Movie Review: X-Men: Days of Future Past

     So I'm a little late making this post but the movie was so good that I had to see it twice! I'm not joking, this movie was everything I thought it would be when it was announced. While I'm not sure if I would give it the title of "Best Superhero Movie Ever", it certainly ranks up there with The Avengers. The X-Men movie franchise was the start of the superhero movie craze of the new millennium when the first movie hit theaters in 2000. And now, fourteen years later and a reboot later, Days of Future Past breathes new life into the franchise.

     X-Men: Days of Future Past takes one of the X-Men's best stories and brings its own version to the silver screen. In the future, the mutant race is teetering towards extinction, being hunted by the Sentinels. The surviving members of the X-Men send Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) into the past and bring a young Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Eric Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) together to change history and stop an event that will spark a war that will threaten both humans and mutants.

     I had all the confidence in the actors of the film and how they would all mesh together. The original X-Men cast (Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, Ellen Page, and Shawn Ashmore) did a wonderful job portraying the war-weary heroes, fighting for their survival. You could feel their hope slipping and desperation to save the world, going far enough to suggest a risky attempt at time travel. The movie did a wonderful job of balancing the survival fight between the past and the future, not an easy job when it comes to time-travel films. Bryan Singer did a great job in his return to the franchise, keeping the action fast paced and audiences intrigued as the climax of the film was getting closer and you weren't sure how everything would work out.  

     Hugh Jackman once again dominates as the protagonist of the entire series, Wolverine. Wolverine was chosen for the time travel trip because of his healing factor which makes him ageless. His consciousness was sent back in time to his younger body in order to reach Charles Xavier and Eric Lehnsherr. Jackman was flawless playing Wolverine again for the seventh time, greeting the audience with the violent and wise-cracking hero. Jackman shows his comfort in playing Wolverine like it is a part of his personality that he's always had. 

     Wolverine is sent back to the 1970s, ten years after the events of X-Men: First Class. When Logan arrives in the past, we see that a lot has changed. James McAvoy did a wonderful play portraying the lost and broken Charles Xavier, hope completely dashed from the future leader of the X-Men. Jennifer Lawrence was stunningly sexy and dangerous as Mystique, showing a less innocent character than we were introduced to during First Class. Michael Fassbender delivered once again as the younger Magneto, showing that the mutant's fight for mutant superiority always tops his loyalties. This is contradicted by the older Magneto who joined Xavier with the mutant race close to annihilation.

     Along with old friends and their younger counterparts, audiences are introduced to new mutants in the future such as Blink (Fan Bingbing), Sunspot (Adan Canto), and fan favorite Bishop (Omar Sy). Another fan favorite made his appearance as Evan Peters plays the swift runner Quicksilver. Quicksilver was exactly how every fan might imagine him; quick talking and quick moving while the rest of us are moving in slow motion around him. This is proven during one of the best scenes in the movie (you'll know it when you see it).  With a great ensemble cast, the return of Bryan Singer to the X-Men director's chair, and an excellent story, this film has the X-Men film series looking forwards towards a bright future. 

     I highly recommend this top contender for movie of the Summer. Please survive the credits (It's a Marvel movie, you don't leave during the credits!) and, overall, enjoy the movie!