Does Man of Steel measure up?

The pressure was on the shoulders of a Director known mostly for his visual style to breath life back into a character that was seen to be out of date and unrelatable. To do this he would need more than visual flare. He would need heart, soul and a wonderful actor strong enough to re-vitalise the role and make us believe in the character again. Did he accomplish this task of herculean proportions? Let's have a look...

The short, non-spoilery answer is a resounding YES!!! Absolutely. This is a definitively modern Superman. This isn't the Donnerverse overgrown boy scout comfortable in his own skin (not that I am decrying the Donner Superman in any way), this is a conflicted man, his origins and task thrust upon him but one that he rises to and becomes the hero we all want him to be.

So there, if you haven't seen the film then leave now, go see the movie and come back afterwards because leading on, this review delves heavily into spoiler territory. This isn't the ravings of a Superman fanboy (well...It is but...). It is a very good Summer blockbuster of a movie but beneath the surface there are all kinds of goodies waiting for you. So go. Enjoy. Then come back to see if you agree with me.

As a kind of spoiler break why don't we enjoy this picture of Mr. C. in the suit...

So...if you're still here I'm going to assume that you've already seen the movie or aren't particularly bothered about spoilers.

Let's start with THAT moment, the one everyone is talking about, the one most 'fans' of the character (creators included) are crying about...Supes snaps Zod's neck. 'That isn't right, Superman doesn't kill, etc, etc, etc,' Well, sorry to break it to you chaps but he does. He never likes it, he always trys to find a way round it but he WILL kill, when absolutely necessary.

For me this moment (and the line that actually sets it up) are the actual heart of the story and for me why it's possibly not called Superman Begins or something like that, it show's that he is, that he can be a 'Man of Steel', a hard man. Not just in terms of physical strength but in emotional strength too.

But what line, I hear you ask, I didn't hear it. You did. You may not have noticed it but it was delivered with vigour by Zod here it is..."Where did you train?...On a FARM!!!".  Yes. On a Farm. You see, a farmer would know how he had to deal with a feral creature who was hurting his animals, he would do everything he could to stop it but in the end he knows that if all else fails that he would have to kill the creature to stop it, which he does.

Does Kal/Clark like it? Not in the slightest. His howl of anguished pain immediately afterwards wrenched him into contortions but he knew he HAD to do it and that is where his 'Steel' comes into play.

All the way through the movie we're shown Jonathon Kent as a practical man, he's clearly a hardworking, grafter and a man who is willing to let a bus full of kids drown to protect his son's secret even giving up his own life. Kal/Clark would have been imbued with this same practical, hard, ethic. A man's got to do what a man's got to do. Or to steal a Donnerverse line 'So the Son becomes the Father and the Father becomes the Son'.

Kevin Costner along with Diane Lane play the Kents to perfection. Costner especially excelling in the role bringing a definite weary, gruff but loving, midwestern feel that suits the tone of this film perfectly. A grittier version of Schneider's Pa Kent and a performance that, at least for me, brought a tear to the eye as the tornado approached and 18 year old Clark watched his father make the ultimate sacrifice to keep the secret.

Lane is the sunshine to Costner's thunder bringing a real heart to a role which I would have liked to have seen more of if I'm honest but as the character is still around a kicking I hope we will. Every single scene she featured in was an emotional anchor for Clark. His Island in the see of endless and unceasing bombardment from the world, the home he returns to after the truth is revealed to him and his initial flashpoint to take action directly against Zod once her welfare is threatened. After it all, after the fights and the rubble he again returns for a mother's blessing.

The two younger Clark actors, Cooper Timberline and Dylan Sprayberry also give great peformances that are truly believeable, these are not 'stagechildren' deliveries, glorified extras there to fill the gap, real, honest performances. When Clark saves the school bus, the look of guilt and fear on Sprayberry's face is a superb beat and pause immediately before we take breath with Clark and head out with him to the barn where the first part of his story is revealed to him.

