X-Men: First Class

X-Men: First Class is my favourite movie this year. Thus far, of course.

There's a lot of baggage in history, but it doesn't weigh this movie down. Familiar, but with a twist. Gone are almost all the actors from the previous X-men trilogy, save for perhaps Wolverine, who had one line that cracked up the entire cinema. I was unfamiliar with this story too. I entered the cinema with only a vague inkling of the history between Professor X and Magneto.

It was great to see the movie mine the various back-stories of individual characters and throw them into a new narrative. It was all weaved in very well. Every turn a surprise. I guess therein lies the source of a good movie, or a good story even... real characters. The ensemble cast was great and everyone was likeable on screen. Quite surprised by the appearance of Lucas Till and especially, Nicholas Hoult of A Single Man. A bit too pretty boy for Hank, but his acting's convincing still!

And the visual effects and action scenes didn't disappoint either. The final boom boom pow show-down? Nice.

It was also brilliant hearing the closing song performed by Take That. The music is glorious, in line with the recent sound they have explored on Progress. Synths, one-note bass, wonderful lyrics... grand, and epicly so.

I hope for its sequel to be even better.