Movie Review: Director Bryan Singer Restores The X-Men To Their Glory In DOFP.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Director: Bryan Singer
Cast: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Evan Peters, Ian McKellan, and Patrick Stewart.
Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi violence and action, some suggestive material, nudity, and language.

The X-Men are back and have never been better! The cast of the original trilogy teams up with the young cast from X-Men: First Class to bring you the ultimate X-Men experience. Director Bryan Singer (who directed the first two films only to leave the franchise for other projects) is back behind the camera and he intends to right a few wrongs done to the franchise while he was away. The result is not only the biggest and best X-Men film to date, but also one of the greatest comic book movies of all time.

The story takes place in the near future where mutants have almost been completely exterminated along with their human allies by the powerful machines known as Sentinels. In order to avoid complete extinction, the surviving X-Men, led by Professor Xavier (Stewart) and allied with Magneto (McKellan), must send Wolverine (Jackman) back in time to 1973 in order to stop the assassination of the man responsible for the Sentinel's creation, Boliver Trask (Dinklage). It was his murder that led the government to fund his Sentinel project. Now, Wolverine must work with a young Xavier and Magneto (McAvoy & Fassbender, respectively) to stop Mystique (Lawrence) from carrying out the assassination, and save their future.

The X-Men films have struggled with keeping a strict continuity as each installment has tried to survive one film at a time. When original director Singer left the franchise, the issues began to pile up. Matthew Vaughn's First Class brought back the quality fans expected after the first two great films. Now, Singer is back in charge in the attempt to correct the mistakes made in the lesser films. Not only does he succeed for the most part, but he completely reinvigorates the franchise. Some questions are still left unanswered, but with a film this entertaining, it's hard to even care about whatever issues may still be lingering. The action is top notch. It's one of the darkest and most violent PG-13 comic movies, so you may want to think twice before rushing the kids out to see it. But there is plenty of fun thrills and humor to accompany the ride. There are also genuinely touching and moving moments thanks to the quality of actors we have at work here.

I must take a moment to discuss Quicksilver. There was a lot of hate aimed at how he appeared in early released photos. I'll admit he didn't look like anything that cool or special. Wow, he nearly steals the entire movie! He is not in the film for very long, which is a crying shame. Luckily, he has been confirmed to return in the next movie. However, his one big moment in this movie is quite possibly the best individual scene of ANY superhero using their powers, whether from a Marvel or DC movie. Seriously, it's that awesome.

There are so many interesting mutants that do not get a lot of background information, particularly in the futuristic scenes, but most get at least one moment to really shine. I am beyond intrigued on where they will go with the series now. There are so many possibilities available now after seeing how this one ends. Oh, and if you are really interested in the next movie, be sure to stick around through the end credits for a special tease. Not everyone will understand, but those familiar with these comics should get very excited. As for the film itself, it delivers everything you could want from a comic book movie and summer blockbuster.

RATING: A