Movie Review: X-Men: First Class

By Clarissa du Plessis

X-Men: First Class breathes new life into the much loved mutant franchise.

X-Men: First Class

(Director: Michael Vaughn). Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, January Jones, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne.

Being a huge fan of all the X-Men movies, including the Wolverine spin-off, I was needless to say super excited to go watch the latest on-screen installment of the popular series. More mutants, younger versions of Magneto and Professor X? Yes, please.

First Class opens with an already famous scene from the previous X-Men trilogy. A young Erik (who will later become Magneto) is shown being torn away from his parents at a Nazi concentration camp and displays a scary amount of power when he bends iron gates out of shape while screaming for his parents. This attracts the attention of Klaus Schmidt (Kevin Bacon), who now has some evil plans up his sleeve...

Meanwile, young Charles Xavier meets Raven, a shapeshifting girl to whom he grows close to – in the brother/sister sense, not the romantic route.

Dr. Henry "Hank" McCoy (Nicholas Hoult) is mutant scientist who joins the ranks of professor Charles Xavier.

 Years later, Erik (Fassbender) is out for revenge against those who tormented him. Apart from his impressive use of many languages, his powers have also grown. His main target for revenge is Schmidt, who now call himself Sebastian Shaw. Shaw is planning a nuclear war, but he is not alone. At his side are Emma Frost, a telepath whose skin can turn to diamonds, the teleporter Azazel and the whirlwind creating Riptide. Shaw also has the power to absorb energy and then use it as he sees fit.

While persuing Shaw and his followers, Erik is rescued by Charles (McAvoy) and soon part of a bigger plan develops: to find and unite mutants and possibly assemble a team to stop Shaw. Soon mutant such as Hank McCoy (later Beast), Angel (a suprisingly talented Zoe Kravitz), Havok, Banshee and Darwin join Xavier’s ranks, but will they be able to stop Shaw?

First Class truly delivers a solid offering to fans of the X-Men movies. With good special effects, some cool cameos and, as always, a focus on the human side of the characters, we are holding thumbs for more X-Men movies in the future.