X-Men First Class review

First class by name, first class by nature!

For the first time in a long time, I came out of the cinema last night, thinking, "That film was awesome!"

Not that it didn't have it's flaws, but I really only had a couple of minor niggles, and I disagree with the Empire review, which said it felt rushed and unfinished.

As a prequel, the film had many boxes to tick, but it did so with style, depth and humour (the Wolverine cameo being a high point).

The depth is always the most important aspect for me, and this film delivered in spades, particularly in the case of Charles and Erik.

James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender had very big shoes to fill, but they did so admirably (the really easy-to-fabricate Charles/Erik slash didn't hurt either, from my point of view).

Jennifer Lawrence proved Winter's Bone wasn't a fluke, by imbuing Raven with a huge amount of emotional depth, while Kevin Bacon (still hot) provided a multi-layered villain, rather than just relying on twirling his moustache.

There were great action scenes, utilising the mutants' powers in interesting ways, and enough funny moments to provide some levity without undermining the more serious aspects.

Yay for the resurrection of my favourite superhero franchise!