Moving up through the Clark's we get the only one that really matters, Henry 'Fat' Cavill. Could the man who could have been Superman twice before make it third time lucky? Could a British Actor really embody one of the US's most memorable icons? Could he make the role his own?

Yes, yes and a thousand times yes. Henry Cavill IS Superman.

Cavill absolutely owns the role. Redefining the character and giving us much, much more than even I could have hoped (and I've been a flag waving, drum beating member of the Cavill Appreciation Society since the day he was annouced way back in January 2011). Superman is alive and well in 2013.

The depth of acting chops that Cavill displays on the screen is very impressive from disarming charm to brooding mystery, barely contained anger, laughter and outright fury. We live these emotions with Kal/Clark all the way through the film. This may be spur of the moment hyperbole (and honestly is the reason I waited 24 hous to write this just in case I felt differently) but I truly believe that he is the finest actor and gives the finest dramatic performance in any Superman project to date (even beating Affleck in Hollywoodland!).

But the best thing about Henry is that he delivers in the action stakes too...and with this film, that's perhaps a good job as Action, with a capital A, is what this film delivers in spades.

From the invasion of the Council Citadel on Krypton to the dying moments of the Battle of Metropolis the action is there. Whether it's laser gun battles, Space chases or the seemingly large amounts of buildings toppling during Kryptonian fisticuffs this is a Summer Blockbuster through and through. Some of the complaints that I have seen feel that the movie was too weighted in favour of the action and battles, I see their point (there are a LOT of buildings that fall over) but this is also where we have the emotional content of the movie for the rest of the cast. Jor-El's Death, Martha's fear, the Soldier's hope, Perry's bravery and all the way throughout the movie Pete Ross' journey.

It's Snyder doing what Snyder does best. A cognitive banquet and with the assistance of WETA digital handling the CGI all the Superfeats are brought to life in way we haven't been able to show before. The initial flight sequence is a true hold your breath moment, I really feel that I need to experience it in IMAX 3D (I plumped for the 2D showing).

This movie can be a popcorn munching, turn your brain off 'Hey, it's Superman beating up baddies' visual feast if that's all you want but for the people wanting a little more it's all there.

The remaining members of the ensemble cast, Russell Crowe, Amy Adams, Antje Traue and Christopher Meloni all bring their own flavours to their characters and the film is richer for it, Crowe especially putting in a much larger amount of screentime than I was expecting and providing a rather Shakespearean take on Jor-El, the rebel of Krypton.

Ahhh Krypton...it looked gorgeous. It felt like a Gallifreyan Dystopian nightmare and really laid the scene for the McGuffin of the Kryptonian Codex containing the DNA matrix of every Kryptonian yet to be all now residing in The Last Son of Krypton. From the landscape itself, to the dragons, to the sterility of the inhabitants, to the costumes and the living metal servant's the production gave me all incarnations of Krypton that I had long ached to see on the screen (the only thing really missing was the citizen's leaping about).

Krypton also gave us our chief antagonist in General Zod. A man whose was born in the matrix to fulfill a single role. The protection of the planet Krypton. A man who would stop at nothing to ensure that his role was carried out. More living machine than a free man. This again is a theme that reoccurs throughout the film. Predestination vs. Free Will.

Michael Shannon, despite playing a one-note character does a lot with that note and doesn't resort to the campy theatrics that we loved in Stamp's Zod. This is a Zod who you would be terrified of. A warrior. A Zealot and a real threat.

This is also where this new Superman differs from what we've seen on the big screen in the past. This isn't a real estate/resources scam. This is an alien invasion story, a danger to the entire earth and our only hope being one of those Aliens who has been living amongst us for 33 years. It's tangible and real.

This has been a postively glowing 'review' up to now and, I'll be honest, I really, truly love the movie and this new take on my favourite character. It gave me everything I wanted to see for the continuation of the franchise and for the DC Universe but there are some points I take issue with.

