X-Men: First Class, and it is good (not great) but very. Good.

My X marathon begins!

And for what it's worth, I'm starting pretty shallow, with some lightweight comments and such. Totally mailing it in for the first few movies. The reason is because I am. Seriously. Ripping this one out because in truth what people REALLY want is to know why I think you're dumb for insulting The Last Stand.

So to get the obvious stuff out of the way,

Impeccable, and ALSO IN MY NEW BOOK THANKS ORDER HERE THANK YOU http://www.amazon.com/Celebrating-Mad-Men-Unofficial-Characters/dp/1512301655/ THANKS

First Class is close to impeccable. Marred only by writing that is too wink wink nudge nudge, it's got pretty much everything you want from a good mutant movie. Pathos. Humanity. Thrilling action. Creative use of powers (the most creative of all seven X flicks, actually). A relatively smart plot. An awesome finale. Etc.

Plus it being a period piece is never used as a gimmick, but instead adds to the world in many small, subtle ways. Toss in some great acting, killer special effects, tight pacing, and three hot babes, and ... Yep. Terrific.

I should probably write more about it, but I have leftover pizza in the oven and really need to go get it before it burns.

So real quick flaws before I lose my pizza: winky winky nudge nudge. This damn movie is piled so high with it that the issue ceases to be a nitpick and becomes a genuine flaw. There's all the cringe-inducing "and here is how the X thing got its name" stuff, which is awful. Loads of not-very-clever winks to what will happen in the future of the X universe, such as multiple bald jokes about Xavier. Even the social commentary is clunky as hell. When Hank is revealed as a mutant, for instance, he tells his boss, "You didn't ask, so I didn't tell."

Really, writers? Really!?

OH HEY GUIZ YOU MAY NOT HAVE NOTICED BUT THE X STUFF IS TOTES A METAPHOR FOR BEING GAY AND STUFF BUT YOU PROBS DIDN'T NOTICE IT CAUSE WE ARE LIKE PRETTY SMOOTH ABOUT IT!!! Preeeeetttty subtle!!!

Guh.