X-Men: First Class (2011)

Featured Audience Ratings

• John M

  
  I was expecting a solid movie. Matthew Vaughn is easily one of my favorite directors. The cast is loaded from top to bottom with a good group of actors even if you have not heard of many of them. After two hours of solid fun I was ready for more. If any movie deserves sequels its… More
  I was expecting a solid movie. Matthew Vaughn is easily one of my favorite directors. The cast is loaded from top to bottom with a good group of actors even if you have not heard of many of them. After two hours of solid fun I was ready for more. If any movie deserves sequels its this one. Keep Vaughn and Singer on board and the cast and you will have money. Easily in the top two of all the X-Men films. I am not an X-Men fanboy. I could care less about the five hundred zillion reboots retcons and who knows what else that happens in comics. Sorry. I do like the characters though and they did a wonderful job of bringing this group to the screen.

• paul s

  
  I have to say that as a holder of issue #1 of the x-men, I was glad to see this prequel - especially since Wolverine was absent (he wasn't in ANY of the original comics). That being said, and perforce branding me as an X-Men aficionado (at least I was when I was circa 12 years… More
  I have to say that as a holder of issue #1 of the x-men, I was glad to see this prequel - especially since Wolverine was absent (he wasn't in ANY of the original comics). That being said, and perforce branding me as an X-Men aficionado (at least I was when I was circa 12 years old buying all those early Marvel comics), the film was enough of a trip down memory lane for me to give a slight passing grade in spite of some odd pacing - either too frenetic or too static... and those scenes on the beach... ouch! The CGI is rather toned down for this prequel; nothing too grandiose, as if saying that, well these are youngsters; they can't really expect to move mountains, now can they (or the Golden Gate Bridge for that matter). The film has a nice back story to it, involving Nazi concentration camps, that introduces the big baddie, deliciously overacted by Kevin Bacon. Bacon, a "scientist" sees the young Magneto in action and almost drools over the possibilities. Fast forward to the 60's where we get to meet James McAvoy as Xavier, who has an encounter with a young Raven (who also, just for the record, was NOT present in the early comics). McAvoy is quite good as the Oxford Xavier, coming off as sincere and engaged in the plot, whereas, whether by script or whatever, Michael Fassbender as Magneto fails to carry the gravitas required. Their eventual friendship is another of the film's failings as we realize that the two are friends only because we are told so (instead of by acts etc.). The film weaves in CIA plots, and a nice nod to the cold war circa Bay of Pigs, even including archival footage of JFK. Yes, we stood on the brink of doomsday back in 1960, but who'd a thought it was all a mutant plot!!! Pretty rich idea, if a bit flawed in the execution. There are also references to the well argued theory that homo sapiens supplanted the Neanderthal, forcing that earlier model of human into extinction. The film argues that the mutants will do the same to humanity... and if you think this is original, then you haven't read The Chrysalides by John Wyndham, written in 1955. Let's move away from grand concepts and concentrate on the film, shall we? As mentioned, the two leads don't really gel, and the film does itself a disservice by having a big, I'll show you mine if you show me yours, sequence with all of the young mutant recruits. The scene is such an obvious plot contrivance, letting you see what each mutant can do - and the dialog is so achingly hokey... sigh. Anyhow, you get to see these youngsters who then get schooled by Xavier in how to harness their powers. Here the director decides to use some split screen, which is kind of cool as it echoes the comic book pages (and a further digression, if you haven't fallen asleep already... the original X-Men comic had only 4 recruits: Cyclops (a guy with laser beam eyeballs), Beast (who shows up here!), Iceman, and a male with wings called Angel. I mention this last because the film has a girl with dragon fly like wings who decides to call herself Angel (in the original at least the wings were angelic). The CGI is pretty cool and understated - actually quite nice in showing the antics of the devilish mutant and another of Bacon's henchman who causes tornados. And of course Kevin Bacon is pretty darned cool as a guy who can eat energy. On the good guy side we have Banshee (who actually showed up several episodes into the original comic), and a couple of others who... ho hum, you could care less what happens to them, or what their skills are. The film gets a bit bogged down towards the end where all the characters seem to stand around until called upon, or there needs to be a reaction shot. When Magneto makes his "who's with me" speech, echoing the earlier one made by Bacon, I was thinking "meet the new boss, same as the old boss"; and looking at it philosophically (never a good thing to do during a cartoon movie), one could argue that indeed, Magneto is going to go down the same "us against them" mutants vs. humans dilemma, so the entire exercise of stopping Bacon seems hollow. There's a nice tag ending where January Jones' character (who has been... on ice for the last half of the film) makes a final appearance and Fassbender acknowledges to the world that he will become Ian McKellan (in his dreams!!!). Unnecessary, as is another bit where Xavier and a CIA operative share some light (and awful) banter that leads up to naming the "good" mutants X-Men. Wow, and here I thought they'd be called the Watchers... oops, wrong comic.

