When the geeky, fanboy in me heard they were making X-MEN: FIRST CLASS is was afraid. Afraid of another WOLVERINE. Afraid they had stretched this series too far to make anything resembling a quality film. I should not have been afraid. If it had just been about the visual effects and its faithfulness to the comics, it would have been a fun popcorn movie. Another average superhero flick. What elevates First Class is the presence of an actual script. A well thought out story conceived by Bryan Singer and Sheldon Turner and penned by a quartet of writers. They place it in the more than capable directing hands of Matthew Vaughn and he gets the absolute best out of a wonderful cast. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender bring talent and serious acting chops to their roles as Professor X and Magneto. Kevin Bacon plays the smarmy Sebastian Shaw, dripping with overconfidence. He is perfect. The supporting cast is great, including the amazing Jennifer Lawrence. There is plenty here for the fanboy too.. including nods to the other X-Men movies and a perfectly timed cameo that I won't spoil here. Origin stories can get bogged down in the past. This movie embraces it, uses it and makes it totally plausible. While not in the class of The Dark Knight, this isn't Thor, Catwoman or Green Hornet either. This movie is First Class! — Alan Yudman