Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were arch-enemies, they were closest of friends, working together with other mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known.
Credits: TheMovieDb.
Film Cast:
- Charles Xavier (24 Years) / Professor X: James McAvoy
- Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto: Michael Fassbender
- Sebastian Shaw / Black King: Kevin Bacon
- Moira MacTaggert: Rose Byrne
- Raven Darkholme / Mystique: Jennifer Lawrence
- Emma Frost / White Queen: January Jones
- Hank McCoy / Beast: Nicholas Hoult
- Man in Black Suit: Oliver Platt
- Azazel: Jason Flemyng
- Alex Summers / Havok: Lucas Till
- Armando Muñoz / Darwin: Edi Gathegi
- Angel Salvadore / Tempest: Zoë Kravitz
- Sean Cassidy / Banshee: Caleb Landry Jones
- CIA Director McCone: Matt Craven
- Charles Xavier (12 Years): Laurence Belcher
- Young Erik: Bill Milner
- Young Raven (10 yrs): Morgan Lily
- Mrs. Xavier: Beth Goddard
- Edie Lensherr: Éva Magyar
- Janos Quested / Riptide: Álex González
- Chief Warden: Corey Johnson
- Levene: Demetri Goritsas
- Colonel Hendry: Glenn Morshower
- William Stryker: Don Creech
- US General: James Remar
- 1st German / Pig Farmer: Ludger Pistor
- 2nd German / Tailor: Wilfried Hochholdinger
- Russian Soldier No. 1: Greg Kolpakchi
- Russian Soldier No. 2: Andrei Zayats
- Russian General: Rade Šerbedžija
- Secretary of State: Ray Wise
- Political Officer: Michael Medeiros
- Soviet Captain: Olek Krupa
- Soviet Fire Control: Yuri Naumkin
- Soviet Radioman: Gene Farber
- Soviet NCO: David Agranov
- Swiss Receptionist: Katrine De Candole
- Swiss Bank Manager: James Faulkner
- Co-Ed: Annabelle Wallis
- Airport Worker: Juan Herrera
- Coast Guard: Greg Savage
- US Fire Control Officer: Jarid Faubel
- Dr. Leigh: Gregory Cox
- Junior Agent: Josh Cohen
- Weasley Agent: David Crow
- Little Boy: Kieran Patrick Campbell
- Teenage Girl: Sasha Pieterse
- Communications Officer: Brendan Fehr
- Captain: Michael Ironside
- XO: Jason Beghe
- Lt. Commander: Venya Manzyuk
- Man In Black Suit Agent: Tony Curran
- Man In Black Suit Agent: Randall Batinkoff
- Storm Trooper No. 1: Peter Stark
- Storm Trooper No. 2: Leonard Redlich
- German Bartender: Carlos Peres
- Russian Chopper Pilot: Sean Brown
- Russian General’s Bodyguard 1: Neil Fingleton
- Russian General’s Bodyguard 2: Marios
- Mr. Lensherr (Erik’s Dad): Georg Nikoloff
- Aral Sea Captain: Arthur Darbinyan
- Himself (archive footage): John F. Kennedy
- Logan / Wolverine (uncredited): Hugh Jackman
- Mystique – Older: Rebecca Romijn
- Passerby (uncredited): Paul Bailey
- Cuban General #1 (uncredited): David Joseph Martinez
- Russian Soldier (uncredited): Johnny Otto
Film Crew:
- Casting: Lucinda Syson
- Foley Editor: Doug Jackson
- Director of Photography: John Mathieson
- Director: Matthew Vaughn
- Casting: Roger Mussenden
- Editor: Lee Smith
- Producer: Lauren Shuler Donner
- Executive Producer: Stan Lee
- Executive Producer: Josh McLaglen
- Camera Operator: Daniele Massaccesi
- Camera Operator: Martin Hume
- Stunt Coordinator: Jeff Habberstad
- Supervising Sound Editor: Craig Berkey
- Story: Bryan Singer
- Art Direction: Adam O’Neill
- Art Direction: Alan Gilmore
- Costume Design: Sammy Sheldon
- Producer: Simon Kinberg
- Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Ron Bartlett
- Second Unit Director: Brian Smrz
- Set Decoration: Sonja Klaus
- Supervising Art Director: John King
- Visual Effects Supervisor: John Dykstra
- Supervising Art Director: Marc Fisichella
- Screenplay: Jane Goldman
- Art Direction: John Frankish
- Editor: Eddie Hamilton
- Supervising ADR Editor: R.J. Kizer
- First Assistant Director: Kim H. Winther
- Foley Editor: Scott Curtis
- Sound Recordist: Tim Gomillion
- Sound Effects Editor: David Grimaldi
- First Assistant Sound Editor: Randall Guth
- ADR Recordist: David Lucarelli
- Foley Supervisor: John Murray
- ADR Mixer: Charleen Richards
