magneto theme, then transcends with serene violins ending with a crescendo. Lastly, Magneto is another track which from the get-go you know is gonna be packed with awesomeness! The Magneto theme I was talking about all this time is played throughout this song but in no way makes us tired of hearing it till the end!

Now onto the tunes which are great only for the movie & hearing them on your ipod may make you feel sleepy ;P Not that that's happened to me or that they are bad tracks- just emotionally ridden & sound great for the movie score alone...

Pain and Anger starts off with that quiet undercurrent I was talking about, rises to a moderate crescendo & it then dips again. It's not called "Pain and Anger" for nothing :P Would You Date Me? perfectly depicts the pain that Mystique feels with her appearance: the self-loathing & shame. Ditto for Beast's confusion & dilemma with the To Beast Or Not To Beast track. However unlike Mystique's track, this one ends with an angsty violin play, possibly of his actual transformation into the blue scientist we all know & love.

Nothing much to say about the What Am I Thinking track. I don't even remember where this track comes in the movie either! Rage and Serenity starts slow with calming violins giving way to piano & guitar strums. It's not bad for easy listening but if you more into fast, upbeat music you won't dig it so much. I do, however, very much have it on my phone to listen to.

Mutant and Proud is all about discovering that you are special the way you are & there's absolutely no reason to hide that. This track displays all that with its sombre violins & interjecting piano. I would've thought a track titled X-Men would've been more badass than what this is- something along the lines of the First Class track. But it only picks it's pace up at 1:58 with a rock rendition of the Magneto theme. And the track is of 2:59 duration! lol

And that's it! My review of the X-Men First Class OST. You can have a listen via the vid below & tell me if you agree with me or not...

UPDATE (19/7): So I've FINALLY downloaded Take That's song "Love Love" that was used by (fellow Brit) director Matthew Vaughn as part of the XFC soundtrack & it's awesome! I still find it weird that it doesn't feature in the OST that was released & was yet the first song to play once the credits rolled! Anywho it's my current fave song & I hope it grows on you guys too! Check the officil XFC version of the video out below:



AND you can now download &/or buy the CD of this EPIC Soundtrack from the links below!

XD I Just Saw X-Men First Class! (Movie Review)

OK so you guys have read all the glowing reviews, all the 4 starred (some 5 starred) ratings & are wondering if it's all too good to be true? Well fear not! It is true. The movie is extremely well executed in more ways than one! Finally a movie that us X-fans have truly deserved!

Let's get the basics out of the way first. The year is 1962, the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Great instability & distrust leads to fears that the World is on the brink of her Third War. But not many know that these chain of events were spurred on by a maniacal mutant called Sebastian Shaw (who can convert energy to radically increase his own strength), the leader of the secret Hellfire Club. He is aided by his right hand woman, Emma Frost (a telepath having additional powers of turning her body to diamond).



The crux of the story is all about the friendship of Charles Xavier & Erik Lensherr, how they meet & how things turn sour between them. To go against Shaw's small but powerful army of Frost, Riptide (who can create all types of winds) & Azazel (a demon-like teleporter), Xavier creates his band of merry mutants consisting of Mystique (our beloved shapeshifter from the original trilogy), Beast (the blue furry mutant with a high IQ), Banshee (with his supersonic scream), Darwin (reactive evolution) & Angel Salvadore (a winged mutant who can projectile a nasty acid vomit!). I won't get into any more details for fear of getting spoilery, so let's get to what makes the movie so great...

Firstly, Matthew Vaughn with his trusty writing partner Jane Goldman have penned a great story. True it isn't at all what the X-Men First Class comic series was, but keeping in mind that they are trying to be true to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as much as to the comics, it's a great adaptaion of the characters.

Unlike X3, this movie has heart, loads of it! Right from the dilemmas of Mystique & Beast, to the entire backstory of Magneto, everything is handled really well! In fact, Magneto is portrayed so well out here by Michael Fassbender that I think he's become my fave character in the movie! Jennifer Lawrence excelled as Mystique- be it her comic timing or emotional scenes. Looking forward to seeing more of her true-blue self in the sequel (which seems inevitable now). James Mcavoy has really given us a fresh new take on the Professor & I was really digging it! Though many accuse her of being wooden, January Jones' Emma is spot on actually cos in the comics she is a cold character, known for switching her loyalties as she pleases. So her "wooden performance" was just what the role called for! The entire cast has done a swell job!



The direction is brilliant! Some really cool shots. I loved the manner in which the XFC emblem is displayed as the movie title for one. And then there were shots that simply gave me the chills- kiddo Magneto unleashing his powers, Xavier's first use of Cerebro, Azazel's main fight scene!

I love that the movie doesn't take itself too seriously, something X-Men & X2 lacked in. I delighted in the jokes & enjoyed hearing the cinema hall roar with laughter along with me! Great references to the previous movies. And the cameos?? Yes, yes, Wolverine does make an appearance- which I know many will be happpy with- the gasp emitted from the guy sitting next to me was enough to let me know that. There's another cameo too (another actor from the OG trilogy) & two other character cameos to watch out for...

One thing I relished also was the camaraderie shown between the characters. The actors didn't seem to be "acting" here, it all seemed to come so naturally. Especially when watching the scene where they choose code-names, I felt this sorta thing- the actual friendship & team bonding between the characters was something else lacking from previous X-movies.

^Yup, that's me grinning besides the XFC standee at the cinema after my first encore of the movie! :D I went for XFC thrice in total! LOL

The visual effects? WOW! I was apprehensive about Mystique's transformation when seeing the trailers, but after seeing it on the big screen I can certainly say it's executed well! Ditto for Emma's diamond power. Actually all the powers in fact have been depicted really well. And don't get me started on the sub-lift scene lol! Even scenes that make subtle use of CG look great! My only grouse with it was in one scene, but telling that might give stuff away so I'll keep that for my "tell-all review" I'll be posting maybe a month from now (by that time all of us may have watched the movie twice at least? :P ) so that I don't spoil it for anyone.

The action never seems to be just some mindless explosions & fighting for no rhyme or reason. Each action has a specific reason behind it, & doesn't just seem like a desperate way to just give all the mutants a time to shine & show off with their powers. Quite unlike what we were served with in X3 :P

OK now I may be going a bit too deep in my review here but I felt the costumes deserve a special mention. They really brought on the 60's feel. The suits, jackets, skimpy dresses, sunglasses (loved some really retro ones on some characters!) & how can we forget Emma Frost's wardrobe & the uniforms!  Frost is known for her barely-there apparel in the comics so that's simply a very faithful portrayal of the character (in case any girls thought, 'What the heck is she wearing?!?' lol). The yellow-&-blue uniforms are a fresh change from all that black leather we got used to seeing in X-movies! AND I adored Fassbender's ENTIRE wardrobe! Amazing suits & jackets! The Fass carried off everything in style! Why on earth did Magneto sack his fashion designer when he got older is a real mystery LOL! A mystery that may be answered in the next sequel perhaps? ;P

Bottomline? My rating for it would be 4.5 / 5! Where's the 0.5 go? Well that question will be answered in my tell-all review post of course!

Wanna watch XFC in HD anytime you want at home?? Pre-order your Blu-ray &/or DVD today!