After the dismal X-Men Origins: Wolverine and the lacklustre X-trilogy finale in X-Men: The Last Stand, this instalment is considerably stronger. Charles “Prof. X.” Xavier (with full head of hair) in McAvoy and Erik “Magneto” Lenscherr in Fassbender demand our attention in X-Men: First Class. Indeed, their bromance lifts this film to heights that are stronger than many of the previous instalments. Jennifer Lawrence is Raven (Or young-Mystique), this time a friend of Prof. X. The standard “mutants with or against the world” dynamic is repeated through the villainous Sebastian Shaw (Bacon). Rival to both Erik and Charles, he uses the 1960’s cold-war to pit Russia and America against each other – with mutants picking up the pieces. X-Men: First Class is so much fun. With creaky-CGI, it rises to the challenge of reinvigorating the series through a playful plot. It’s is exciting to see where the X-Men will go next…

Rating: 7/10