- Supervising Art Director: Dawn Swiderski
- Story: Sheldon Turner
- Line Producer: Jeremiah Samuels
- Production Design: Chris Seagers
- Line Producer: Adam Bohling
- Art Direction: Grant Armstrong
- Screenplay: Ashley Edward Miller
- Screenplay: Zack Stentz
- Second Unit Director: Spiro Razatos
- Unit Production Manager: Gregory Goodman
- Line Producer: David Reid
- Music: Henry Jackman
- Executive Producer: Tarquin Pack
- Utility Stunts: Jessie Graff
- Art Direction: James Hambidge
- Co-Producer: Jason Taylor
- First Assistant Director: Josh Robertson
- Casting: Jeremy Rich
- Art Direction: Steve Cooper
- Costume Supervisor: Nicole Young
- Production Sound Mixer: Simon Hayes
- Art Direction: Paul Booth
- Art Direction: Alex Cameron
- Art Direction: Tom Frohling
- Art Direction: Marc Homes
- Art Direction: Joe Howard
- Art Direction: Sue Whitaker
- Set Decoration: Erin Boyd
- Costume Supervisor: Wendy M. Craig
- Art Department Coordinator: Jennifer Bowes
- Sound Designer: Matthew Collinge
- Foley Artist: Dan O’Connell
- Color Timer: George Chavez
- Music Editor: John Finklea
- Assistant Art Director: Chris Cleek
- Assistant Costume Designer: Richard Sale
- Foley Artist: John T. Cucci
- Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Doug Hemphill
- Set Costumer: Stephanie Paul
- Set Costumer: Bruno de Santa
- Script Supervisor: Annie Penn
- Assistant Sound Editor: Blake R. Cornett
- Still Photographer: Murray Close
- Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Chris Burdon
- Sound Effects Editor: Bob Kellough
- Supervising Sound Editor: John A. Larsen
- Leadman: Cheryl Gould Strang
- Supervising Music Editor: Daniel Pinder
- Digital Intermediate Editor: Lisa Tutunjian
- Sound Effects Editor: Wayne Lemmer
- Dialogue Coach: Jess Platt
- Visual Effects Supervisor: Guy Williams
- Unit Publicist: Stacy Mann
- Foley Editor: Bruce Tanis
- Digital Intermediate Producer: Loan Phan
- ADR Editor: Laura Graham
- Unit Production Manager: Janine Modder
- Dialogue Editor: Michael Maroussas
- Supervising Dialogue Editor: Danny Sheehan
- Visual Effects Producer: Denise Davis
- Gaffer: David Smith
- ADR Editor: Donald Sylvester
- Art Department Coordinator: Pippa Needs
- Property Master: Terry Woods
- Character Designer: Jerad Marantz
- ADR Engineer: Derek Casari
- Construction Coordinator: Dale DeStefani
- Animation: Matt Weaver
- VFX Artist: Sachin Bangera
- Lighting Artist: Tyler DeLisle
- Lighting Technician: Justin Hammond
- Production Supervisor: Robin Mulcahy Fisichella
- Associate Producer: Tom Cohen
- Assistant Sound Editor: Gavin Rose
- Script Supervisor: Diane Durant
- Key Grip: John Flemming
- Sound Effects Editor: John Morris
- Foley Editor: Christopher Flick
- Stunt Coordinator: Tom Struthers
- Foley Mixer: James Ashwill
- Set Costumer: Risa Garcia
- Production Office Assistant: Frank Reina
- Storyboard Artist: Tony Chance
- Animation: Ian Blum
- ADR Voice Casting: Johnny Gidcomb
- Boom Operator: Arthur Fenn
- Negative Cutter: Gary Burritt
- First Assistant Camera: David Cozens
- Assistant Set Decoration: Archie Campbell-Baldwin
- Tailor: Sharon McCormack
- Assistant Property Master: Brian Seccombe
- Dolly Grip: Keith Manning
- Sound Designer: Rob Prynne
- Best Boy Electric: Stewart Monteith
- First Assistant Camera: Chris Bain
- Foley Mixer: Richard Duarte
- Dolly Grip: Jack Flemming
- Best Boy Electric: Billy Gamble
- Post Production Supervisor: Chris Dowell
- Rigging Gaffer: Andrew Watson
- Dolly Grip: Nic Cupac
- First Assistant Camera: Steven Burgess
- Best Boy Grip: Derek Russell
- Second Assistant Director: Lee Tailor
- Graphic Designer: Andrew Tapper
- Storyboard Artist: Giles Asbury
- Art Department Coordinator: Cliff Zimowski
- Dolly Grip: Ralph Scherer
- Boom Operator: Robin Johnson
- Best Boy Electric: Guy Minoli
- Set Costumer: Miloslav Skorepa
Movie Reviews:
- GeekMasher: A very good movie!