Firstly, amount of collateral damage and loss of life that occurred during the battles in Smallville and Metropolis. Now to some degree Smallville was a heat of the moment battle with no real time to think only to act and the majority of Metropolis had already been levelled by the World Engine but it seemed that even if, just once, we had seen Kal-El's concern for the bystanders being injured or hurt it would have made the Train Station sequence that much more powerful. I've personally chosen to infer that he had already scanned the buildings with his X-Ray vision to see which one's were empty before the fight given that everyone was evacuating the city ;-)

However, this may be something that is revisited in the (already green-lit) sequel as the world comes to terms with the presence of a god-like being among them and the paranoia of one Corporation owner who's reach over the day to day products used in the universe was visible throughout.

My only other area of issue was Lois herself and how she was handled especially the first meeting. I thought Amy Adams did a great job but their first meeting should have been a wonderous love at first sight rescue (which, I suppose it was after a fashion...I just wanted something...more) and I don't particularly like the way that she sold her story to another organisation. Lois should be Daily Planet through and through not a contracted superstar writer. Other than that I adore the fact that she is aware of the dual identity from the get go and can't wait to see how this pans out.

If I had to pick a downer for the film it would have to be the score. It was nothing special. Some of it is lovely I'll give Zimmer that and it ties in themeatically with his Batman work giving the universe a cohesive feel  but there was just some immediacy lacking, no fanfare moment. Then again, this isn't a project for a nostalgic dose of  'BIG FILM THEME' this is a project about looking forward to a new future and I'm certainly looking for my shades, I think I'm gonna need them.

"Mr. Kent. Welcome to the Planet."

Indeed.

9/10

A Man of Steel...in plastic - Mattel's Man of Steel Movie Masters

This years Summer Tentpole release from Warner Bros. is Zack Snyder's big budget reboot of the Superman franchise. Originally scheduled to be released in the overly subscribed release period of December 2012, the studio wisely decided to allow a 'make or break' movie for the entire DC Comics stable to breathe and to devote some serious marketing power to the worldwide release now scheduled for 14th June 2013.

With any good superhero movie you need to not only satisfy the needs of the audience in the theatre but also the needs of the playground and the increasingly larger adult collector market for toys and action figures. The studiod turned to longterm master licensee partner Mattel to accomplish the mass market releases for action figures.

Mattel, following on from the very disappointing show for the Dark Knight Rises line went back to the drawing board for this one and covered the three main areas that make up any toy geeks collection. 3.75 inches, 6 inches and the more cartoony stocky 2 inch figures.

BUT...the real question has to be does the line fare any better than the ill-fated Dark Knight Rises?

I'm pleased to say that the answer to this is a resounding YES but by just how much. Let's look...

This review will focus on, what for me, is my own personal favourite scale, the 6 inch scale. The 'Movie Masters' series.

For the uninitiated, the Movie Masters series are meant to be more 'realistic' sculpts with a touch more articulation than 'Kids' toys. The series began with the rather lukewarm 'Superman Returns' but really hit it's stride with the phenomenally successful 'The Dark Knight'.

So enough of the waffle, let's get down to it.

The series, features, as can be seen above, the titular Man of Steel, Superman himself, Jor-El and General Zod.

Let's look at those individually.

First up, as it should be, is Superman himself.

All three of the characters come packed in a blister card with a brief synopsis of the character and their role in the movie on the back.

Each character in this wave also comes with their family's own sigil that they wear upon their chests...and you thought it was just a convenient 'S' for Superman...

I was, it has to be said extremely disappointed when I unpacked this figure. I just couldn't see Henry Cavill in the sculpt. Henry Cavill is a ridiculously attractive fellow with definite chiseled features and on first impression the jaw line was far too wide.

As an action figure of Superman though everything was there, multiple points of articulation (I counted 22 points but I could be mistaken). The real problem with this figure is that the cape is simply too thick and certainly hinders any dynamic posing and also prvents any real decent look at what is no doubt top quality scuplting on the rear of the figure because that it where this figure excels, the sculpting.

The costume in the movie is highly textured (a source of some costernation of fans) and I'm glad to report that this has been translated very nicely onto the figure itself an area that could easily have been foregone as a cost saving measure has, instead, been faithfully rendered.

