X-Men: First Class is fresh, mutant fun

Back to the early days of Charles Xavier and Magneto—and the swinging ”˜60s—<em>X-Men: First Class</em> is fresh, mutant fun.

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      Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence. Rated PG.

      Hard-core fans of the popular X-Men series can breathe a welcome sigh of relief. X-Men: First Class is easily the freshest take on the Marvel comic book saga in years. In this prequel set around the Cuban Missile Crisis of the early ’60s, director and cowriter Matthew Vaughn makes the most of a vibrant young cast. Best of all, you don’t have to be slavishly addicted to the series to appreciate this latest offering. In fact, you can go in knowing absolutely nothing about the complex back story and have a perfectly marvellous time.

      It would be unfair to give away more than a hint of the plot. But the story focuses on the early days of fellow mutants Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender), before they became sworn enemies. Blessed with their own special superpowers, each of them has a very different destiny. McAvoy’s Professor X—aka Charles Xavier—is a charming, morally upright intellectual who longs to use his mind-reading abilities to benefit mankind. Magneto’s tortured past as a young mutant named Erik leaves him obsessed with killing the evil Sebastian Shaw. (Kevin Bacon at his weaselly best.)

      The nimble screenplay manages to work in a number of characters and relationships with an admirable sense of balance. There’s not a weak link in the entire cast. But—along with genuinely appealing performances from McAvoy and Fassbender—Jennifer Lawrence is particularly effective as Raven, a shape-shifting mutant struggling to come to terms with her status as a social outcast.

      There’s plenty of fun to go around, ranging from impressive special effects to the kind of ’60s-flavoured eye candy that flirts with early James Bond. But the real accomplishment is how utterly convincing everything feels. With so much preening self-parody out there, X-Men: First Class deserves congratulations.


      Watch the trailer for X-Men: First Class.

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