The prequel hosts a huge cast, including James McAvoy, Rose Byrne and Jennifer Lawrence.
Mutants unite against the world, so says a young Charles Xavier, played by James McAvoy… sort of. Set in the ‘60s, “X-Men: First Class” shows the characters at a young age, discovering each other and accompanying talents.
The film has an intense beginning with a young Erik, later turned Magneto, at the hands of the Nazis in World War II. His parents are killed by Nazi-playing Kevin Bacon. Erik vows to hunt him down and kill him. He gets his chance, as his parents’ killer emerges under the name of Sebastian Shaw, still pursuing evil.
I think Kevin Bacon plays an excellent mad man, whose venom can cut through glass.
There were parts where I thought I was watching a Harry Potter movie.
You think he looks a little like Ron Weasley, but actually, that's Caleb Landry Jones, as Banshee. The film spends a great deal of time focusing on how our gifted ones handle their unusual abilities.
Raven, played by Jennifer Lawrence, struggles with her appearance. It's a real weight, and she uses human camouflage to hide behind. Erik/Magneto, played by Michael Fassbender, gives her straight talk.
“You want society to accept you, but you can't even accept yourself,” he says.
Even at a very young age, she met someone who wasn't quite comfortable in his skin either – Charles Xavier.
There's a very, very quick cameo of Hugh Jackman.
I liked “X-Men.” I thought it was interesting and fun, but thought it was a little too long. Toward the end it got a little over-the-top. For example, a submarine flying out of the water and into the air, and missiles slowing down, stopping in mid-air, and reversing course. It was sort of road-runner cartoon-like.
I like the movie-- not extraordinary, but OK.
