Simon Dillon reviews the film

The increasingly popular origin story manifests itself again here, in this latest in the X-Men series. And despite the absence of Wolverine it's a surprisingly good concoction.

In the early 1960s, CIA agent Moria MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) uncovers a plot by mutants working with former Nazi scientist Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) to start World War III. After her bosses are unconvinced, she goes to a pre-wheelchair Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) for help. Elsewhere Holocaust survivor Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) is busy taking revenge on Nazis in hiding as he attempts to locate Shaw, who killed his mother during World War II. These plot threads come together to create a story of how the first X-Men track down Shaw and ultimately intervene in the Cuban missile crisis which Shaw has engineered. But the friendship that develops between Lehnsherr and Xavier is threatened when it becomes apparent their ideologies and methods are radically different.

Those steeped in X-Men lore know that Lehnsherr eventually becomes X-Men arch nemesis Magneto, so this inevitability is milked to tremendous dramatic satisfaction. From the very beginning, as Lensher indulges in unorthodox dental extraction with a Swiss banker hoarding Nazi gold, it is clear that he considers his path one of righteous vengeance, whereas the more idealistic Xavier believes that humans and mutant-kind will eventually be able to co-exist. This central friendship, and its ultimate breakdown, provides the backbone of the story, though the paths other familiar characters take (including Mystique, Beast, Angel and Azazel) also provide quite a bit of subplot. Perhaps a little too much.

Drawing inspiration from the Star Trek reboot and early James Bond films, Matthew Vaughn directs solidly, though without quite the same flair he displayed in Kick Ass last year. The cast are all good, including an amusing cameo that I won't spoil. The special effects are well done, as is the music score by Henry Jackman, and I have to say I rather like the Take That song on the end credits.

The mutant allegory has, of course, different meanings for different people, and can be taken as a statement about racial equality, sexuality, and so on. From a spiritual perspective, the whole being-true-to-what-God-has-made-you theme that was more prevalent in previous installments has been toned down in favour of a much stronger focus on the Darwinian aspects of the X-Men narrative. This is also the edgiest X-Men to date in terms of suitability for younger audiences, with more swearing and violence, and more in the way of sexual themes and scantily clad women.

There are some glaring flaws too, particularly in the logic of Sebastian Shaw's scheme to bring about a nuclear apocalypse (surely it would wipe out just as many mutants, who aren't necessarily impervious to radiation). Also, an odd (and utterly irrelevant) coincidence: Shaw shares his name with the actor who played Anakin Skywalker in the original version of Return of the Jedi.

The afore-mentioned flaws and caveats for younger viewers notwithstanding, I would rate this as the second best X-Men film after the near-perfect X-Men 2, and it is quite considerably better than the first and third installments.