• Cynthia S

  
  Talk about surprised! I figured this would be one of those "riding on the coat tails of the franchise" movies full of special effects, and not much more. Well, it was much more. In the original X-Men movie, the opening scene was really moving. The fact that this film started… More
  Talk about surprised! I figured this would be one of those "riding on the coat tails of the franchise" movies full of special effects, and not much more. Well, it was much more. In the original X-Men movie, the opening scene was really moving. The fact that this film started the exact same way, and then expanded directly from that point in time, was perfect. This was very enjoyable. I loved how they tied things together to show how events in the future came to be...nice touch.

• Chris M

  
  A well directed, excellently acted, better than I thought it would be movie. Finally a good X-men origin movie. Matthew Vaughn deserves a medal for making the X-Men series good again.

• xGary X

  
  A young post graduate with the power to read minds joins with a holocaust victim with powers of magnetism to found a CIA sponsored training program for newly empowered mutants in the 1960s. X-Men: First Class is really what the first film SHOULD have been. Instead of the clumsy and… More
  A young post graduate with the power to read minds joins with a holocaust victim with powers of magnetism to found a CIA sponsored training program for newly empowered mutants in the 1960s. X-Men: First Class is really what the first film SHOULD have been. Instead of the clumsy and constant exposition of the original, it expands on the best scene of the film featuring the first manifestation of Magneto's powers and shows the origins of his relationship with Xavier and how their ideologies and methods diverged. Not only that, but it does it with wit and style and the 60s setting gives it an epic quality that plays out on a world stage in history as well as some very cool old school Bond imagery provided by SFX legend John Dykstra. The only real weakness lies in its being the victim of the franchise's own continuity. The story was crying out for the original team but because most of the central characters have already been "used up", the supporting cast include non-characters like Darwin, and quite how Angel made the cut I'll never know (this fact is thrown into sharp relief by a brilliant cameo by Hugh Jackman). This is also true of the villains; Shaw and Emma Frost are not fully explored but still interesting but Azazel (who?) and erm...the other one, are completely anonymous and I can't remember either of them uttering a word. Still, this film is all about the double act of McAvoy and Fassbender and their interplay is brilliant., setting up a potentially fantastic new direction for the series. Not quite the measure of X2, but a worthy runner up.

• Anthony L

  
  As an origin movie X-Men: First Class is pretty impressive. Apart from a couple of factual errors regarding dates, it's pretty solid. I liked the fact that they didn't get ahead of time with their technology, it was very fitting with the classic comics of the time. There was… More
  As an origin movie X-Men: First Class is pretty impressive. Apart from a couple of factual errors regarding dates, it's pretty solid. I liked the fact that they didn't get ahead of time with their technology, it was very fitting with the classic comics of the time. There was also an element of tongue in cheek about it that I think only an Englishmen could deliver, I think it worked rather well here when more than often it doesn't. The cast is ace, McAvoy and Fassbender are brilliant, the only bit of re-casting I would do would be to replace January Jones but only because I can't stand her and the character of Emma Frost deserved better. Twenty something Beast was a bit of a let down too, he looked like one of the monsters that would always be in the back ground in The Muppet Show. Also, and I'm a full on comic nerd so bare with me, if Magneto and Mystique know where the X-Men base is having trained there, how do they spend the best part of the first and second films looking for it? I'm sure all will become clear in the many sequels this films deserves. If you really have to re-boot a franchise, this is how you do it!

