X-Men: First Class

Director: Matthew Vaughn Matthew Vaughn

Overview

Set in the era before Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr became mortal enemies as Professor X and Magneto, respectively, director Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class follows the two former allies as they lead a powerful team of mutants on a mission to save the planet from nuclear annihilation. Charles (James McAvoy) and Erik (Michael Fassbender) were just young men when it began to appear as if the world was careening toward destruction. As the Doomsday Clock ticks faster toward midnight, the time comes to take action. Realizing they could use their unique powers to avert a global thermonuclear war during the Bay of Pigs crisis, the two powerful mutants launch an intense recruitment campaign with the support of Dr. Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) and the CIA. Before long, Charles and Erik have assembled a crack team that includes Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Angel (Zoe Kravitz), Havok (Lucas Till), and Darwin (Edi Gathegi). Meanwhile, the malevolent Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) plots to plunge the world into war with the help of villainous mutants Riptide (Alex Gonzalez), Azazel (Jason Flemyng), and Emma Frost (January Jones). In the process of saving humanity, however, Charles and Erik clash, setting the stage for Professor X to lead the X-Men in the fight for good as Magneto and the Brotherhood spread chaos and destruction on a global scale.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/09/2011
UPC:	0024543750871
Original Release:	2011
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	20Th Century Fox
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Dolby Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:12:00

Special Features

Children of the Atom: Second Genesis and Band Of Brothers; ; cc

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

James McAvoy	Charles Xavier/Professor X
Michael Fassbender	Erik Lensherr/Magneto
Kevin Bacon	Sebastian Shaw
Caleb Landry Jones	Sean Cassidy/Banshee
Nicholas Hoult	Hank McCoy/Beast
January Jones	Emma Frost
Lucas Till	Alex Summers/Havok
Rose Byrne	Dr. Moira MacTaggert
Jennifer Lawrence	Raven Darkholme/Mystique
Oliver Platt	Man in Black
Álex González	Janos Quested/Riptide
Edi Gathegi	Armando Munoz/Darwin
Jason Flemyng	Azazel
Laurence Belcher	Charles Xavier (12 Years)
Bill Milner	Young Erik
Morgan Lily	Young Raven (10 Years)
Beth Goddard	Mrs. Xavier
Corey Johnson	Chief Warden
Demitri Goritsas	Levene,Levene
Glenn Morshower	Colonel Hendry
Don Creech	William Stryker
Matt Craven	CIA Director McCone
James Remar	US General
Ludger Pistor	1st German/Pig Farmer
Wilfried Hochholdinger	2nd German/Tailor
Greg Kolpakchi	Russian Soldier No. 1
Andrei Zayats	Russian Soldier No. 2
Ray Wise	Secretary of State
Michael Medeiros	Political Officer
Olek Krupa	Soviet Captain
Yuri Naumkin	Soviet Fire Control
Gene Farber	Soviet Radioman
David Agranov	Soviet NCO
Katrine de Candole	Swiss Receptionist
James Faulkner	Swiss Bank Manager
Éva Magyar	Edie Lensherr
Annabelle Wallis	Co-Ed
Juan Herrera	Airport Worker
Greg Savage	Coastguard
Jarid Faubel	U.S. Fire Control Officer
Gregory Cox	Dr. Leigh
Josh Cohen	Junior Agent No. 1
David Crow	Weasley Agent
Kieran Patrick Campbell	Little Boy
Sasha Pieterse	Teenage Girl
Brendan Fehr	Communications Officer
Jason Beghe	XO
Michael Ironside	Captain
Veniamin Manzyuk	Lt. Commander
Tony Curran	Man in Black Suit Agent
Randall Batinkoff	Man in Black Suit Agent
Peter Stark	Storm Trooper No. 1
Leonard Redlich	Storm Trooper No. 2
Carlos Peres	German Bartender
Sean Brown	Russian Chopper Pilot
Neil Fingleton	Russian General's Bodyguard 1
Marios	Russian General's Bodyguard 2
Georg Nikoloff	Mr. Lensherr (Erik's Dad)
Arthur Darbinyan	Aral Sea Captain
Zoë Kravitz	Angel Salvadore,Actor
Hugh Jackman	Logan/Wolverine,Composer
Rosamund Pike	Moira MacTaggert

