X-Men: First Class was the prequel to the 2000s X-Men movies that took place in 1962, showing the early lives of Professor X and Magneto before the formation of the X-Men.
It created a surprising relationship, with a young Charles Xavier, who receives the codename Professor X in this film, discovering a young Mystique, who goes by the name Raven and had shapeshifted into the former's mother. Charles reveals that he can read minds and Raven reveals that she can change shape, Charles lets Raven clandestinely stay at his home, and the two essentially grow up together. It is a huge departure from the comics as well as established film continuity but works within the story of this film.
It also once again shows the early life Magneto, born Erik Lensherr, in the Nazi internment camps. The film reveals a tragic event as he is being tested for his powers of magnetism. That event sets up the villain of the film, Sebastian Shaw, who is played brilliantly by Kevin Bacon. When Erik tracks down the villain as an adult, he becomes acquainted with Charles Xavier.
Alongside Magneto, Professor X, and Mystique, the other prominent mutant featured is Henry McCoy, a mutant named Beast. The core four seek out other mutants to form a proto-X team, originally on behest of the American government. One of the young mutants on the team is Alex Summers, also known as Havoc, who is the brother of the future X-Men team leader Cyclops. Other mutants include Angel, a woman with retractable wings, Darwin, a young man who can evolve his body to suit any environment, and Banshee, a young man who can create sonic waves with his voice.
Shaw also has his own team of mutants, including a teleporter named Azazal, a tornado-creator named Riptide, and a telepath with diamond skin named Emma Frost.
The actors are fantastic in their roles. Jennifer Lawrence is fantastic as Mystique. She gives a much nuanced performance, showing a kindness mixed with hurt that makes her turn to team up with Magneto as seen in the original X-Men in 2000 make a lot of sense. Nicolas Hoult also gives a fantastic performance as Beast, showing his embarrassment over his mutation yet displaying the intelligence for which the character is known. The best performances come from the actors that portray Professor X and Magneto. James McAvoy is fantastic as Charles Xavier, showing the character's compassion yet displaying an ego that would be dampened in his later years. Michael Fassbender is likewise excellent as Erik Lehnsherr, showing the hurt he endured as a child and the rage that came from that. The two latter actors work great together, showing a great comraderie that really shines on the screen.
The only real downside is that the film does have timeline contraditions. The less-spoilery contraditions include the fact that Magneto and Professor X meet much later than their previously stated meeting as teenagers in X-Men, Moira MacTaggert is now an American CIA agent rather than a British nurse as shown in X-Men: The Last Stand, and Emma Frost is an adult here whereas she is a child over a decade later in X-Men: Origins Wolverine.
Any timeline issues aren't enough to bring down the film though, as X-Men: First Class is actually one of the best films of the original live-action X-Men saga.
Final Verdict:
4½ out of 5
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