"X-Men: First Class"

Runtime: 2 hr. 20 min.

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some sexual content including brief partial nudity and language

Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence

Director: Matthew Vaughn

In the comic book world, special powers are often viewed as far more of a burden than a blessing. This is perhaps no truer than for the Mutants in the "X-Men" series. At one point in "X-Men: First Class," the heroes manage to avert a full-on nuclear disaster during the Cuban missile crisis only to have both fleets aim their warheads in the mutants' direction and open fire. The movie makes a pretty solid argument in Magneto's favor.

"X-Men: First Class" has been compared by some critics to Christopher Nolan's "Batman" resurrection. The movie is good, but not quite at that level. Nor is it quite up to the level of the original "Iron Man." But it is the best of the "X-Men" series, and will probably appeal most to those who aren't aficionados of the comic. Co-writer/director Matthew Vaughn and his screenwriting team have constructed a film quite skilled at streamlining its narrative... giving us strong character development and emotional arcs without losing its action movie footing.

The story opens in 1944, as we bear witness to the early childhood developments of both Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr. We see the first meeting that led to the friendship between Xavier and the blue-skinned mutant Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), who can change her appearance at will. But the pre-credit backstory focuses more attention on Erik's time in a Nazi concentration camp, where his ability to move and crush objects with his mind fall under the watchful eye of the fiendishly unflagging Sebastian Shaw (a smartly-cast Kevin Bacon). Shaw's methods of unleashing Erik's powers are brutal to say the least, and they scar the boy for life.

The bulk of the story takes place in 1962 where Shaw, whose own scientific endeavors have enabled him to remain youthful via a genetic mutation, now hatches a plan to wipe out civilization by goading the United States and Russia into a nuclear war, then finishing off the humans and leaving the world to the mutants. Xavier (James McAvoy) is clued in to the mutant-fueled danger by CIA field agent Moira MacTaggart (Rose Byrne), who seeks the scientific scholar out for his knowledge in genetics. Erik (Michael Fassbender), meanwhile, spends his days in a revenge-ignited search for Shaw. Xavier embarks on a mission to recruit as many young mutants as he can in an effort to combat Shaw's sinister plan. While he senses Erik's intractable intent on revenge, Xavier nonetheless recruits him as well... hoping to instill some degree of inner-peace.

The movie is the beneficiary of superior casting. James McAvoy brings Xavier to life with an engaging amalgam of charisma and wisdom. It's interesting to see his optimism labor beneath the growing apprehension toward humans in his closest confidants. Behind sharp, angular facial features, Michael Fassbender makes Erik not only vengeful, but perceptive. He may lack Xavier's charisma, but he just might have a better feel for humans' true nature.

The biggest casting upgrade, though, would have to be Jennifer Lawrence. The role of Mystique requires someone possessing not only staggering beauty (she is, after all, attempting to avoid her natural appearance that many would consider freakish) but also a feistiness that enables her to come to terms with her own reality. She desires love, acceptance, and normalcy, yet ultimately learns that the first two elements can only thrive when originating from within, and the third is too subjective to matter. We know from the earlier movies that Mystique ends up joining Magneto's fight, but what we learn here is that she may very well be correct in doing so, if only for her own sake. And to say that Lawrence is beautiful enough for the role is an understatement. Her sex appeal is ridiculous.

The special effects run the gamut from the virtuoso (involving Erik using his mental powers to literally pull a submarine from the ocean) to the pedestrian (involving characters flying through the air that don't exactly come off as stellar). But the film has touches of ingenuity as well, including a device that allows Xavier to telepathically locate other mutants the way a psychic might be able to commune with the deceased, and a quirky split-screen effect as the mutants train that gives the movie a pseudo-comic book feel.

"X-Men: First Class" is better than the two "Hulk" movies that struggled to merge monster effects with melancholic undertones, and steadier than the "Spider-Man" series, which became too emotionally schizophrenic for its own good. I'm normally not a fan of movies that force their plot into a historical reference, but the movie gets away with it because it considers itself with care, as well as its setting. That takes guts. And in a summer movie season, guts is a rare commodity.

* * *  out of  * * * *  stars