X MEN FIRST CLASS SERIES SERIES

Replacing Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier is the wonderful James McAvoy (‘Atonement’), and Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto is now played by the just-as-wonderful Michael Fassbender (‘Jane Eyre’ & ‘Inglourious Basterds’) instead of Ian McKellen. Yes, we all know the basics of the relationship between the two of them, but exploring this relationship in depth in ‘First Class’ is a trip worth taking.

It’s captivating to see how much changes between this new film and the original trilogy, with Professor X and Magneto starting off as best friends and ending as rivals. Some of the major characters from the original trilogy appear in younger forms in ‘First Class’ and their pasts are explored. ‘X-Men: First Class’ is a prequel of sorts, as well as a reboot, to the original ‘X-Men’ trilogy.

X MEN FIRST CLASS SERIES SERIES

With ‘X-Men: First Class’, the series returns back to form, rivaling ‘X2: X-Men United’ as possibly the best film of the franchise. With the entertaining, yet shallow ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’, and the relatively unimportant Wolverine prequel, the series’ quality aimed straight towards the ground and hit rock-bottom. The original film that started the series was great, and the series continued its upward transition with the even better ‘X2’, arguably the best of the trilogy and one of the best superhero films in the past decade. The ‘X-Men’ film series is very much like a roller-coaster in terms of quality.

X men first class series