Opened: June 3, 2011

Directed by: Matthew Vaughn

Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon, January Jones, Nicholas Hoult, Oliver Platt, Jason Flemyng, Lucas Till, Edi Gathegi, Caleb Landry Jones, Zoë Kravitz, Álex González, Laurence Belcher, Bill Milner, Morgan Lily, Glenn Morshower, Matt Craven, Rade Šerbedžija, Annabelle Wallis, Don Creech, Michael Ironside, Ray Wise, James Remar, Brendan Fehr, Demetri Goritsas, Ludger Pistor, Beth Goddard, Rebecca Romijn & Hugh Jackman

Restarting the X-Men series and taking it back to Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto’s (Michael Fassbender) origins, First Class is a strong entry to the franchise that sets a powerful tone.

Charles is recruited by CIA Agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) when she needs knowledge on mutants to track down Sebastian Saw (Kevin Bacon), a former Nazi who is using mutant power to start World War III. Charles meets Erik Lehnsherr (a.k.a. Magneto) and together they recruit the first class of mutants to their school.

With McAvoy, Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult, we see brilliantly acted younger versions of mutants from the first trilogy. Their dynamics make for a fantastic team and though there’s the looming war coming, it’s fun to see these characters discover and hone their powers.

Final say: New life for the X-Men franchise. ★★★★☆