As has the other decorative features of the new Supersuit. Again, what would normally have been done with a paint job has been sculpted onto the figure. 

Even the boots have the texturing followed through. a very impressive feat (or feet even...)

But as I said above, I was having real difficulty seeing Henry in the figure when it was in flat light. That is until I hit it with other lighting which altered the scenario substantially. a light in right place brought the sculpt to life  in a huge way.

It ain't perfect by any chalk but it's definitely Superman as we'll see him in the movie.

Certainly, it's markedly better than the effort to capure Brandon Routh back in 2006. Here's a side by side shot.

So, some really good plus points and to be honest, every fan of Superman SHOULD have this figure in their collection because it's the best 6 inch scale representation of Superman from the movie that you're going to get and it is really is a decent figure.

Then again, that's maybe the problem. It's just a decent figure. Nothing more. There's certainly an argument that this is the figure that should blow you away. It doesn't. But it is a good figure.

There are however the drawbacks that I've mentioned above. The sculpting only really comes alive when it's lit, the hands ar sculpted closed and that bloody cape hampers any decent poses.

The stand that comes with the figure is a nicely opaque representation of the 'S' that we know and love with a single peg that slots into the left foot to allow the figure to be displayed on the stand.

At the end of the day, if you own any of the other Movie Masters figures of the the characters from any of the other DC movies you really need to get this figure if only to be able to take this photo and get excited at the possibilities...

moving now onto what was, hands down the most impressive of this trio of releases in wave one, the daddy himself, Jor-El...

As you can see from the above photo, the sculptors at mattel have been working overtime on this one and it really, really shows.

An incredibly detailed figure, from the textured bodysuit to the subtle striations on the armour.

Certainly with this figure it's initially better to let the pictures do the talking...

Unfortunately, with all of the time taken over the body Mattel really let themselves down by not sculpting the beard onto the facial sculpt relying solely on paint to accomplish the look. This renders the figure as looking less like Russell Crowe than it would have done if the beard had been sculpted and again, until you hit it with some decent light whilst the man who is Javert is there it's a case of 'B+ could do better...'.

But when you do hit it...blimey!

There, you have Russell Crowe as Jor-El.

Really, a very cool figure and like Pokemon, you gotta catch 'em all so this is certainly one to pick up if you see him on your toy shelves.

Jor-El, like Superman, comes with a stand featuring the 'El' family crest.

Again the figure has the same 22 POA as the Superman figure but the armour may well restrict some upper arm movement.  

A nice Father and Son shot

Definitely two very nice figures and for the $15 pricepoint certainly favourably comparable with everything else on the market at that price.

I just wish the same could be said of General Zod...

Michael Shannon has the 'benefit' of being a man with very *ahem* striking features. Imagine therefore my puzzlement when I unpacked Zod.

Frankly, the figure looked nothing like him.

Even worse, in every single shot we've seen of Zod he has a beard. Missing. Not even painted on.

NB. - Update. It's been pointed out to me that this is in fact the Zod when he's being sentenced on Krypton and that he doesn't have a beard in this scene.

Sure, the texturing of the costume is as nice as the other two figures, same POA and same great sculpting on the other features of the suit.

Presumably, this is sort of what is hidden by the cape on the Superman figure.

A lesson learned however with the other two figures made me hit it with a different light thinking it would make a difference. Thankfully it did but not as drastic as the other two.

It certainly became more Shannon like but still missing Zod. Until I changed my angle of shooting.

There was Zod. A clean-shaven Zod to be sure but Zod to be sure.

Call me silly, but I don't think you should have to go to all the trouble of lighting and choosing which angle you look at your figures from to get a decent representation of characters. I use this as an example a lot but Designworks Windsor's work on the 5 inch Scale Doctor Who line was, to me, the benchmark of what should be acheived with a mass market figure line.

This has certainly affected my scoring of the line as a whole and I hope it's something that's taken into account on Wave Two of the line.

Zod again comes with his crest as a stand.

