It is 1962. Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) has just presented his thesis on genetic mutation and much to the delight of his mysterious ‘little sister’ Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) has become a full-fledged professor. His presentation has also caught the eye of CIA special agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) and she’s positive he’s just the man she needs to help her with a little problem regarding the United States, Russia and an influential industrialist named Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon).

Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy in X-Men: First Class

© 20th Century Fox

Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) is also looking for this strange, secretive man, and although he hasn’t seemed to age a day, and if anything has grown a little younger, he knows Shaw is the same smiling bastard who murdered his mother and forced him to act like a trained seal for his own edifying amusement back in a WWII Concentration Camp. He’s going to kill this man, use his peculiar skills to exact his revenge, all those who get in his way nothing more then unavoidable bits of collateral damage.

Things change, when Charles saves Erik’s life, convincing him they must join forces in the hunting of Shaw in order to uncover his plan and stop a nuclear war. With the help of MacTaggert, a nameless high-level CIA operative (Oliver Platt) and teenage prodigy Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult), a scientist desperately trying to contain an inner beast, the two men go on a search for others like themselves and Raven, forming a team of unique assets with abilities outside of the Darwinian norm.

After X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the thought of another entry in the Marvel mutant franchise, a prequel charting the origins of Professor X, Magneto and, to lesser extent, Mystique, didn’t exactly thrill me. Yes, X-Men and X-Men 2 director Bryan Singer was returning to produce and to write the initial treatment. Yes, Kick-Ass and Stardust filmmaker Matthew Vaughn had apparently settled his feud with 20th Century Fox (he was originally supposed to helm the third one before relinquishing the reigns to Brett Ratner) and signed on to direct. Those two things didn’t matter as far as I was concerned, the previous two films so disappointing Howard Hawks or Don Siegel could have risen from the grave and been making the darn thing and I still wouldn’t have cared.

Surprise, surprise, but X-Men: First Class is the first sequel (or in this case prequel) of the summer that actually, doesn’t just meet expectations, but surpasses them. While the first half is notably superior to the second, thanks to some ingenious casting decisions, four great performances, two awesome cameos and a script that’s as intelligent and as thought-provoking as it is compelling and inspired, this movie rocks.

It starts with McAvoy and Fassbender. These two are outstanding as Xavier and Lehnsherr. Taking over for icons like Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan is no easy task yet these two don’t just rise to the occasion they pole vault right over it making the characters uniquely their own yet also feeding right into what their much-lauded peers managed to create in both of Singer’s previous X-Men adventures. Their psychological duel has weight and meaning, and while the metaphors they’re talking about (self, identity, gender, race, orientation) can be on the heavy-handed side it’s not like the comic book series itself was ever known for its subtlety.

Their story intertwines with Raven’s, a.k.a. Mystique’s, beautifully. This saga of a shape-shifter at war with her ability to look like anyone but at the same time having to become comfortable with her true demonically blue visage is nicely done. Lawrence portrays this young woman’s carnal insecurities with striking beauty, making her blossoming confidence and self-empowerment wondrous. Her storyline mixes into the proceedings with a graceful power that snuck up on me making her fateful final decisions all the more potent.

There is a problem, of course, and it is one inherent with almost every prequel ever made. When you get down to brass tax the simple truth is we know how all this must end. We know Lehnsherr will become Magneto and look to destroy all of non-mutated humanity. We know Charles Xavier will face-off against him by building a school for mutants to hopefully help with the creation of peace and understanding between species.

But the issue is even a bit bigger than that. Even though the idea of setting this origin story during the chaos and confusion of the Cuban Missile Crisis is inspired, it’s not like just about all of us know how that came out. Vaughn, Singer and company play with history but they do not change it, so as fabulous a villain as Bacon’s Sebastian Shaw proves to be (it’s the best role he’s had in ages) I can’t say there’s a ton of suspense generated around whether or not his plans are going to come to nuclear chaotic fruition.

Still, X-Men: First Class is hugely entertaining much of the way through. The opening scenes inside a Concentration Camp between a young Erik (Bill Milner) and Shaw are stunning, while the montage depicting the future enemies Professor X and Magneto heading out into the world to find fellow mutants is wonderful. There are two sensational cameos that are both cheer-worthy but also move the narrative forward, and a sequence depicting Raven, Hank and a group of other fellow young mutants showing off their powers to one another is pretty darn awesome.

Vaughn handles everything with deft assuredness, juggling the various aspects of the admittedly overstuffed plot far better then I’d ever have thought possible. There are a couple of crackerjack action sequences, especially a mid-movie assault on a CIA base, and for the most part he handles the requirements of the prequel (telling an interesting stand-alone story while also setting up the events depicted in X-Men) with aplomb. The movie has a glossy, slightly soft 1960’s sheen evoking early James Bond adventures, the retro cool mixing with today’s hot-button social topics with astonishing fluidity.

For all my reticence, it must be admitted that X-Men: First Class is a huge step in the right direction righting a Hollywood franchise that was on the verge of sinking below the surface for good. It is a breezily gripping adventure from start to finish, and even though there were few surprises in regards to the plot the ones involving the actual quality of the finished product were close to monumental. As far as this summer is concerned, the mutants are without question the superhero valedictorians, and with only Captain America and Green Lantern to come I don’t see class standing changing anytime soon.

- Review reprinted courtesy of the SGN in Seattle