The X-Men franchise definitely lost its way after X2, which is why Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn decided to bring it back to its roots by focusing on the two characters who made it interesting in the first place: Magneto and Xavier. The resulting movie was much better than the deeply lame attempt at a prequel that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine (although it could hardly have been worse) and added more interesting backstory to some of the most popular characters in the series, without the horrible awkwardness of The Last Stand. Yes, uniquely among later installments of the franchise, First Class had a story which was actually compelling. At least the improvement in quality helped the filmmakers put the craptacular third movie behind them…