I’m not a massive comic book reader/fan and when I watched the first couple of the X-men movies I always wondered how it all begin and this movie do it justice! The actors where great (there no Patrick Stewart or Ian McKellen), Kevin Bacon played the baddie very well and was well suited for it and it was graphically impressive.
Loved to see the development of the characters over the duration of the film.
In all, I think it was a excellent movie. - Travis Bell: I didn’t love this movie. There were aspects about it from the perspective of an origin story that were interesting but something about the pacing and acting just felt… off. I can’t quite put my finger on it but the first word that comes to mind is “campy”. Kind of like I was watching one of the last three Star Wars movies. The dialog and overall tone just weren’t serious enough.
The trailer for [X-Men: Days of Future Past](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/127585-x-men-days-of-future-past) looks better and Bryan Singer is back at the helm. The best X-Men movies are without a doubt 1 & 2 so here’s hoping he can steer this back a bit.
- DoryDarko: On IMDb, X-Men: First Class has garnered the highest rating of all films in the X-Men franchise so far. Given the fact that this film features only a few of the familiar characters of the previous films, portrayed by different, younger actors, and the complete absence of Wolverine, the (current) rating of 8.1 somewhat surprised me. That was before I had seen it…
Being a pretty big X-Men fan myself, I was excited to see this, regardless of plot or characters. However, I was also a little wary of what to expect, for the reasons stated above. I suspect that anybody reading this might feel the same way. But rest assured, any doubts were quickly dispelled no later than the opening scene. First Class starts off very well, with the exact same opening scene as the first X-Men, featuring a young Erik Lehnsherr being separated from his parents in a Nazi concentration camp. What follows after this familiar story is something completely new and particularly dark and brutal. I won’t give away any important plot lines, but suffice it to say there won’t be a single person left wondering why Magneto is so resentful of “normal” people. This event also sets the tone for the rest of the film, and, to a great extent, explains why First Class is such a success: this film is all about character. Whereas all the other films were mostly about cool superheroes and special effects, First Class is all about character development and the history of those who would later become Professor X and Magneto. This concept might have failed big time if it wasn’t for the superb screenplay. I take my hat off to whoever managed to incorporate every little, but crucial, character and storyline and made it flow together so beautifully. Literally everything comes together in this film, everything you might have wondered (why is Xavier paralyzed?) is given a credible and fitting explanation.
Another real strength of FC is its cast. Everybody in this film is right where they should be. Kevin Bacon is the perfect villain (but we already knew that…), James McAvoy not only looks, but sounds and moves like the young Charles Xavier would. Jennifer Lawrence is a convincing, young (and believe it or not, insecure) Mystique. All other characters are perfectly cast as well, humans and mutants alike. However, I feel that most credit is due to Michael Fassbender, an actor I am now ashamed to say I had never even heard of before. The way he portrays the 30-something Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto is stunning. His entire physique, down to every little twitch in his face, truly captivates all the pain and agony Erik has had to endure throughout his life. It makes you sympathize with Magneto and understand why he is the way he is. Whereas the “old” Magneto was little more than a bitter old man who despised Homo sapiens for undisclosed reasons (with no discredit to Ian McKellen intended here), Michael Fassbender does something I thought was almost impossible in a superhero flick: he gives Magneto a soul.
In case I might have given the impression that X-Men: First Class is no more than some wishy-washy character drama, don’t worry. There are plenty of awesome action sequences and special effects to keep the more adrenaline-pumped movie-goer satisfied. And before I forget: there are two small, but awesome cameo appearances which I know you will enjoy…
Finally, a small note on parental guidance: I was absolutely baffled to see that half of the audience consisted of parents with small children. Like I said before, this is not just another cool superhero movie. X-Men: First Class features elements which are quite dark and graphic, and especially the scenes portraying Nazi brutality are not intended for a young audience. Personally, I would say 14 is the appropriate minimum age.
With all that said, I would recommend this film to anyone, even to those of you who aren’t X-Men fans. It doesn’t happen very often that I can’t find a single flaw in a film, but I guess this is just one of those rare cases. Great directing, great acting, great everything. Period.
_(July 2011)_ - r96sk: My favourite so far.
‘X-Men: First Class’ is great fun. I felt entertained throughout with nothing bothering me whatsoever, with the score and the cast particularly standing out. I will say it starts stronger than it ends, but that’s not to say it isn’t all enjoyable because it certainly is.
James McAvoy is very good as Charles Xavier, while Michael Fassbender is excellent as Erik Lehnsherr. Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence and Kevin Bacon were three others who I liked watching too. Back to the score, it’s tremendous – some parts reminded me of the outstanding theme of television’s ‘The Crown’.
I was feeling the decline across the preceding four releases, but thankfully this regains the series’ footing and then some. Intrigued to see where it goes from here. Onwards to ‘The Wolverine’*! *watching in release order
/copied directly from my Letterboxd review