• Albert K

  
  By far, the best X-Men movie to come. The first 3 installments to the X-Men Franchise has always drew me away due to a bad screenplay, mediocre direction, amateur cinematography, and poor production value (except for Final Stand), but First Class surpasses in all of these elements.… More
  By far, the best X-Men movie to come. The first 3 installments to the X-Men Franchise has always drew me away due to a bad screenplay, mediocre direction, amateur cinematography, and poor production value (except for Final Stand), but First Class surpasses in all of these elements. Everything was tightly wound together. I was pleasantly surprised by the more gritty tone the movie had and how sharp the script was. Dare I say, this is the best Marvel movie to come, but not just because of the technicalities of a great movie but also because it breathed new and refreshing life into the characters we've come to know from previous installments. Honestly, it's pretty cool to see the Cuban Missile Crisis incorporated into a comic-book context, but unfortunately, these moments are pretty damn cheesy and the pacing drops considerably.

• Mario L M

  
  There's a scene in Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class, where Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) a Holocaust tracks down two former Nazi's who have decamped to 1960's Brazil to while out their twilight years, that kind of ruins the rest of the film. After… More
  There's a scene in Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class, where Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) a Holocaust tracks down two former Nazi's who have decamped to 1960's Brazil to while out their twilight years, that kind of ruins the rest of the film. After swaggering into a bar the pair frequent, Lensherr impresses the two men with his knowledge of fine German beers. He takes a seat at their table and causally reveals the tattoo he was given while spending his youth in a concentration camp. The two men panic. The older of the two attempts to stab Lensherr with his Hitler youth knife but is quickly overpowered him and pined to the table with his own knife. The bartender, also reveled to be Nazi, pulls a gun on Lensherr who forces him to shoot the younger Nazi with his magnetic powers before stabbing the bartender with the Blood and Honor knife. Lensherr then smooths over his hair, finishers his beer and kills the third Nazi. The relish and precision in which Fassbender plays the scene makes it the most compelling in the film. After it, the sloppy speechifying, adolescent sexuality and bizarre plotting that makes up the rest of the film's running time seems incredibly dull by comparison. X-Men: First Class tells the origin stories of the two groups of superpower mutants seen in the 2000-2006 series, specifically those of future mutant leaders Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Eric Lensherr. The film also uses the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis to tell the story of how nefarious mutant supremacist Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon, totally hammy but loads of fun) almost drew that world into nuclear war and the first group of X-Men were gathered together to stop him. The film is definitely the most stylish film in the Fox Studios series. It's elegantly costumed and sensuously decorated. It's the more vibrant that any of the Bryan Singer/Brett Ratner films. It's palette seems to be a reflect the film's embrace of its four color origins. Despite its grounding in capital S capital I social issues of the 1960's, its a garish and exuberant film. This approach sometimes works, like when Lensherr finally embraces the cause of mutant supremacy to the detriment of his best and only friend or the clever way in which invades the proto X-Men's HQ. When this more florid approach fails, the extremely awkward bit where Xavier uses his psychic powers to help Lensherr overcome his mental power dampeners and whenever the Beast/Mystique romance is featured, it's almost unbearably flat. Especially when you know another great Fassbinder-being-cruel scene is coming. It's more successful than it isn't which makes it the best X-Men film so far. Superhero movies, by their slap together, the release date is set before pre-production had started nature are always a work in progress. The first X-Men was boring because it needed to educate the audience to who the X-Men were and the second was unsatisfying because it was essentially a very exciting prologue to a film that only ever existed in Bryan Singer's head. And X-Men The Last Stand was awful because it was trying to be two different movies that poorly fused together by the guy who made Rush Hour. First Class works because even though its a prequel, its doesn't bare the weight of having to establish its universe. You know mutants exist and that humanity hates and fears them from the earlier films but here you find out why. None of these reveals are exceptionally interesting or even necessary but they carry a dramatic weight from our understanding that, no, things will not work out for the best. The film's sense of inevitability sometimes works against it. You know that never before seen mutants like Darwin, Angel and Riptide somehow don't make it the near present of X-Men. This adds a disposability to the characters and seemingly their characterization. Since FC is a big budget action movie built around the contrasting view points held by its two main characters, all of the supporting players exist to support those view points. Beast sides with Xavier because he sees his mutation as a deformity and White Queen with Magneto because of her belief in the inherent superiority of mutant kind. This thematic hammering leaves characters like Darwin (Edi Gathegi) and Angel (Zoe Kravitz) racial suspect due to their flatness. And since you know that Shaw's distinctive helmet is later worn by Magneto, he's probably not going to mess up the above the credits cast to bad. Despite Bacon's enjoyable performance, Shaw is an empty villain. Even his second act murder of an X-Man, his character has little menace. The moment he slips on Magneto signature helmet, you understand that he isn't going to be the final's real antagonist. He's just a filling a space until the final boss can take the stage. X2 had the same kind of misdirection but it succeeded because it was understood that Colonel Stryker was more of a means to an end than a character whereas FC tries to present Shaw as an ultra cool Bond villian he never seems believably as being. Such inconsistencies are the nature of films with six credited screenwriters. Another glaring problem with the film lies with its sexual politics. Cartoonishly noble CIA agent Moria MacTaggert (Rose Byrne), attractive block of wood Emma Frost (January Jones) and frustrated metamorph Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) all appear in various states of undress and compromise but since First Class is a big Summer tent pole film it can't ever reach the simple catharsis of nudity. This vacant, unempowered sexuality reduces the role of most all of the women in the film to that of gorgeous scenery. This blind adherence to outdated mores is extremely disappointing especially given that one of the film's central creatives, Jane Goldman, should be aware of how degrading this depiction is. X-Men: First Class would have been a lot better if it was just X-Men: Origins Magneto. It could have been a Carlos flavored action film that followed it's suave yet ruthless protagonist as he murders his way across the world, first toward revenge and then revolution. But that's not the film we got. First Class is an uneven, at times exciting superhero film that benefits greatly from a stand out performance from man who proves that a great actor can enliven even the weakest material. Matthew Vaughn is good filmmaker, the Brazilian bar sequence and Layer Cake bare this out, but when he's hamstrung by the demands of a PG-13 rating and the superhero genre, he'll never make an X-film that's more than mindlessly entertaining.

