X-Men: First Class

X-Men: First Class is a 2011 American superhero film directed by British director Matthew Vaughn starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, January Jones, Kevin Bacon, Olivier Platt, Lucas Till, Jason Flemyng, Edi Gathegi, Zoe Kravitz, Alex Gonzalez, and Hugh Jackman. The film is a prequel and soft reboot to the original X-Men films taking place in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis outlining the origins of the X-Men and Brotherhood of Mutants when they deal with a mutant secret society called the Hellfire Club as well as how Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr became sworn enemies. The film released on June 3, 2011 to critical and commercial success

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The film is a excellent example on how to reboot a franchise.
 * 2) Great acting from James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, and Nicholas Hoult all kill it as Charles Xavier, Magneto, Mystique, and Beast respectively.
 * 3) The film also revitalized the X-Men films after the disastrous | X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009.
 * 4) Unlike the original trilogy, Mystique really stands out and is sympathetic thanks to her amazing performance by Jennifer Lawrence.
 * 5) Very accurate depiction of the time period and setting in the 1960s.
 * 6) A pretty funny scene where Charles and Magneto try to recruit Hugh Jackman's Wolverine and the exchange goes: "Hi, I'm Professor Xavier." "Go fuck yourself".
 * 7) The action and special effects are superb.
 * 8) The film would also pave the way for another great X-Men installment: X-Men: Days of Future Past.
 * 9) The film does a great job of building up the friendship of Charles and Magneto.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) January Jones is completely miscast as Emma Frost, Emma Frost is completed wasted being more like Sofia Coppola's character Mary Corleone from The Godfather: Part III and was eventually killed off screen in the next film.
 * 2) * While the film was a critical and commercial success, The ultimate poor reception of her character Emma Frost permanently killed off January Jones's film career so badly, since then she only starred in four straight-to-DVD or low-budget movies Seeking Justice, Sweetwater, Good Kill and the upcoming God Is a Bullet after X-Men First Class and has since returned to her TV career.
 * 3) Outside of the main cast, the other X-Men just don't stand out as well.
 * 4) Just like Emma Frost, the Hellfire Club also are flat.

Reception
The movie has a 7.4/10 average critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes.