The X-Men series had seemed to fizzle out. The last X-Men movie, Wolverine, wasn’t good, especially when compared to the great first 3 X-Men movies. Now, X-Men are back with a prequel. In X-Men: First Class, we are brought back to the beginning to see how the X-Men started. The story is set in the 1960s during the Cuban Missile Crisis. We meet Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender), two individuals, two mutants that each has their own way of looking at humanity. Erik is out for revenge, and Xavier is trying to find a way for mutants to be accepted into the world. They unite to take out a common enemy, but again they have different reasons to go against Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). Working together, they search and bring in a team of young mutants and teach them to use their abilities properly.
There are many things to love about X-Men: First Class. The cast is brilliant. When I first heard who was cast in this movie, my excitement soared. I am a fan of the X-Men movies (except for Wolverine, which I haven’t seen and never really want to), so knowing that actors like James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender were going to star very much intrigued me. And McAvoy and Fassbender didn’t let me down one bit; in fact, their chemistry blew me away. Playing characters like Xavier and Lehnsherr need that chemistry and connection. They need to balance each other out, and McAvoy and Fassbender went above and beyond that. Watching the two interact was very entertaining. If you weren’t familiar with Michael Fassbender already, after seeing this movie, you’ll totally be sold on the fact that he’s truly one of Hollywood’s next great actors. (Michael Fassbender for James Bond? Yes/yes?)
The rest of the cast is also great. I loved Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique. Nicholas Hoult, Lucas Till, Caleb Landry Jones, and Zoe Kravitz acted well as the other young mutants. Kevin Bacon and January Jones worked pretty well as a team, trying to hatch their evil plan.
As for the plot, it remains strong and interesting throughout the film. The movie is a little over 2 hours and there wasn’t a dull moment in it. There’s a lot of rich character development, and that’s my main reason for loving the movie. As an X-Men fan, it is fun to learn about how many of the characters I’ve grown to care about started out. Director Matthew Vaughn put this story together perfectly.
X-Men: First Class is definitely one of the best movies of 2011. I recommend this movie so much, I’m urging you to just go and see it now! Trust me, you won’t regret it!
X-Men: First Class in now playing theaters.
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