Disappointed by disjointed pacing and lack of development

Rating: 5/10 (9 April 2013)

After being immensely disappointed during my initial viewing, I took it upon myself to give X-men: First Class a second chance, in light of how well others have regarded it. Sadly, my impression did not improve.
X-men: First Class, a reboot of the X-men franchise, provides a background story on the team's origin. The movie starts with the early upbringing of Charles Xavier (Prof. X) and his eventual nemesis, Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto) during World War II, and then jumps forward to the 1960s, when the X-men are formed.
The biggest problems in First Class were the disjointed pacing and woeful lack of development of the characters. Scenes unfold rapidly, and then cut abruptly. Relationships are implied without any actual foundation. Xavier catches the recruits partying up like brats after their first evening with each other; he sternly tells them he is disappointed in them. Why? He literally just met them a day or two ago. Shortly afterwards, we are supposed to be riveted by a loss and a betrayal, but again nothing is at stake because these characters have barely been introduced.
Yes, there is some character development for the two main protagonists, but it's hindered by an overall weak and superficial script. For example, when we first meet Prof. Xavier as a young man, every other line mentions mutants or genes. Ah-ha! He is an expert in mutation, see? We are constantly reminded by these shallow little references. Throw in a couple "groovies" to remind us of the time period. It all feels like lines an improv comedian would rattle off if told to impersonate a biogeneticist in the 1960s.
The movie also exhibits other hallmarks of sloppy and lazy writing. There is a grating scene in which the new mutants each shows off his or her own power and then provide names. It's the height of telling rather than showing. Later on, in the final showdown, two navies standoff while the X-men attempt to stop the villains' diabolical plan. Like any mediocre action movie, all the officers and crew of the world's two great superpowers stop acting or responding and instead join the audience, standing by idly while the main characters do all the heavy lifting.
Prof. Xavier and Magneto, for the most part, are simply portrayed as chums, without much development as to why they are close, particularly in the first half of the movie. It's not until about halfway through that we begin to see real dialogue between them, but even those lines are dull and predictable.
Unfortunately, the criticism leveled at January Jones is warranted. She's just not strong enough of an actress to overcome her miscasting. And although I grant the movie makers broad leeway in straying from the comics, I agree with criticism that some of the characters changes are so drastic that there really isn't at any reason to have used that character at all.
All in all, I am disappointed by the missed opportunities. The movie could have delved much deeper into the psyche of Xavier and Magneto and the issues surrounding mutation. Instead, we are given cardboard cutouts and the dilemmas are presented in black and white terms. It's not the worst X-men movie, but that's only because The Last Stand was truly atrocious.