In an America gripped by Cold War tension, a hidden danger lurks: crazed scientist Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) is bent on world domination.
Long before two of the most famous mutants became enemies, telepathic Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and metal-bending Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) teamed up to thwart Shaw's plans and protect the very humans discriminating against them.
As the two assemble a group of scientists and mutants - including a young Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and Beast (Nicholas Hoult) - Shaw's plans gather pace. Allied with the Russian army, only Xavier and Lehnsherr - under the new moniker Magneto - can stop him.
In this prequel to the three explosive X-Men films, fans of the franchise are treated to an in-depth look at the complex relationship between Xavier and Magneto.
Coupling a gritty storyline with a developed comic book appreciation, English director Matthew Vaughn has merged features from his previous films, Layer Cake and Kick-Ass, to produce a superior blockbuster. This offering may lack the dark wit of his previous work, but Vaughn has captured the complexities of the source material with aplomb.
This is the thinker's action movie, answering many of the questions posed by previous X-Men films and throwing in fantastic effects to create arguably the greatest addition to the franchise.
X-Men: First Class is a Film programme that first aired in 2011 and has been classified a 12 certificate.
