Prequel proves first-class
Prequels bring a whole new dimension to the viewing experience. It's like looking at your dad's yearbook and trying to spot him in photos - you know what he looks like now, but what was he like back then?
With prequels, it's much the same: the joy comes from piecing together the back story. And with such a big back catalogue, X-Men: First Class has the makings of a superlative film.
During the cold war, scientist Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), a.k.a. Professor X, knows the world is full of mutants, a more evolved form of humans. Along with his shape-shifting 'sister', Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), a.k.a. Mystique, and second world war survivor and metal bender Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender, shown), a.k.a. Magneto, they recruit mutants to a superhero team to avert war.
Meanwhile, Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) leads another team of mutants determined to wipe out humans. His plan is to start a nuclear war between the US and the Soviet Union leaving humans to annihilate their own kind.
Humans are shown as a ruthless race unwilling to allow a new breed of super-humans to co-exist. Director Matthew Vaughn holds nothing back in sharing his views in a gripping and dynamic delight of a film. A younger cast injects fresh DNA to the franchise. As well as a hilarious cameo, the film answers questions such as how did xavier end up in a wheelchair? And what's with Magneto's helmet?