• Candy R

  
  Good movie about the origins of X-men. The story shows the discovery of each other and their powers. Good cast.

• Jameson W

  
  Excellent, I loved it. I was expecting something more like Wolverine, but this was a fantastic movie. Not only a brilliant addition to the X-Men series, but it's the best of the series! The reason I say that this is the best of the series is because it delivers in more areas… More
  Excellent, I loved it. I was expecting something more like Wolverine, but this was a fantastic movie. Not only a brilliant addition to the X-Men series, but it's the best of the series! The reason I say that this is the best of the series is because it delivers in more areas than the previous films did...First Class is very deep. For once I felt for the characters, I actually cared about what happened to them and how they interacted with each other. Credit must go to the cast because their performances contributed to this, especially James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. McAvoy gives a great performance as Professor X, and Fassbender is incredible as Magneto. (You will see Erik/Magneto in a whole new light). My favorite scene in the entire film is actually not an action scene, but the highly emotional diologue between McAvoy and Fassbender with moving the satelitte...also the end of the final action scene. Those two scenes alone add SO much to the film and trilogy. I can't explain it all, but this is truly a great addition to the series. And...of course the action was awesome! The visuals were excellent and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I love action movie blockbusters and First Class delivered. I cannot recommend this film enough! It's my favorite of the year so far. Action + Drama = X-Men First Class = Great Film!

• Jacob E

  
  Well, this was certainly a surprise. I had heard that "X-Men First Class" was better than "Origins" and "The Last Stand", but then again, that's not that difficult to achieve. What I didn't expect was that it would become my favorite entry into… More
  Well, this was certainly a surprise. I had heard that "X-Men First Class" was better than "Origins" and "The Last Stand", but then again, that's not that difficult to achieve. What I didn't expect was that it would become my favorite entry into the X-Men film continuity. For starters, it seems the film is ignoring portions of continuity across all previous films. Some might be unhappy with this, but I'm certainly not. This is the kind of reboot that I'll welcome with open arms. In terms of quality, it's right up there with X2, just barely surpassing that film. The villain (Sebastian Shaw) was a bit too stupidly evil for my tastes at certain points, but MASSIVE SPOILERS at least his demise was satisfying and brutal END MASSIVE SPOILERS. I'm really angry that I missed this one in theaters because it would have been worth every penny.

• Martin S

  
  This is the best film of 2011...and one hell of a film. I was really doubtful about watching this... But it did not disapoint at all... Very good acting from a lot of people. There are so many great scenes in this movie. And who could have guessed that Kevin Bacon could play the role… More
  This is the best film of 2011...and one hell of a film. I was really doubtful about watching this... But it did not disapoint at all... Very good acting from a lot of people. There are so many great scenes in this movie. And who could have guessed that Kevin Bacon could play the role of his life in 2011? The graphic effects look really good as well...I am really looking forward to the future of the franchise...

