X-Men: First Class (2011)

I've seen the first three, missed the Wolverine one, and now we have a borderline reboot with X-Men: First Class. I always kind of forget how much I enjoy the X-Men series until I'm actually watching one. The only one I didn't really care for was the first one, oddly enough. I know everyone likes to piss on the third one because it was directed by Brett Ratner, but I actually didn't mind it. I thought X2 was great, but I haven't seen it since it came out.

X-Men: First Class deals with the beginning of the X-Men. Call it X-Men Begins, if you want. And while it may not be quite as up to quality as Batman Begins, it's still a very enjoyable super hero film that has moments of greatness (and moments of ultra cheesy-ness as well, but that goes with the territory). It's basically the story of Professor X and Magneto as they do battle against the evil Kevin Bacon. It's also the origin story of several of the X-Men, including Beast and Mystique.

The performances are strong. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender in particular really help draw you into the characters and the film. Jennifer Lawrence also has a prime role as Mystique, and she is quite good as well. Kevin Bacon is a welcome turn as the main villain, as I feel like I haven't seen him in anything big in years. Perhaps the only major miscasting is January Jones, just because I'm still not convinced she's a great actress, but her cleavage sure does put on a hell of a show.

I like how it acts as a prequel and a reboot. There are a couple cameos in here, one of them being one of the greatest cameos I've ever seen. It connects to the original trilogy but leaves enough wiggle room for a follow up with this cast. If it wants to. And judging from the overwhelmingly positive critical and audience response, I can only guess that there will be another one.

RATING: 3/5