X-Men: First Class is a 2011 American superhero film directed by Matthew Vaughn. Based on the characters appearing in Marvel Comics, it is a reboot and prequel to the X-Men film series. X-Men: First Class was released June 1, 2011 in the UK and on June 3 in the US.
The film is set primarily in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis and focuses on the relationship between Professor X and Magneto and the origin of their groups, the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants.
PLOT
At a German concentration camp in occupied Poland in 1944, scientist Dr. Schmidt observes young Erik Lensherr bend a metal gate with his mind when the child is separated from his parents. In his office, Schmidt orders Lensherr to similarly move a metal coin on a desk, and kills his mother when the child cannot. Lensherr's out-of-control magnetic power manifests, killing two guards and destroying the room, to Schmidt's delight. Meanwhile, in a Westchester County, New York mansion, young telepath Charles Xavier meets homeless young shape-shifter Raven. Overjoyed to meet someone else "different" like him, he invites her to live with his family.
In 1962, an adult Lensherr has begun tracking down former Nazis, hoping to find Schmidt and take revenge. Meanwhile, in England, Oxford University graduate Xavier is publishing his thesis on mutation; his foster sister Raven, a waitress, lives with him. In Las Vegas, Nevada, CIA agent Moira MacTaggert follows U.S. Army Colonel Hendry into the Hellfire Club, where she sees Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost, and Azazel. After Shaw threatens Hendry, Azazel disappears with the officer; moments later Hendry is in the War Room, advocating that the U.S. install nuclear missiles in Turkey. Shaw later kills Hendry, revealing himself as Schmidt and demonstrating the energy-absorbing mutant power that has de-aged him.
MacTaggert, seeking Xavier's advice on mutation, introduces him and Raven to the CIA, where they convince Director McCone that mutants exist and Shaw is a threat. Though McCone refuses to employ the mutants, they are sponsored by the unnamed "Man in Black Suit", another CIA executive. Xavier tracks Shaw down, arriving in time to stop Lensherr, who had attacked Shaw, from drowning as Shaw escapes. Xavier brings Lensherr to the CIA's secret "Division X" facility. They meet young scientist Hank McCoy, a prehensile-footed mutant whom Xavier inadvertently outs as a mutant. McCoy, developing a bond with Raven, promises her he will find a way to normalize their appearance. Xavier uses a mutant-locating device, Cerebro, to find and recruit mutants for training to stop Shaw. He and Lensherr find stripper Angel Salvadore; taxi driver Armando Muñoz, who takes the code name Darwin; Army prisoner Alex Summers, who calls himself Havok; and Sean Cassidy, who dubs himself Banshee. Raven takes the name Mystique.
CAST
- James McAvoy as Professor Charles Xavier / Professor X
- Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto
- Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw: A scientist and the leader of the Hellfire Club, a secret society bent on taking over the world.Shaw is a mutant who can absorb kinetic and radiated energy and redirect it as needed at those who oppose him.
- Jennifer Lawrence as Raven / Mystique: A shape-shifting mutant and Charles Xavier's childhood friend.
- January Jones as Emma Frost / White Queen: A telepath who can also change her body into diamond form; also a member of the Hellfire Club.
- Rose Byrne as Dr. Moira MacTaggert: A CIA agent and love interest of Charles Xavier.
- Nicholas Hoult as Dr. Henry "Hank" McCoy / Beast: A former scientist and political activist who transformed into a frightening looking mutant in an attempt to cure himself, but is kind at heart.
- Caleb Landry Jones as Sean Cassidy / Banshee: A mutant capable of ultrasonic screaming used in various ways including as a means of flight.
- Lucas Till as Alex Summers / Havok: A mutant who has the ability to absorb energy and discharge it as blasts.
- Zoë Kravitz as Angel Salvadore: A mutant with housefly wings and acidic saliva.
Source: wikipedia