• danny d

  
  in many ways, this was almost the first truly great film in the xmen franchise, but the film stumbled terribly at the end in the wrap up of events and the very poor handling of mystique's story line. mcavoy, fassbender, and lawrence were all excellent, and entertainment value… More
  in many ways, this was almost the first truly great film in the xmen franchise, but the film stumbled terribly at the end in the wrap up of events and the very poor handling of mystique's story line. mcavoy, fassbender, and lawrence were all excellent, and entertainment value was at a very high level, but the decisions singer made in the first film are still constraining all of the other films including this one and much of the continuity of these characters doesnt fit the rest of the series that it's supposed to precede. very good, but disappointing all the same.

• Chris W

  
  Matthew Vaughn takes the reins for this film which explores the early years and origins of the X-Men and the relationship between Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr, also known respectively as Professor X and Magneto. This is a movie that, well, I'm really torn on. On one hand,… More
  Matthew Vaughn takes the reins for this film which explores the early years and origins of the X-Men and the relationship between Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr, also known respectively as Professor X and Magneto. This is a movie that, well, I'm really torn on. On one hand, I'm not overly pissed because I'm not a super diehard fanboy, but I am slightly more than just a casual fan of the source material. I don't think this film was entirely necessary, yet at the same time, it isn't unwelcome because of the high level of quality on display. This film tries to establish itself as a prequel,to the previous X-Men films, but because it fails to be completely consistent to the canon (of the films, not comics), it feels like it also wants to kinda be a reboot as well, and in that regard, it doesn't quite work. Unlike Star Trek (2009) this one doesn't really have a way to be a prequel yet break canon and have a pretty solid justification for it. And it's that last part that really gets to me. The film does a wonderful job at getting thigns established and really doing a splendid job with the story and character arcs, then in the final 10 minutes or so, makes a mad rush to establish some really major developments, and that really troubles me. It's as if they thought they wouldn't be able to have some further sequels, so they felt the need to go ahaed and do some stuff that could have used some more and better development to really work as good as it should. That's unfortunate because it shows that the filmmakers underestimate the audience or the studio's willingness to milk something for all it's worth, That's actually really my only major gripes, but they count for a hell of a lot because they aren't small issues either. I'm not spoiling anything, so if you want to know what I'm talkign about, either see the movie or serch the internet. I have a few quibbles such as not being totally consistent with the period setting and having an unequal amount of development with the characters, but that last part is more forgivable given just how damn many mutants there are in the world of the X-Men. For a movie that tries to do a little too much too quickly (especially at the end), the plot lines actually work pretty well together, and the film feels pretty brisk and breezy, which is all the more remarkable give nthe running time. I liked that this was an origin story, but I have major respect for it because it decides to place the story into the context of historical events. Yes, they do take liberties with actual history, but I really didn't mind it, and think it's cool they set things around the Cuban Missle Crisis. By default, there will always be at least implied subtext with anything related to the X-Men, but things feel even more inspired to me that they use the Cold War- a really tense time in history, which works perfectly with the debate about the place of mutants in society. The film has lots of great material going on, and, like the best of films of this type, the action and substance gel and work together. The film, despite the substance and intellectual stuff, is also tons of fun. Vaughn, like Singer, knows how to get thigns balanced. The film has a good tone, it's fun seeing Charles say "groovy" and try to fit in with the spirit of the 60s and spend soem of his time trying to party and get laid, and seeing Erik's character arc of revenge is also quite satisfying. He's a badass and pretty much the Wolverine of this film, and that's fine by me. In many ways, this movie feels a lot like a spy film or heist movie, and it's jsut a blast to watch. The casting and performances are all pretty well done and very inspired .McAvoy is solid, but maybe not as good a choice as they could have made. Fassbender, as stated, steals the show, and overall, he's become a real force in movies over the past decade. He's a great actor, and his current high level of exposure is welcome and justified. January Jones is barely more than scenery,but her character is done fairly well. Kevin Bacon is an excellent villain, and I loved Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult as Mystique and Beast, respectively. Oh yeah, and the film has some killer and well done cameos, too. All in all, this is some terrific stuff. The music,effects, and cinematogrpahy are all quite good, and there's some excelelnt sequences throughout, especially the recruitment and training montages. I was close to really loving this and giving it a higher rating, but then things started slipping from their high level at the end, and that's disappointing. This was close to equaling if not surpassing X2, but as it stands it's at least on par with the first film, if not slightly better. You should give it a shot, but just know that the film, though really good, isn;t without it's issues. I would love to see some more prequel/sequels, but they have some serious issues to now work out because of things done in this one.

