We went to see the new XMen today — XMen First Class. This was a great movie for someone like me whose entire XMen experience is with the movie series. It is a prequel to the rest of the franchise and does a really good job of setting up the story of the origin of the mutants. The story of how Magneto and Xavier became enemies was interesting and demonstrates how fine the line between good an evil can be.

The historical context made it seem believable, set as it was against the backdrop of WWII and the Cold War/ Cuban Missle Crisis. Casting was fun. Kevin Bacon as a Nazi and January Jones as Emma Frost. Keep your eyes open for a couple of cameos, one of whom delivered one of the best lines in the movie. Also loved the origin of The Beast.

This is one of the most cerebral of the XMen movies, which may be disappointing to some action fans, but there was plenty of action at the climax.

By the way, don’t wait through the credits for an intriguing hint of what is to come in the next movie, there is none. There is how ever a staggering list of credits. I think I may have seen my name up there. They should have just listed the seven people in the contiguous United States who were not involved in the movie.

I would definitely highly recommend this movie.