I was not one of the many, many vocal critics and cinema-goers who loudly complained about January Jones’s part in X-Men: First Class. I didn’t think January was particularly good, but I didn’t really think she was so terrible as to destroy my general warmth towards a really solid film. Now that I’m several days away from my X-Men experience, and I’m not so suffused with Fassbender-lust, I can think back to January’s performance with more objectivity. Yeah, she really did suck. It was like she was sleepwalking through her performance as Emma Frost, the mutant with telepathic powers, plus she can turn into a diamond.

I have to wonder… what would an actress like Emily Blunt have done with the part? What about (gasp!) Sienna Miller? Or Diane Kruger? Surely, January Jones isn’t the only “icy blonde” who could have conceivably done the role? Surely someone else (Emily, Sienna, Diane) could have made this small-but-showy role really pop, right?

Anyway, Lost creator Damon Lindelof called January out on Twitter a few days ago:

[From Damon Lindelof’s Twitter]

Is Lindelof a Spielberg-like power player in the industry? No, not really, but his opinion counts amongst certain circles, especially when January’s sleep-walking performance is getting so many horrible reviews. But I’d just to like two more points, somewhat defending poor, horrible-actress January: one, Lindelof is responsible for the consistently crappy acting of Evangeline Lilly in Lost, so he’s one to talk. Also: I thought Zoe Kravitz sucked just as badly as January, if not more. Why is January getting all of the criticism and not Zoe?

Photos courtesy of WENN.