![]() X-Men are always about finding new mutants and here we get that in full force. In a decade setting of the 1960’s this is even better felt, when that particular era saw the rise of equal rights movements it is surely no coincidence the film makers saw the potential for this. Whilst it may be a straightforward idea to just take him down, the mutants faced with most oppression are the ones who are meant to be protecting mankind from the attack and lending a better insight to the premise of X-Men’s famous ‘protecting a world that hates and fears them’. And with a far more expansive threat to our characters, other than just for the need for a big finish, the seeds are sewn for future mutant based stories with Shaw looking to create a nuclear Armageddon to end human oppression and to make mutants the dominant species. If your knowledge on ‘X-Men’ is fairly limited, this is the perfect place to jump onboard. ![]() Forming the centre of the film is this relationship, we see two very different backgrounds and fairly different aims but united, for now, in a cause to make the world a better place. We see here Xavier and Lensherr as allies and more importantly, friends. With the aforementioned scenes of violence also comes emotional depth and real chemistry between the characters. ‘First Class’ is at times, the most sophisticated of the series so far. And these are just some of the key scenes that make this film work so well, taking away the brain-dead, trigger happy mistakes of the last two X-outings and instead weaving in a more tension filled atmosphere that relies on a plot other than explosions for the sake of it. Whilst not carrying the gore-heavy violence of Vaughn’s ‘Kick-Ass’, the boundaries of a PG-13/12A rating are pushed constantly, with its cold and brutal scene of Jason Flemyng’s Azazel using his teleportation ability to dispose of C.I.A operatives in a ‘vertical’ manner and the utterance of the word ‘fuck’ by an excellent on-screen cameo. From the concentration camp and subsequent torture of young Erik (in which the first truly dark moment takes place, not even ten minutes into the film) to a grown up Erik’s use of magnetism to gain knowledge from a corrupt banker (note: metal fillings against a metal manipulating mutant with a mind for revenge is never a good thing) and his brutal pursuit of former Nazis, this is the most brutal of the X-films. Yet we still see the harshness of society’s attitude to a kind that is different from them and we see it right away. Whereas the previous X-trilogy took place in the not too distant future, by giving these characters a world in which has already existed, lends a sense of realism alongside the fact that mutants are a hidden species yet to reveal themselves to the greater public knowledge is a different spin on the world that we usually see presented. Here, a bond is formed and the idea to form a team to apprehend Shaw is put into effect. Here, Erik is looking for Shaw and murdering any former Nazis in his path until he finds a lead and when he does his first contact with Xavier takes place. Shaw pushes Erik to use his ability by employing a savage and cold way to make the boy focus and it is this ‘training’ that pushes Erik to the man he is now in 1962. ![]() We first meet Erik when he is just a boy separated from his parents in the German concentration camps and in a moment of fury and anguish unleashes his ability to manipulate metal, under the watchful eye of (you guessed it) Sebastian Shaw. Meanwhile on the other end of the spectrum is a tormented young man named Erik Lensher. It is when Xavier is contacted by CIA agent Moira McTaggart (Byrne) that he is given a chance to become a part of something, and to work alongside the government in apprehending mutant Sebastian Shaw and his ‘Hellfire Club’ who may be plotting to use the missile crisis to their own accord. He is joined by long time friend Raven Darkholme, herself a mutant, with the ability to shape shift, hiding her secret blue complexion from the real world. We see a young, slightly irresponsible professor with no real direction but harnessing a great ability of reading and sometimes controlling other people’s thoughts. This depiction of Xavier and his group of mutants takes place in 1962, with the Cuban missile crisis acting as a backdrop and mutants themselves an unknown existence. Whilst ‘X-Men: First Class’ shares its name with the popular comic book series that is where the similarities end.
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