movie review - X-Men: First Class a Surprisingly Swingin' Good Time

Review in a Hurry: The prequel none of us thought we wanted turns out to be more of a fun time than anybody expected. A return to form for the X-flicks, this semi-prequel/reboot remembers above all else to be fun, without any gross bastardizations to the source (like the portrayal of Deadpool in the Wolverine movie).

It also allows Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy and January Jones (among many others) to increase their degree of proximity to Kevin Bacon, who plays the villain.
The Bigger Picture: Best not to worry exactly how this new movie fits in to the existing cinematic continuity, as it features some crowd-pleasing, deliberate shoutouts to the Bryan Singer films while also containing significant contradictions.