Yeah the Magneto origin story in First Class was excellent. First Class, Days of Future Past, and Age of Apocalypse, had all the characters' orgin stories thrown in together. It would've been nice if more characters had their own backstory movie though. My favorite X-men is Gambit. I was super disappointed with the way they utilized him in Wolverine Origins.
It wasn't high art, but I didn't think it was 'stupid'. It was basically a western similar to 'The Wild Bunch', but with comic book characters instead of cowboys... so comparing it to that, I enjoyed it. If it was set in the early 20th century and it was about the US government hunting down the last few remaining outlaws from the wild west era, I bet some of the more 'serious-minded' people would have loved it. I don't think it had a really deep intellectual discussions going on in the subtext, but it wasn't 'stupid'. The parent-protecting-their-child dynamic/doing-it-for-my-family dynamic is really played out at this point, though... seriously, I am sick of it. At this point it's pretty much the cheapest easiest go-to a writer has when he wants to be a little more ambitious than just blowing shit up, revenge or learning how to become a hero (again and again and again).
