Story
X-Men: First Class is the fifth of the X-Men movies, but it’s set before the first X-Men movie. The movie’s action happens in the 1960s and focuses on the relationship between Charles Xavier/Professor X (James McAvoy) and Eric/Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and the origin of their groups, the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants. The movie shows scenes from the childhood years of both men in flashback.
Because of his experiences as a Jewish child during World War II, Eric becomes a Nazi hunter. He meets up with Charles Xavier when they’re both after an evil mutant called Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). Shaw is the Nazi who killed Eric’s mother.
Together with CIA agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne), Charles and Eric set out to recruit teenage mutants to their cause and hunt the group of mutants led by Shaw.
Themes
Nazi extermination of Jewish people; genetic mutation; nuclear war; superpowers
Violence
This movie contains intense, stylised action violence. It doesn’t show much blood and gore, but it does have occasional scenes of brutal violence. For example:
Sexual references
This movie has some sexual references. For example:
- Xavier talks about a woman being a bit more sexy than a sea creature.
- A woman wears sexy clothes and dances in a sexy manner on a tabletop. Two men go up to the woman and ask, ‘How would you like a job where you get to keep your clothes on?’ One of the men then says, ‘We’ll show you ours if you show us yours’. He’s actually talking about their superpowers.
- A young man and woman flirt with each other as the man is taking a sample of the woman’s blood. She tells him, ‘When guys ask me out, they’re usually not after my blood’.
- A young woman says, ‘You know what they say about the size of a man’s feet’. Then she looks at a young man and says, ‘Yours are kind of small’.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
This movie has some use of substances. For example:
- In a couple of scenes, a man smokes a cigar.
- A man asks a woman if she’s been smoking those ‘funny cigarettes’.
- People drink beer and champagne at bars and parties.
- A man drinks beer from a yard glass. People cheer him on as he drinks the whole glassful.
- One scene shows a hypodermic syringe injecting an experimental drug into a man’s foot. In another scene, a needle is used to extract blood.
Nudity and sexual activity
This movie has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- Women wear tight and revealing clothing in several scenes.
- Male patrons at a casino sit in cubicles. Women wearing lingerie enter the cubicles and close the curtains.
- A woman wearing sexy clothing goes up to a man in uniform and undoes his belt and zipper. In the next scene, the soldier's sitting on a bed with the woman straddling his lap. They have their arms wrapped around each other and are kissing.
- A young woman with blonde hair lies in bed with her naked shoulders and back showing. Eric goes up to the woman, and she turns into a blue-skinned, yellow-eyed mutant. Eric calls her ‘an exquisite creature’. He reaches over the bed and kisses her on the lips.
- A naked woman (in mutant form) walks into a room and stands in front of a man, who looks embarrassed. The woman’s skin has a bumpy, scaly appearance that partially covers her nakedness.
Product placement
None of concern
Coarse language
This movie has some coarse language and name-calling.
Ideas to discuss with your children
X-Men: First Class is an action adventure movie targeting an older adolescent and adult audience. You should be aware that the movie contains adult themes, scenes and images that might disturb younger viewers.
The main message from this movie is that it’s OK to be different – difference should be celebrated and is something to be proud of.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with older children include the following:
- Altruism – for example, Charles’ main purpose in life is to protect mutants and promote their best interests.
- Self-sacrifice – for example, several teenage mutants sacrifice their own safety to protect others.
- Compassion and selflessness – for example, as a young boy, Charles shows these qualities when he tries to help other people.
You might also want to talk about the parallels between the persecution of mutants in the movie and the persecution of various minority groups in the real world.