X-Men First Class, is actually a first class film

For some reason I knew this superhero movie was going to have more about it than your usual superhero summer blockbuster. So I went to see it yesterday, and boy I was not wrong, this was a excellent film especially the first half. James McAvoy as Charles Xavier and the star of the show, the brilliant Michael Fassbender as Erik or Magneto, show the formations of the opposite views on how to deal with the sub species, humanity.


The film oozes class from beginning to end, with great performances from the entire supporting cast; it raises many questions about emotional bonds, about freedom, and being able to be oneself, without feeling abnormal.

I’ll not go into the story too much but it is roughly based around the Cuban missile crisis of the early sixties, and the attempts by the newly formed Mutant division of the CIA, to stop Sebastian Shaw from starting World War 3, so he can wipe out the inferior humans and leave only the superior mutants. Spice is added by the fact; Erik wants to avenge what happened in the concentration camps, when he first met Shaw.

The scenes between McAvoy and Fassbender, establish their kinship and special friendship, especially the scene when Magneto tried to move the radio telescope for the first time. “You have to be between anger and serenity”, Xavier tells Erik. The chemistry between the two main stars is exceptional and only goes to enhance the film.

You feel Erik’s pain and loss all the way through the story, especially in the first half, when he is searching for Shaw. The scene in Argentina was pretty intense and great to watch.

You can empathise with the mutants and why they think the way they do, they reference what modern humans did to the Neanderthals, and that as the new superior evolutionary step forward, they should do the same thing.

The ending is very poignant, as they finally defeat Shaw, only to see the great super powers turn on them. And then they have to chose, do they stay with Xavier and his ideology or do they go with Magneto and try to destroy humanity forever.

Can’t wait for the follow up if it’s as good as this one, it will be fantastic.