Netflix DVD: I gave it 5 stars, no doubt whatsoever. Netflix predicted it at 4.9 for me, and the general audience has rated it at 4.3. Since it hasn’t been out very long, there are only 27,000 reviewers. I suspect the rating may go down if the first people to get it were X-Men fans.

I liked this movie even better than the first time I saw it, in the theater. For me, that’s unusual. For example, though I thought Children of Men was great the first time I saw it, the second viewing was a letdown. Maybe my expectations were too high, but they were high for this movie, too, and I loved it. I probably understood what was going on better the second time. Everyone loves the Quicksilver kitchen sequence, and it IS great, but the first viewing of it was more impressive for me. Even so, it’s legitimately brilliant. I loved the use of Jim Croce’s “Time In a Bottle” during this sequence.

Are there any other stories where good (Xavier) and evil (Magneto) have such a thoughtful relationship? It’s a wonderful idea to handle it this way. The interleaving of the final action sequences worked very well. Great acting and character development. Just a fantastic movie!