THE prequel to the massively successful X Men films, First Class continues the excellent series in suitably explosive style.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS

Rating: 12A

Duration: 131mins

Genre: Sci-Fi/Action/Romance

Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Lawrence, January Jones, Rose Byrne, Jason Flemyng, Nicholas Hoult, Zoe Kravitz, Lucas Till, Caleb Landry Jones, Edi Gathegi, Alex Gonzalez.

Director: Matthew Vaughn

FIRST Class charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga, and reveals a secret history of famous global events.

Before mutants had revealed themselves to the world, and before Charles Xavier (McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (Fassbender) took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time.

Not archenemies, they were instead at first the closest of friends, working together with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop Armageddon. In the process, a grave rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men.....

X-Men: First Class is a terrific reinvention, adhering closely to the comics to appease fans while entertaining cinema audiences with a tight script, snappy editing and directorial brio.

McAvoy and Fassbender are assured actors, capable of heartbreaking emotion, and there are plenty of tears here as nuclear war looms.

Rating: 9/10