• Brad W

  
  X-Men First Class is the best in the series in my opinion. Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) is a genius and a mutant who is able to control things with his mind. Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) is a mutant who can control metal, and for his entire life he has been looking for the… More
  X-Men First Class is the best in the series in my opinion. Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) is a genius and a mutant who is able to control things with his mind. Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) is a mutant who can control metal, and for his entire life he has been looking for the man who killed his mother named Sebastion Shaw (Kevin Bacon). When the two meet, they and a few other mutants create a school to teach mutants to control their powers, and this will shape alliances and forever change the X-Men universe. The plot was amazing in my opinion, it takes real life history and fits it to make it a superhero movie and it also takes into account for past X-Men movies and makes it work. The acting was truly great also but what I think they did best was casting a big star like James McAvoy because he took the cake. The effects, don't even get me started, they look so real that I was dropping my jaw ALMOST as much as Inception, and its hard to do that. I also loved each of the superheroes, but if I had to pick a favorite, it'd be probably be Magneto because he had the most WTF moments. X-Men The Last Stand and Orgins didn't live up to my expectations at all, but the first two did, and this is as good if not better than the first two X-Men movies. My main problem was the villains, they weren't really intimidating at all, yes they killed people, but where is the Darth Vader or the Voldemort in them that we just want them to suffer already, I didn't find it, but I did have myself rooting for the superhero Angel to die. Also I think the first 30 minutes of the film were very boring besides the awesome Magneto scenes, but yes I will admit it does set up the plot. Other than those problems this surpasses Thor as my favorite superhero movie so far this year, but don't get me wrong, Thor was very close.

• Melvin W

  
  Professor Charles Xavier: Listen to me very carefully, my friend: Killing will not bring you peace.  "Witness the beginning." I can't say that I am huge fan of the X-Men series, but I was able to find some enjoyment from this prequel to the franchise. Matthew Vaughn… More
  Professor Charles Xavier: Listen to me very carefully, my friend: Killing will not bring you peace.  "Witness the beginning." I can't say that I am huge fan of the X-Men series, but I was able to find some enjoyment from this prequel to the franchise. Matthew Vaughn does a great job balancing big action scenes with the necessary character development. I really enjoyed watching all the mutants come together, even though there was no action going on.  X-Men: First Class goes back to when Charles Xavier was a young man and could walk. He brings together a variety of mutants and they train in order to stop a nuclear war from occurring. The film is set during the Cold War, so the plot revolves around the idea of nuclear war.  The film is well made, but I still think the entire X-Men franchise is overrated. None of them are all that impressive and don't match up well with other comic book movies like Superman, any Batman film other then Shumacher's or Iron Man. This is solid entertainment, but it doesn't come close to the best of the genre. 

• Matt G

  
  Going into X-Men: First Class I had mixed feelings. On one hand, I was extremely excited to see a movie by Matthew Vaughn, who directed one of my favorite movies: Kick Ass. On the other hand, I was aware that this movie would have no Wolverine in it (except for a brief cameo), which I… More
  Going into X-Men: First Class I had mixed feelings. On one hand, I was extremely excited to see a movie by Matthew Vaughn, who directed one of my favorite movies: Kick Ass. On the other hand, I was aware that this movie would have no Wolverine in it (except for a brief cameo), which I didn't like. Trying to pretend I never saw the Wolverine movie, Hugh Jackman's character has always been a favorite of mine, probably most memorable to me from his fight scene with the girl with claws in X2. Nevertheless, I didn't expect this too be good, but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only is First Class an action extravaganza, it is also a rich political drama set during the cold war that I believe is the best X-Men movie of all time. X-Men: First Class follows the early years of Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) before they were enemies in a critical point of their lives. Erik is on a quest to find and kill his mother's murderer Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). Elsewhere, Professor Charles Xavier is studying what he is and if their are others. Most importantly these are all genetically powerful mutants. Erik and Charles were the closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known: Nuclear War. To call this film a masterpiece is an understatement because X-Men: First Class is a phenomenal film with little to no flaws. I felt a whole "James Bond" feel throughout this movie, which basically means that it has everything that is in a Bond film except with superpowered mutants! I'm glad that they scrapped X-Men Origins: Magneto to make First Class because it's more exciting being introduced to multiple new and old characters. One aspect that I loved about this film was the younger mutants, who make the movie great with their awesome acting but most importantly we how they become the mutants they are. There are various scenes where we see them training with their powers, including a pivotal part in the film where we see Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult) transforming into what he is later called Beast after he injects himself with a molecule increaser where we see him as his furry self. Now that's what I'm talking about, just that scene alone was amazing along with everything else, but that one scene caused me to shout an out loud "YEAH" in the movie theater. Anyways, we learn a lot about Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and her past friendship with Charles and many others that I won't get into detail about, but I feel like I must mention briefly that McAvoy and Fassbender were perfectly cast and gave great performances. I guess the main thing that surprised me in this was how flawless it's script and the directing was. Matthew Vaughn brings something interesting to the table every time, but this time he has really set the bar for summer movies because not only is this Vaughn's best film to date, it's also my second favorite superhero film ever (the first is The Dark Knight). I wasn't really surprised I liked it after the success of Thor and how Captain America: The First Avenger is opening soon, Marvel is really starting to impress me with it's top notch summer flicks. In conclusion: X-Men: First Class is a perfect masterpiece that is packed with great performances and effects.

