Although my zilch knowledge about the world of X-Men prior to attending this film forced me to annoy my fellow moviegoers with whispered questions throughout, I ultimately found myself amidst a fit of engaged, while mindless, enjoyment.  Prepare yourself for a true outsider review, free from nerd-terms and Marvel specifics, of what is sure to be one of America’s summer blockbuster favorites.

To my understanding, this X-Men installment travels back in time to explore the origins of the X-Men world most fans know today.  It begins with a very young Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) in Nazi Germany, discovering his ability to manipulate magnetic objects, after which he is taken and trained, his powers exploited, by everyone’s favorite villain….Kevin Bacon (playing Sebastian Shaw, a powerful and evil mutant with the ability to absorb and redirect energy).

Meanwhile, a more compassionate young mutant named Charles Xavier (the adult version played by James McAvoy) discovers a scared little girl, naturally blue in color but who can morph into any figure (later the mutant Mystique, played by Jennifer Lawrence), and takes her under his comforting wing.  These two childhood events set the tone for the film as the men engage on a journey to become two of the X-Men world’s biggest leaders and rivals – Professor X and Magneto.

But Charles and Erik, still a bit naive and working together in this film, set out to find other young mutants in attempt to build a strong and positive movement for mutants in the world, sparked by the negative attitude Sebastian Shaw and his sexy assistant Emma Frost (January Jones) display as they attempt to secure mutant world domination.  Among the collected youngsters are future mutants Beast (Nicholas Hoult, or Tony from British television’s Skins!), Angel (Zoe Kravitz), Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), and Havok (Lucas Till).

Much action and adventure follows as the youngsters and leaders search for reason and self-discovery in a less-than-accepting world.  Aside from a few admirable morals, one being encouragement from others to avoid hiding who you are no matter how you may appear, the film is a no-brainer entertainer – full of fight scenes, special effects, and good old-fashioned super powers.

An all star cast, all of which would take another paragraph to list, helps this movie along and strengthens the characters and plot.  But most importantly, watching Jennifer Lawrence helped pump me up for her role at Katniss in the upcoming, highly anticipated Hunger Games movie series!  With simple beauty and a strong yet humble personality, on and off-screen, she is destined to succeed as an outstanding female role model for the future of Hollywood.

Cheesy at times, and not necessarily my type of flick, X-Men: First Class earns three stars.  Considering I only saw it to spend time with my constantly-gone boyfriend on a Sunday night off, it proved to be certainly more than just tolerable.