"The cost of freedom is always high. No one can foresee precisely what course it will take. One path we shall never choose -- and that is the path of surrender." So says John F. Kennedy about the Cuban Missile Crisis in the trailer for X-Men: First Class, Matthew Vaughn's '60s-set origin story of Professor X and Magneto. Wait, one second. What's JFK doing here?
Oh, right: Lending an air of gravitas. What other way to separate X-Men: First Class from X3: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, two of the worst comic book films to come along in the last five years. Take your "I'm the Juggernaut, bitch" and shove it; this film has an "Ich bin ein Berliner" pedigree with which to impress you!
Truthfully though, Vaughn doesn't need JFK or any other political figure to make X-Men: First Class look impressive. That's taken care of thanks to James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender (as Professor X and Magneto -- Charles and Erik -- respectively), two actors who seem ideally suited for their mutant roles. Elsewhere, the trailer is filled with a variety of money shots -- Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique! Nicholas Hoult as Beast! January Jones as Emma Frost! Kevin Bacon! -- and explosions, which is enough to keep things interesting until the full trailer comes out in the coming months. First Class is due in theaters on June 3.
VERDICT: Hail to the Chief.