Which, again only in my opinion, looks a bit Soviet Russia 'Hammer and Sickle' - perhaps shades of the influence of Mark Millar's seminal 'Red Son' Graphic Novel.

Also, because I couldn't resist the temptation to do it I pulled out the other franchises villans for a quick photo...

On the whole therefore, Wave One is definitely worth picking up. As a die-hard Superman fan I absolutely had to have these figures which, unfortunately, due to the usual crazy marketing decisions taken by Mattel UK I have had to secure from the USA as they won't be stocked over here at any mainstream toy outlets and will only be available in small quantities at inflated prices from specialist stores.

A shout out then to my man, Brandon, for stepping into the breach and getting these babies in my hand for review before many US stores have them in stock for sale.

For all fans of the character I think you should pick these up as soon as you or indeed any US friend can pick them up. Certainly judging by the groundswell of support that I'm hearing for this film these will certainly be getting harder to find as the film is released.

So, from me a thumbs up but with my Superman Bias turned off I certainly think twice about getting the General Zod figure.

Separate scores :-

Superman - 7/10

Jor-El - 8.5/10

General Zod - 6/10

See you in the aisles...

F.M. - Indiscreet Live 25

For 25 years the British Melodic Rock Scene has been a bit of a strange place. Numerous bands, prolific in their output but lacking in that essential 'it' factor. One band that has that 'it' factor in spades are the mighty FM who rolled into town as part of their 'Indiscreet 25' Tour.

In 1986 as Top Gun ruled the UK cinemas and Thatcher and Reagan were carving up the world between them the London based FM released their debut album 'Indiscreet' into a marketplace already ripe to take an album this full of hooks and big chorus' to their hearts.

Many people did and FM were seen as the leading lights on the UK Melodic Rock Scene for a good while.

Fast forward to 25 years later, a recently re-energised FM have taken to the road on the 25th Anniversary of the release of 'Indiscreet' to play the album from Top to Bottom for the first time ever.

As if that wasn't enough there was also the added bonus of two support bands to add to the nights entertainment.

The first act on stage was The Deborah Bonham Band. Featuring the sister of late drumming great John Bonham on vocals the band played a short but tight set of mostly Led Zep influenced numbers. Clearly suffering from a heavy cold Deborah struggled through valiantly but for me the band (and Deborah) truly came to life on their penultimate number of the the set, a lovely, heartfelt throaty ballad that left many people in the audience impressed.

Her backing band were tight (but loose) and Deborah herself is no doubt a very accomplished vocalist when not under the strain of heavy sinuses.

The next band up were, for me, a 'golden ticket' moment. I had been a fan of Romeo's Daughter at the dawn of the nineties and honestly had not listened to them since. When they were announced as the main support I was curious, but not curious enough to dig out my old CD's. I was aware that many had praised them as the 'band of the weekend' at their Firefest reunion gig in 2009 but just wasn't sure.

I'm happy to admit that I was completely mistaken. They were Phenomenal. Simply Phenomenal.

From the moment that they took the stage I was beaming, a rock solid group of songs combined with one of the best female vocalists in the genre in Leigh Matty.

Opening with a track from the new album 'Rapture' the band were confident, assured and quite honestly could easily have been a headline act. The new songs blended perfectly with the old bringing lots of nodding heads from the assembled crowd. Carving the 8 song set up equally between new tracks and old favourites was a gamble and certainly one that I'm sure paid off for the band.

Leigh's voice still soared above the guitar genius of Craig Joiner's shimmering lead lines with the rhythm section of Andy Wells and Ed Poole underpinning the tracks.

Tony Mitman (looking these days more 'Banker Dad' than 'Wild Child') was still the master of keys providing not only some deft keyboard runs but also some beautiful pad work to the proceedings layering up the sound to be as wonderful as a warm duvet on a cold winter's night.

Without a doubt as the band struck up 'Cry Myself to Sleep at Night' there was a transcendent moment as everyone in the room was transported back to the days when Rock was truly king and yet firmly rooted in the now. A timeless classic of a track that I am ashamed to say had been missing from my musical choices for far too long. A mistake I won't be making again in hurry.

