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X-Men: First Class

Play trailer 2:44 Poster for X-Men: First Class PG-13 2011 2h 6m Action Adventure Fantasy Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
86% Tomatometer 294 Reviews 87% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
In the early 1960s, during the height of the Cold War, a mutant named Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) meets a fellow mutant named Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender). Despite their vastly different backgrounds -- Charles grew up with a wealthy family, while Erik lost his parents at Auschwitz -- the two become close friends. As the world teeters on the brink of a nuclear war, Charles and Erik with other mutants join forces to save humanity. However, a situation soon tears the friends apart.
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X-Men: First Class

X-Men: First Class

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Critics Consensus

With a strong script, stylish direction, and powerful performances from its well-rounded cast, X-Men: First Class is a welcome return to form for the franchise.

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Critics Reviews

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Jarrah E Hodge Bitch Media 01/07/2021
The acting, special effects, and writing were excellent, except possibly the two times Xavier tries to hit on women in bars by saying they have "groovy mutation[s]". Go to Full Review
Shubhra Gupta The Indian Express 04/02/2019
3/5
First Class can safely be watched by first-timers, but old faithfuls of the franchise will get a little more, tracing the origins of their favourite characters. Go to Full Review
Candice Frederick Reel Talk Online 09/08/2017
B
If you didn't see the previous movies, you may not be able to appreciate some of the subtle references, but that won't make you enjoy the movie any less. Check it out. Go to Full Review
Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand 09/09/2023
... Jennifer Lawrence is superb as the young blue-skinned shape-changer Mystique, trying to reconcile her identity crisis with Xavier’s sometimes oblivious idealism. Go to Full Review
Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review 06/07/2023
3.5/4
A summer movie where audiences will leave talking about the performances and the ideas, not the mindless battles. Go to Full Review
Cory Woodroof Lumination Network 02/11/2022
This is an immensely fun, engaging, stylish superhero film that I fully recommend for your viewing pleasure. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Romas M @Romas 3d Greetings from Lithuania. "X: First Class" (2011) is one of the best superhero origins movies ever made. I was blown away by it upon original release back in 2011, and have enjoyed it very much rewatching in 2026 on 4K UHD. This film is stacked with top tier actors playing a younger versions of X-men we came to enjoy before 2011. I liked this movie because its story here is very good. We do get to see a great beginnings of all these characters. The plot about missile crisis in Cuba was a great one - they did mixed real life events with superhero movie plot - this is a rare one and it's still works. Amazing production values are in this film as well excellent acting, great writing, directing and storytelling. I was amazed of much I was involved in a story of "X: First Class" - this rarely or never happens in superhero realm. Overall, "X: First Class" is a great X-Men origin story and movie. One of the best there ever was. See more Garry A @heavyg 6d I can appreciate it is a good movie i just couldn't get into it fully. See more Khaztiel Delbod D @khaztielddenver_ Jun 14 Esta pelicula la siento como un reinicio porque hay escenas o frases que no concuerdan con la trilogía principal, ahora dejando de lado esos detalles es una pelicula de origen que hace que uno se encariñe con ciertos personajes. Respecto al villano me falto mas desarrollo porque al final solo era mas de lo mismo, lo sentí muy plano para el desarrollo que les fueron dando a los demás personajes. See more Brendan T. @JackTheSipper712 Jun 10 Really liked this one See more Matthew B. @RT47158276 Jun 1 I absolutely love it. The way it sets up the relationship between magneto and professor Xavier is very good. They are friends who care deeply about each other, but have conflicting interests. Mystique as a character is developed so much and see an interesting side of her that we didn’t see in the first thee x men movies. She was one of my favorite characters and I love the way they set her up in this movie. My only complaint is the continuity problems this movie creates, but I can personally get over that. See more Daviaughn J. @RT75811980 May 21 The 1960s retro vibe is incredible! Seeing how young Charles and Erik met and built the first team is easily some of the best writing in the whole franchise. The training montages are elite, and seeing Erik manipulate nuclear bombs and redirect them in mid-air at the end was absolutely mind-blowing. It was the ultimate, epic birth of Magneto! Definitive 5 stars See more Read all reviews
X-Men: First Class

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Movie Info

Synopsis In the early 1960s, during the height of the Cold War, a mutant named Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) meets a fellow mutant named Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender). Despite their vastly different backgrounds -- Charles grew up with a wealthy family, while Erik lost his parents at Auschwitz -- the two become close friends. As the world teeters on the brink of a nuclear war, Charles and Erik with other mutants join forces to save humanity. However, a situation soon tears the friends apart.
Director
Matthew Vaughn
Producer
Bryan Singer, Lauren Shuler Donner, Simon Kinberg, Gregory Goodman
Screenwriter
Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Bad Hat Harry, Donners' Company
Rating
PG-13 (Intense Sequences of Action|Brief Partial Nudity|Intense Sequences of Violence|Language|Some Sexual Content)
Genre
Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 3, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$146.4M
Runtime
2h 6m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital, DTS