X-Men: First Class (2011) Review

"Peace was never an option."

-Magneto 

A prequel to the original series, X-Men: First Class shows us how Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) met and how the X-Men were formed.  As the Cuban Missile Crisis draws near, Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) manipulates both sides towards nuclear war.  Professor X and Magneto form a team to save the human race, but are the humans the real villains after all?

What Works:

Cards on the table, I love this movie.  I think it's one of the best prequels ever made.  The problem with prequels is that the stakes are lower.  We know who's going to make it and who isn't.  And while that is true to a certain extent here, it doesn't really matter because the character arcs and story beats are so engaging.  We know Charlies and Erik are going to survive the movie, but how does their friendship end up so strained?  That's where the tension comes from.  It's really a great story and the mark all prequels should strive towards.

James McAvoy is perfect as Charles Xavier.  It's really fun to see him partying in college and hitting on women at bars, but once things get serious, we see him mature quickly into the character we know in love.  McAvoy gives an incredible performance and is a great protagonist.

My favorite part of the movie is Michael Fassbender.  I'd say he surpasses Ian McKellen as Magneto and that's no small feat.  This is Magneto at his most relatable and sympathetic.  His story is utterly incredible.  He agrees with everything Shaw is saying, but it doesn't matter because Shaw killed his mother.  His arc is phenomenal and extremely well written.  I'd say it's easier to side with him than it is with Charles by the end.

The 3rd act battle against Shaw is great on it's own, with a really fantastic death for Shaw, but even better is the humans teaming up on the mutants.  Seeing all of the missiles being fired at the mutants is a really powerful moment.  We realize that Magneto is right and Professor X is wrong.  It's unexpected, but really well handled.  The whole sequence works fantastically and I can honestly say I would have gone with Magneto at the end of all that.  Giving a villain justifiable motivation is always fun.

The training sequence of the first class of mutants is also very entertaining.  We get a lot of funny moments, yes, but we also get some powerful emotional moments and profound statements.  I haven't enjoyed a training montage this much since Rocky IV.

Finally, I just want to mention Azazel (Jason Flemyng), a teleporting mutant with the same powers as Nightcrawler.  I like that we get a villainous version of Nightcrawler essentially and seeing him conduct the raid of the CIA facility is very cool.  He teleports people into the air and drops them to their deaths.  He could have easily taken out the entire facility on his own.  It's an effective and intimidating sequence showing just how strong Shaw's side is.

What Sucks:

I got nothing for you.

Verdict:

Of the first five X-Men movies, First Class is my favorite.  We get great performances all around, especially from McAvoy and Fassbender, some exciting sequences, great writing, and fun villains.  Without a doubt, this movie has got it going on.

 10/10: Amazing