X-Men : First Class

I'll be blunt. My expectations for this movie weren't that high from the get-go. I wasn't a huge fan (or fan at all, really) of the last two X-Men movies. The trailers looked good, but I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. I love Matthew Vaughn, he makes awesome movies, but when you combine Fox and Superhero movies...well, you don't always get the best results.

All I can say is, Matthew Vaughn...Bravo! You took a dying franchise, that was on serious life support, and you gave it the swift kick in the ass it needed. This is a prequel, yet contradicts events of the first two X-Men movies, so take it as you will - either a Prequel with some inconsistencies, or a complete overhaul of the franchise. I'll be honest, I don't know what to make of it, but I love it.

There's an extraordinarily solid cast for this - James Mcavoy as Charles, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Kevin Bacon as Shaw (the biggest enemy the X-Men have faced yet!), Jennifer Lawrence as a young Mystique, and Nicholas Hoult as Beast.

The movie opens - beat for beat - as the opening to X1 - as a terrified, young Erik Lensherr - yet unaware of his mutant powers - is in a concentration camp. This is the start of his disliking for humans - at least, those that aren't mutants. Mcavoy plays a very suave, smooth Charles, and uses the now infamous opening prologue to the first two movies as a pickup line for the ladies.

Everyone in this flick did great - and setting it in the 60s as a James Bond-like X-Men movie made me love it even more. Should Craig not come back in bond 23, I would love to see a Fass-bond movie, with him as the titular character. The music was fantastic - Henry Jackman is currently gaining more love for me - and honestly this was a fun movie with some thoughtful themes, and brings the dying X-Men franchise to a satisfying return. Hopefully the wolverine, and X-Men : First Class 2 (or second class, whatever) can keep the quality coming.