Romeo's Daughter delivered. Pure, unadulterated Adult Oriented Rock. It was a glorious moment for the crowd and seemingly for the band. If (more likely 'when' after the reaction) the band return as a headline act I would strongly suggest you check them out. I can guarantee you that you won't be disappointed.

Romeo's Daughter have returned. May they never leave us again.

Ultimately though as good as they were the night truly belonged to F.M.

The show originally scheduled for the smaller Academy 3 but was moved up to the much larger Academy 2 after strong tickets sales which the band in turn sold out with the ticket touts outside the venue doing brisk business with the walk-up crowd.

The band had a palpable sense of excitement for the tour and for this show particularly and that was more than apparent from the moment they took the stage to the 'Pink Panther' theme intro tape.

From the moment they launched into 'That Girl' the crowd were in their hands. Bobbing and smiling, singing along to every word sung by the golden throated Steve Overland and interacting with the band all the way through the performance.

From 'That Girl' to the final encore of the night 'Hot Legs' a song that the band made their own on their first tour, the interplay between the band and crowd is more akin friends and family than act and paying audience.

There is a lot of love for the band from their fans and this is clearly reciprocated from on stage.

There were several moments throughout the night when telling looks of emotion were exchanged between the band members on stage a particularly fine example being after guitarist Jim Kirkpatrick (replete with 80's-tastic turned up cuffs on his suit jacket) finished one of the many fine solos played by him over the course of the evening and Steve Overland looked over and gave him a look of simple pride. Beautiful.

Kirkpatrick, whilst being a relatively new member of the band is treated as family by the FM masses. Adding a new flavour to familiar guitar lines and a boatload of emotion to his solos.

The band, just before the show began had told the crowd by their Facebook and Twitter page that they had a surprise for us and it was after the closing notes of the band's first hit 'Frozen Heart' (complete with in harmony vocal support from the crowd) that the band revealed what it was. Former keyboard player 'Didge Digital' returned to the stage with FM for a spirited run through Indiscreet's closing track 'Heart of the Matter' a song that is such a perfect example of AOR that it cemented itself as one of my all time favourite songs the moment that i heard way back when. Not content with one 'Keytar' on stage with Mr. Digital, full time keyboardist Gem Davies joined them with his 'Eddie Van Halen Paintjob Keytar' as the band drew the main set to a close.

Honestly, if the band had decided to stop right there then it would have been enough. With classics such as 'American Girls' and the simply sublime 'Face to Face' (a song that brought your humble review to tears with it's majesty) already in the bag they could have left the stage with the punters sated.

They didn't.

Not content with what had already been delivered the band returned to stage for some little played numbers and a smattering of tracks from 1989's 'Tough it Out' album. Drummer Pete Jupp and Bass Player Merv Goldsworthy showed exactly how over 25 years of playing together can form a foundation that simply cannot be moved as they powered through crowd sing-a-long favourite 'Bad Luck'.

As the Outro Tape of the Morecambe and Wise classic 'Bring Me Sunshine' played I turned to see the same expression on the faces of other crowd members as I was all too sure was emblazoned on my own. Pure Unadulterated Bliss.

I have had the privilege of seeing FM approximately 30-40 times over the years at venues big and small all over the country and can honestly say, hand on heart, that this was easily the best gig that I have ever seen them play.

In fact, the whole night was genuinely what musical memories are made of.

FM will be releasing a new DVD 'Live in Europe' on 12th March 2012 which you can purchase from their webstore HERE

Romeo's Daughter have a new album out 'Rapture' available at all good record stores or from the band's website itself HERE



FM's Setlist :-

That Girl
Other Side Of Midnight
Love Lies Dying
I Belong To The Night
American Girl
Hot Wired
Face To Face
Frozen Heart
Heart Of The Matter 

Dangerous
Let Love Be The Leader
Tough It Out
Don't Stop
Does It Feel Like Love
Bad Luck
Burning My Heart Down


Hot Legs

X-Men : First Class in more ways than one

After the critical and commercial success of Thor worldwide and the upcoming Captain America I was wondering how this prequel to the insanely successful X-Men trilogy would turn out. Sandwiched right between two of Marvel's tentpole characters and right before DC unleashes Green Lantern out into the wild.

