New movie review: X-Men: First Class

Three movies (not counting the Gavin Hood directed X-Men Origins: Wolverine) later comes the latest ‘X-Men: First Class’ from the mutant franchise, one of this week’s new movie review. Here is a universe which has no shortage of super humans or mutants to be more precise. The mutants versus humans saga is pretty well known to fans of the X-Men series.

But this one plays more like a prequel even as we go much back in time. We witness Erik Lensher discover his magnetism powers for the first time. We see him as a victim of the Nazis. We also get to see a very young and handsome Charles Xavier who can yet walk on his legs and not wheel chair bound. Charles comes in contact with a young girl named Raven who is unusual just like him. She has shape shifting abilities. He realizes he is not alone.

We follow both Eric and Charles in their quest. We watch them grow with an intimidating grace of their own. In time we know both men (I am sorry, mutants) will become what destiny (no, not the mutant Destiny) intends them to be, Professor X and Magneto. Michael Fassbender plays Eric while James McAvoy plays Xavier. We get to know of the early days of many of these extraordinary beings who’d go on to achieve greatness, in their own unique ways, with time.

Nicholas Hoult plays the Beast who looks like a ferocious monster but actually on the good side. Then of course there is also the inhuman Nazi Sebastian Shaw (for aren’t all Nazis inhuman). This character is portrayed onscreen by Kevin Bacon. His agenda is to use the Cuban Missile crisis and give birth to the greatest war to have ever taken place on the face of the earth.

There are both mutants and action sequences aplenty here. The movie is indeed fun to watch, a good addition to the X-Men films, and certainly much better than the rather mediocre ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’.

X-Men: First Class comes from director Matthew Vaughn whose last was the 2010 super hero hit film Kick-Ass. Summing things up, this ‘X-Men: First Class’ is not exactly high on the “X” factor, but does offer some Kick-Ass fun.