There aren’t enough words to describe how brilliant, action-packed, and absolutely epic X-Men First Class (Directed by Matthew Vaughn) is. It is one of those movies that leave you planted in your seat saying, “Dang, that was such a good movie,” over and over until you realize you’re watching the credits. I loved the explosion of action, I loved the focus on Xavier (played by James McAvoy) and Erik’s (played by Michael Fassbender) past, I loved the bits of humor (the thing I felt most of the X-Men movies were missing), I loved EVERYTHING about this movie. I grew up watching X-Men The Animated Series and own all the X-Men movies but I’ve never actually read the comics so I can’t say much about the accuracy of the storyline from the original story. Nonetheless, accurate or inaccurate, this movie is a must see.

This new installment of the X-Men series revolves around Professor Xavier and Erik’s past and how they came to form the famous team of mutants. Professor Xavier’s childhood shows that he had lived a lonely life as a child after his mother had abandoned him and was cared for by his maids in his humongous, empty mansion. One night, he awakes to a strange noise in his kitchen and meets Raven (Mystique, played by Jennifer Lawrence), a young mutant like Xavier with scaly blue skin, red hair, and piercing gold eyes. Raven, who has the ability to shape-shift into anyone, was the first mutant Xavier had ever encountered and decided to let her live with him as his “sister,” saving each other from their loneliness. Erik had lived a more tragic past in Poland where he was separated from his mother and forced to work with Nazis and train to use his power to their advantage.

The mastermind behind Erik’s capture is Sebastian Shaw, who told Erik to use his powers to move a coin. When Erik tried to do so and found that he couldn’t, Shaw killed his mother, igniting a fiery rage that fueled his powers and enabled him to move more metal than he ever could before. When CIA asks for Xavier’s help, he later meets Erik and they join together with the CIA to recruit young mutants to help them find Shaw and stop him from creating World War III between the United States, Cuba, and the Soviet Union.

James McAvoy is an amazing actor. His accent is hypnotizing, his delivery of lines is divine, his acting is a gift from heaven above! He played Xavier perfectly, clearly expressing his sophistication, intelligence, kindness, sincerity, strong will, hidden playfulness, everything. He also successfully captured a more snarky and confident character in the young Xavier, which is expected from a college student that reads minds and controls the It was right on.

I also thought that Michael Fassbender portrayed Erik well as he showed his darkness, inner evil, but also the injured, scarred little boy he really is. I thought Jennifer Lawrence did a decent job playing Raven, but there were some scenes where I felt she lacked emotion and needed to show more sadness during the more depressing moments. For the X-Men fangirls out there, Havok (played by Lucas Till) and Hank (played by Nicholas Hoult) are the eye candy of this movie. Yes, I said Hank, but I’m talking about before he became known as the big, blue, furry Beast.

Hank and Mystique actually fall in love with each other in this movie and are way better than Jean and Cyclops (or Jean and Logan, if that’s what you prefer). Their relationship was what Taylor Swift always sings about, sweet, teenage love, but, as all X-Men movie goers already know from the previous movies, their relationship doesn’t last. I didn’t particularly like the hinted relationship developing between Raven and Erik. I know that they become allies in the end, but for them to be lovers is just wrong because Erik’s cynical personality doesn’t fit with Raven’s subtle gentleness. I also didn’t like the relationship they tried to build between Xavier and the CIA agent, Moira McTaggert (played by Rose Byrne) because she seems a bit naive and doesn’t know much about Xavier to begin with.

Although the movie was the absolute pinnacle of complete and utter awesomeness, there were a few of things that caught my attention. In this movie, it is explained that Xavier becomes paralyzed after Erik deflects a bullet which hits Xavier’s lower spine, but in X-Men The Last Stand, Xavier is shown walking. Another problem is that Raven’s ideal form, what she always wants to look like in this movie, is a pretty blonde girl, but in The Last Stand, when she receives the drug that gets rid of mutant powers, she is shown with black hair. Also, Hank is the creator of Cerebro, a machine used to locate other mutants through telepathy, in this movie when Xavier has claimed before that he invented it. Some people may think these inconsistencies are tiny flaws, but they’re still there and teeter with the original storyline of the series.

All in all, I think First Class is a movie that all X-Men lovers should go see. The special effects used in the movie are stunning and the excitement is endless. It’s got explosions, superheros, romance, and the important moral of “being yourself because you’re special,” all crammed into a two hour movie masterpiece.