• Film C

  
  I've always liked the X-men franchise, and this prequel certainly doesnt disappoint! Although its not 100% neccessary to have this prequel to explain x-men and how it all began, it certainly is still entertaining and enjoyable. Its a funny, action packed and a great cast.… More
  I've always liked the X-men franchise, and this prequel certainly doesnt disappoint! Although its not 100% neccessary to have this prequel to explain x-men and how it all began, it certainly is still entertaining and enjoyable. Its a funny, action packed and a great cast. Thoroughly enjoyed it was a good laugh so worth the watch!

• Dan S

  
  A thoroughly entertaining summer blockbuster that handles its screenplay with meticulous care, concerning the origins of the mutant alliance known as the X-Men, specifically the initial friendship between Professor X. (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender). This series needed… More
  A thoroughly entertaining summer blockbuster that handles its screenplay with meticulous care, concerning the origins of the mutant alliance known as the X-Men, specifically the initial friendship between Professor X. (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender). This series needed a reboot, given the somewhat lackluster sequels to the original 2000 film (which was pretty good), and the fact that the sequels really served no point other than an obvious money-grab. Here, the direction is consistent and focused throughout, with an all-around outstanding cast (Fassbender is primed to be the next big movie star after his fantastic role in "Inglourious Basterds" and his terrific turn in the little-seen "Hunger"), that anchors the film throughout. It never approaches greatness, due to its tendency to become a little too silly at times, but the central relationship between X and Magneto, amplified by the film's nicely-conceived conclusion, is very well handled. With that said - please, no more X-Men movies for at least a little bit. We've had 5 in the last 11 years. I think I've got my fix now.

• Alexander D

  
  Second prequel and fifth entry into the X-Men series is like a one-film saga of its own. Thankfully, FIRST CLASS is a notable improvement from the previous prequel, WOLVERINE, but it still is no match for the first two films. It seems that much of the action in X-MEN: FIRST CLASS… More
  Second prequel and fifth entry into the X-Men series is like a one-film saga of its own. Thankfully, FIRST CLASS is a notable improvement from the previous prequel, WOLVERINE, but it still is no match for the first two films. It seems that much of the action in X-MEN: FIRST CLASS is more of the "check it out" variety than the "look how intense the vengeful fight between So-and-So and What's-His-Name is" variety. In other words, 75% of the action is just thrown out there in the open to amaze the audience with special effects, aimlessly and without much plot, anyhow. But don't fret! This is the new route Hollywood is taking: ridiculous, nonsensical violence fueled by visual effects! (That was sarcasm, for all the mentally blind out there.) Seeing James McAvoy as Charles Xavier/Professor X (younger and not bald, obviously) was quite an enjoyable change. Patrick Stewart performed well as an older version of the wise comic book hero, but after a few films, his role grew a little flat. Now with the newer actor, we can see a slight resemblance between the two roles. The rest of this film was quite decent. It was the only instance without the "middle claw" joke (what a relief; that got so old!) from the Wolverine, who only made a brief appearance. Instead, he said what he meant, plain and simple. And that's how the entire film is: plain and simple (but rather extensive) fun.

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