The summer of 2011, Jun 3, 2011, the movie adaptations of Marvel’s X-Men continued with X-Men First Class. To many fans’ delight, it turned out to be both well-executed and of substantial interest. Film history website IMDb identifies that Jennifer Lawrence is “the most successful actor of her generation” https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2225369/
Beneath is a link to a scene from X-Men First Class.
X-Men: First Class (2011) – Charles Xavier & Raven Darkholme
Jennifer Lawrence in X-Men First Class is Raven. She tackles the question of what it means to be beautiful and what it means to be normal. She is the shapeshifter.
X-Men First Class Promoshoot
You might say it’s ironic that the name of the mutant team, the name “X-Men,” implies that the X-Men should be male, but Raven ranks among them as an important character who is female. Jennifer Lawrence was the highest-paid actress in the world in 2015 and 2016. Her casting in the film reflects her strengths as an actress, in addition to X-Men First Class’ effectiveness exploring gender, and ever-elusive equality.
In 2019, the next Star Wars struggled with a backlash among fans given woes with another film in the franchise. The 2019 film I’m referring to is Star Wars Episode IX, coming in after the disastrously written Star Wars Episode VII: The Last Jedi. Star Wars Episode IX had its work out cut out for it.
The Last Jedi Opening Weekend USA box office was $220,009,584, 17 December 2017. The X-Men First Class USA Opening Weekend was $55,101,604, 5 June 2011, twenty-five percent of the former.
While box office returns mean that both films were successful, in 2019 the Marvel Universe remained hotly anticipated with a trailer for Marvel Avengers Endgame airing in the Superbowl television broadcast yesterday.
Star Wars is suffering some major troubles, with entries like Episode VIII The Last Jedi savaged by fans for who Star Wars is close to the heart.
Solo A Star Wars Story failed financially in 2018. In fact, the Star Wars franchise is suffering owing to the reception of The Last Jedi, which, while returning an economic gain for Disney, failed to ignite the same passion in the hearts of Star Wars fans that the original trilogy generated, as did (again, arguably) Episode VII The Force Awakens in 2015.
Yoda
What Jedi Mind tricks are afoot? I think essentially both X-Men: First Class and Star Wars Episode IX calculatedly use a sense of the past as an aspect of the setting. However, the two movies address gender and gender equality rather differently.
In X-Men First Class, the mutant Raven struggles with her self-image in a very literal sense. Contrast that with The Last Jedi. Here the female Jedi apprentice Rey, Daisy Ridley, is problematic for many viewers in that Rey lacks a distinct character arc.
In other words, she is without a back story that can make sense in viewers’ minds. Rey’s origins are unknown, but she masters aspects of The Force which were previously established in Star Wars lore as being impossible. Rey’s mentor Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) struggled to achieve his status as a Jedi Knight under both Obi-wan Kenobi, and Yoda (in the 1977 and 1980 Star Wars films).
The late Alec Guinness portrayed Obi-wan Kenobi in the original trilogy and Ewan McGregor was Obi-wan in the prequel trilogy.
Like it or not, the backlash to Last Jedi director Rian Johnson is a compelling drama in its own right. I see it everyday on YouTube.
That said, Star Wars needed success in 2019 the way that the X-Men franchise needed a success following X3.
Star Wars Episode IX had a release date in December 2019. Marvel Avengers Endgame has a release date in April 2019. It’s the sequel to Marvel Avengers Infinity Wars.
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