X-MEN: First Class (2011)

X-men: First Class (2011)

7/10

Starring
James McAvoy
Michael Fassbender
Rose Byrne
January Jones
Jennifer Lawrence
Oliver Platt
Kevin Bacon

Directed by Matthew Vaughn


They say, "Don't judge a book by its cover". It's true. The posters don’t do justice to this movie.

This movie is one you will likely see more than once. The plot is on the fringe of perfection, and the action scenes are well choreographed, the special effects were great, and the dialogue is engaging.

First class is the introduction to Stan Lee's mutant team. We get to see how Charles Xavier and Magneto grew their mutual respect for each other and how their differences drove them apart. As we get to see these two characters grow into the men we now see today in the comic world. We also get to see a new iteration of first generation X-men since the original roster (which had Cyclops and Jean Grey) is altered. And that's a good thing.

Remember the scene in the first X-men, where we see a young Magneto separated from his parents in a NAZI concentration camp back in 1944? No? Well, you're going to see it again. And it's done with depth and class. We get to see a young Erik Lehnsherr being forced to display his mutant power, when he’s separated from his mother. This act of force was carried out by a doctor Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) who wants to study and harness Erik’s abilities

In New York, a wealthy boy, Charles Xavier, who can read minds, meets a girl named Raven who can shape shift but whose natural physical state is blue and scaly.

In 1962, Charles has grown and has become a compassionate genetic scientist (now played by James McAvoy) studying genetic anomalies. Erik on the other hand has grown (now played by Michael Fassbender) into a man consumed with anger and vengeance, tracking down the doctor who tortured him. Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) is also grown into a frustrated mutant longing to live without hiding behind her many forms.

It's all here: how Hank McCoy becomes the hideous beast, why Raven aka Mystique prefers to be on Magneto's side, why banshee can fly and some other nice surprises I'm not going to rob you of.

Casting, in this movie is just the thing that gives this movie the edge it needed, as Kevin Beacon (long time no see) was just wonderful, giving us a memorable performance and totally stole the show. The other teens in the movie, Havoc, Darwin and Banshee also did their part as we see them struggle with their mastery of their powers.

Summarily, Marvel did something which is a lot better than what the last 2 films had done. They told the X-men story the right way. This is 2 hours well spent in any cinema, 3D or otherwise. I guess summer just got better.