X-Men: Days of Future Past

 

“Please, we need you to hope again.”-Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart)

After the dreadful X-Men: Last Stand, X-Men fans have been hoping for a movie of matching caliber to the comics. Director Bryan Singer's new film hopes to make up for that.

Days of Future Past was originally a two-issue story arc in the Uncanny X-Men comics #141-142. The story involves time travel; a formula that always intrigues in movies but never has a satisfying ending. Like Terminator 2, the best of the time travel movies, someone has to be sent from the future (2023) to the past (1973) to save the world from a robot apocalypse.

Lucky for the franchise, the only character whose body can survive the transit is Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine (future). Also, lucky for the franchise, the key to changing the future is to find Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique (past), a minor character whose role has been heightened to maximize on her star power and talent.

If casual moviegoers can just accept the time-bending, mind-bending plot, they’ll be able to enjoy a fun collection of characters going full superhero in amazingly creative heists and fight sequences. An appearance by a young Quicksilver sets the standard. James McAvoy’s Professor X (past) and Michael Fassbender’s Magneto (past) are excellent as battling bros. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen have a blast (from the future) re-playing those same characters. And Hugh Jackman, as Wolverine, is always movie screen magic.

Simply put: The X-Men movies are never as good as they should be, but you can consistently expect an x-cellent time at the movies.

Award potential: The cast has 10 Oscar nominations. But not for movies like this.

The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks.