At first, I was not looking forward to another film in the dying franchise known as the “X-Men” franchise. The first and second films of the series  were good but from then on, the films have slowly been going from bad to worse; especially “X-Men: The Last Stand” and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (which I thought were terrible). But to my surprise “X-Men: First Class” is an amazing superhero film and maybe one of the best prequels to a franchise I have ever seen. The film has exciting action, stunts and special effects along with some clever human drama mixed in between. I also have to say that this is the best film in the “X-Men” franchise since the first installment.

The film takes place in 1962 with the Cuban Missile Crisis as a backdrop and shows the origins of the group of mutants known as the X-Men. We are introduced to Oxford graduate and telepathic mutant Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), who will one day become the wheelchair bound Professor X.  He believes that mutants and humans should co-exist with one another and believes that he and other mutants can use their powers for good. He meets a fellow mutant known as Erik Lehnsherr, who will one day become Magneto and he is played by Michael Fassbener. Together they begin tracking a group of mutants to join their team. The mutants include Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Angel (Zoe Kravitz), Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), Havok (Lucas Till), and Darwin (Edi Gathegi).

They want to stop an evil madman mutant known as Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), a person who used to torment Erik in a concentration camp many years earlier. Sebastian thinks that it’s the mutants who should be the dominate species of the world. So the film explores the battle between the mutants and Sebastian Shaw. The film also shows the fall of the friendship between Magneto and Professor X and we see how they become the enemies that we know of today.

Director Mathew Vaughn creates a superhero film that is stylish and smart. It isn’t like one of those formulaic action films that we always see in the summer movie season.  This film actually has something interesting to say. It is full of ambition, the story is interesting, the action is exciting and the acting is great.

James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender do very fine work as Professor X and Magneto respectively. There characters in the previous films where played by Patrick Stewart and Ian Mckellen but they make their younger versions all their own. The supporting roles are also convincing such as Jennifer Lawrence giving another good performance in a film, this time as Raven/Mystique. Whether it be independent or blockbuster, she seems to give a good performance every time. She brings out the sympathies of her character. You know she wants to be normal but she can’t. It brings some good emotional internal conflict to film. Kevin Bacon gives one of his better performances as the evil Sebastian Shaw. He reminds me of a James Bond Villain; he is so hip and menacing that it’s memorable.

The film has an equal balance of fun action and serious heartfelt drama. The sequences of action, especially the climax, are suspenseful. The drama in the relationship in the falling friendship between Professor X and Magneto is heartfelt. But yet interesting to any fanboy and fangirl because I am sure that they will find it interesting to why or how they became villains.

I am probably saying a lot but “X: Men: First Class” is the best of the franchise. It may not be the best superhero film I have seen because films like “The Dark Knight”, “Iron Man”, “Spiderman 2” and “Superman” are, in opinion, superior then this film. But if there is one summer blockbuster to see this year, it is this. Anyone can enjoy this film, whether you are a fan or not. The action is exciting, the performances are memorable, the direction is stylish and it features one the best cameos of the year.  Despite a running time for about two hours, it leaves you yearning for more excitement and action.

***1/2|PG-13|132 Minutes