X-Men Movies: 7 Perfect Performances & 7 That Sucked
5. Michael Fassbender - Erik Lensherr/Magneto
Even when Dark Phoenix is at its worst, Michael Fassbender is good. He's easily the best thing about the entire movie, in fact. And that shouldn't come as too much of a surprise given how excellent he's been ever since he was cast.
In fact, Michael Fassbender absolutely owned First Class - probably at least a little because he is given easily the best moments, from the Tarantino like assassination of the former Nazi officers hiding in Argentina through to his role in the Cuban missile crisis sequence. He's so great, in fact, that he gets his own ominous theme music.
Adding someone of Fassbender's dramatic weight was inspired and his ability to balance a dark charisma with the emotional rawness (and the faintest hints of vulnerability) add a lot more complexity and depth than anyone else in the revived franchise.
Sir Ian McKellen may be the definitive Magneto, but Fassbender is the perfect Erik.