X -Men: First Class (2011)

Certificate: 12

Director: Matthew Vaughn.

Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon

Synopsis: In 1962, the US government, fighting the super-powered servants of a dictator hell-bent on starting World War III, enlist their own team of gifted mutants; Bringing together Charles Xavier (Professor X) and Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto), two of the greatest friends and most legendary enemies in the world.

Pro’s

Con’s

Fast paced action and short but effective personal stories work together seamlessly. Performances throughout the film are great, by Cinematic legends and New-comers alike. Visual effects, especially on Beast (NicholasHoult), are superb – specifically in his transformation scene. Each character has a story and is greatly unique and individual causing some light-hearted scenes and interesting relationships. Kevin Bacon’s Sebastian Shaw provides a realistically bond-esqe, and intimidating antagonist for the film. Beautifully shot in various locations around the world.

The mutant enemies felt underused and in the case of a few, barely even spoke. MichaelFassbender, despite an otherwise excellent performance, has an accent that varies and, whilst this was a creative choice due to his characters globe-trotting past, it proves to be fairly distracting in some instances. The class (excuse the pun) and style of Vaughn’s previous super-hero flick (Kick-ass) shine through, but the humour distracts from what could have been some much more packed and dramatic fight scenes.

Conclusion: Matthew Vaughn’s new and refreshing take on the origins of the X-men undoes all the mistakes of the franchises now rather antiqued and (in the case of X-3 and Wolverine) disappointing predecessors, and creates a perfect beginning for what could be a brand new saga in the X-men story. With James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender on top form as legendary ‘frenemies’ Charles and Magneto, and some light-hearted (but nonetheless action-packed) sequences, this film has clearly been made for both fans of the comics, and newcomers to the series as its few teething errors are easily shadowed by superhero story-telling at it’s best.

The good outweighs The bad: 85%