X-Men: First Class
Dir: Matthew Vaughn
2011
****
As an origin movie; 2011's X-Men reboot (of sorts) X-Men: First Class, is pretty impressive. Apart from a couple of factual errors regarding dates, it's pretty solid. I liked the fact that they didn't get ahead of time with their technology, it was very fitting with the classic comics of the time. There was also an element of tongue in cheek about it that I think only an Englishmen (Matthew Vaughn) could deliver, at least I think it worked rather well here when more than often it doesn't. The cast is ace, McAvoy and Fassbender are brilliant, the only bit of re-casting I would do would be to replace January Jones but only because I can't stand her and the character of Emma Frost deserved better (she's more than just a body). Twenty something Beast was a bit of a surprise too, he looked like one of the monsters that would always be in the back ground in The Muppet Show, so I liked him but couldn't take him too seriously. Also, and I'm a full on comic nerd so bare with me, if Magneto and Mystique know where the X-Men base is having trained there, how do they spend the best part of the first and second films looking for it? I'm sure all will become clear in the many sequels this films deserves. If you really have to re-boot a franchise, this is how you do it!