I'm extremely pleased to say that this film more than lives up to both it's name and expectations. This really is a first class production. New to the franchise and following his wildly successful take on Mark Millar's 'Kick-Ass' Matthew Vaughn helms this cold war spy thriller with aplomb. One part Bond film, one part war drama and two parts superhero adventure this movie feels British in the greatest possible way harking back to the greatest Elstree output of the sixties and seventies.

Working from a script that has been through four different passes and writers and finally ending up with the ever wonderful Jane Goldman I was worried about how the film would feel tonally but within the first 10 minutes these doubts were swept away.

This really truly felt like a prequel to the other three movies, beginning with a replay of the concentration camp scene from X2 and moving through the sixties following Erik Lensherr's revenge mission against his former captors which in turn leads to the first meeting of minds between Lensherr and Charles Xavier played with a definite edge by Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy respectively

.

This is really where the film takes off as Charles helps Erik come to terms with his past and to control his powers aiding the American government in a bid to stop the escalation of nuclear war between the USA and Russia masterminded by the evil genius Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) aided by his right hand woman Emma Frost (January Jones).

Kevin Bacon is really fantastic is this movie chewing up the scenery in an astounding way as a world dominating egomaniac in the grand tradition of the early Bond villans seeming to relish the all round 'evilness' of his character.

The film's sixties tone is ably assisted from some excellent production design and sets and only really fails with some of the acting from the younger cast members making up the titular inaugural bunch of students at Xavier's School for the Gifted.

The ties to the previous three movies are all here showing the creation and use of Cerebro, the beginnings of the cracks between the two friends over their respective ideaologies, the same effects and sound cues used for the mutant powers that we've seen before, a cameo appearance from a familar face and young mutants being shown how to revel in and harness the powers that they have been given.

It is these young mutants that provide a lot of the lighter moments of the film. The interplay between Caleb Landry Jones as Banshee and the rest of the cast is a really cool thing to see and whilst the pairing of Nicholas Hoult as Beast and Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique should have worked it just seemed to fizzle out. This was really my only criticism of the casting.

As well as some great performances from the cast throughout the film special mention must go to the costume and make-up departments who have really truly delivered a retrofitted look from taking the comic costumes from the period and meshing them with the look of the X-Men from the first trilogy leading to a very pleasing assemblage of looks immediately reminiscent of the characters.

The practical make-up work on Beast must be singled out as one of the high points of the movies look but I'm going to leave it there for you spoilerphobes out there.

That's not however to say that the CG work on the movie is sub-par, far from it, but it is nice to see more practical effects being carried out apart from when absolutely necessary. One of the best uses of the CG in the movie was the way that they handled the scream of the Banshee really taking cues from the way it is seen in the comics.

The film climaxes with one of the most exciting sequences I've seen committed to film in a long-time, the face-off between the two-sides of the cold war with added mutant action. This is literally First Class action with the mutant powers properly unleashed and executed as we've never seen them before. I really hope that Zack Snyder is watching the flight chase to see how it can be done.

The final beachfront confrontation between the former allies is really well handled and in the hands of a lesser Director could have been a clunky mess (Brett Ratner I'm looking at you) and the final tragic moment leading us nicely to the status quo that we know from the original trilogy.

Overall though this film belongs fully to Michael Fassbender who absolutely nails every scene he is in, the early rage and pain giving forth to cold revenge and finally to acceptance and disgust. I really, truly hope that this is the start of a second trilogy for the X-Men and the Brotherhood as I'd love to see what else Fassbender can do with Magneto.

I'll certainly be hoping to see this movie again during it's run in the cinemas but until then it's (First) Class dismissed.

PS - Rose Byrne stripped down to her lingerie in the Hellfire Club...worth the price of the cinema ticket alone.