Technical Credits

Matthew Vaughn

Jane Goldman

Ashley Miller

Zack Stentz

Bryan Singer

Sheldon Turner

Josh Schwartz

Matthew Vaughn	Director,Screenwriter
Jane Goldman	Screenwriter
Ashley Miller	Screenwriter
Zack Stentz	Screenwriter
Simon Kinberg	Producer
Lauren Shuler Donner	Producer
Bryan Singer	Producer,Screenwriter
Gregory Goodman	Producer
Stan Lee	Executive Producer
Tarquin Pack	Executive Producer,Producer
Josh McLaglen	Executive Producer,Producer
Lucinda Syson	Casting
Roger Mussenden	Casting
Jeremy Rich	Casting
Russell De Rozario	Consultant/advisor
Jeff Habberstad	Stunts
Tom Struthers	Stunts
Simon Hayes	Sound Mixer
Annie Penn	Script Supervisor
Diane Durant	Script Supervisor
Matthew Collinge	Sound/Sound Designer
Robert Prynne	Sound/Sound Designer
Craig Berkey	Sound/Sound Designer,Sound Effects
Alec Gillis	Makeup Special Effects
Tom Woodruff Jr.	Makeup Special Effects
Alexander Witt	Second Unit Director
Spiro Razatos	Second Unit Director
Nikos Kalaitzidis	Digital Effects
Sheldon Turner	Screenwriter
Adam Bohling	Producer
Jeremiah Samuels	Producer
Mark Appleby	Sound Effects
Ron Bartlett	Sound Effects
James Bolt	Sound Effects
Arturo Orgaz Casado	Special Effects
Doug Spilatro	Special Effects
Eric Stewart	Special Effects
Scanlan Backus	Special Effects
Jody Eltham	Special Effects
Andy Lister	Stunts
Mark Southworth	Stunts
Chris Brewster	Stunts
Max Calder	Stunts
Levan Doran	Stunts
Pete Ford	Stunts
David R. Grant	Stunts
Paul Howell	Stunts
Jason Hunjan	Stunts
Paul Kennington	Stunts
Daniel F. Malone	Stunts
Glenn Marks	Stunts
Chris Pollard	Stunts
Charles Ramsay	Stunts
Jimmy N. Roberts	Stunts
Arran Topham	Stunts
Liang Yang	Stunts
Mindy Marin	Casting
Josh Schwartz	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Comic-book lovers, fans of alternate history, and fantasy-prone moviegoers in general are all sure to find something to love about X-Men: First Class. That rare, elusive fourth chapter that actually manages to pull a failing film series out of a full-on nosedive, X-Men: First Class folds an involving origins story into a dynamic fantasy adventure, and succeeds in delivering both thanks to a strong cast, a tight script, and solid direction. Set in the era before Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr became mortal enemies as Professor X and Magneto, respectively, director Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class follows the two former allies as they lead a powerful team of mutants on a mission to save the planet from nuclear annihilation. Charles (James McAvoy) and Erik (Michael Fassbender) were just young men when it began to appear as if the world was careening toward destruction. As the Doomsday Clock ticks faster toward midnight, the time comes to take action. Realizing they could use their unique powers to avert a global thermonuclear war during the Bay of Pigs crisis, the two powerful mutants launch an intense recruitment campaign with the support of Dr. Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) and the CIA. Before long, Charles and Erik have assembled a crack team that includes Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Angel (Zoe Kravitz), Havok (Lucas Till), and Darwin (Edi Gathegi). Meanwhile, the malevolent Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) plots to plunge the world into war with the help of villainous mutants Riptide (Alex Gonzalez), Azazel (Jason Flemyng), and Emma Frost (January Jones). In the process of saving humanity, however, Charles and Erik clash, setting the stage for Professor X to lead the X-Men in the fight for good as Magneto and the Brotherhood spread chaos and destruction on a global scale. It's no secret that comic-book fans can be a fickle bunch. But who can blame them? It seems like every year some Hollywood hotshot makes a misguided attempt at producing a comic-sourced summer tent pole, yet botches the job by thinking they know better than the folks responsible for the source material. In the past decade, even Comic-Con, the massive annual San Diego convention that draws comic geeks from every corner of the globe, has essentially become little more than a free showcase for the latest Hollywood superhero epics. Considering the fact that director Bryan Singer's enthusiastically received X-Men and X2 were followed by a pair of sequels that practically had loyal fans of the comic foaming at the mouth (X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine), it had started to look like the once-successful series had abruptly run out of steam. By looking to the past for inspiration, though, writer/director Matthew Vaughn and co-screenwriters Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, and Jane Goldman managed not only to find a grand-scale origins story that's actually worth telling, but the character dynamics to give the drama genuine impact, as well. The rivalry between Professor X and Magneto has long been a staple of the X-Men series, both on the pages of comic books and in motion pictures. Recognizing that, the creative team behind X-Men: First Class made the wise choice to explore the events that pushed the two former allies to opposite extremes: one devoted to bettering humanity, the other sworn to destroy it. And by filling those roles with talented actors McAvoy and Fassbender, Vaughn and his team ensured that the character drama would pack as big a punch as the action sequences. If the complex relationship between Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr failed to resonate in X-Men: First Class, the film would have been dead in the water. Fortunately, it does, and the energy of that conflict seems to send positive shockwaves through the rest of the production. On the heels of her breakthrough performance in the critically acclaimed Appalachian film noir Winter's Bone, Lawrence brings a deep soulfulness to the character of Mystique as she struggles with the stigma of being "different," and coming off his deliciously sleazy performance in James Gunn's Super, Bacon literally takes power-mad villainy to nuclear extremes. Try as they may, no filmmaker is likely to produce a faithful comic-book adaptation capable of coaxing die-hard fans and casual moviegoers into a human pyramid of mutual adoration, but X-Men: First Class might just come close. Not only because the writers display a certain amount of reverence toward their iconic subjects, but also because the performers are well up to the task, and the action holds consequences that are at once deeply intimate yet potentially devastating for all of humanity.