X-Men: Days of Future Past

I don't want to give much away, but of all of the X-Men ever made, this is one of my favorites!

The additional cast was concerning, but overall actually added to this film.

Of course the rest of the usual cast were on point as usual, but what made this movie different than the others, was not the battle of good vs evil, but the timeline differences and the new cast's involvement.

A great addition to the X-Men franchise, and a 9/10 from me!

It's the one best film in the xmen movies franchise and one of the best superheroes movies

I must admit, the trailers didn't have me convinced - and after the sour taste 'Jack the Giant Slayer' left in my mouth, I was sceptic. I really dug Matthew Vaughn's approach with 'First Class' (who had a tough task rebooting the franchise after the lacklustre 'Last Stand' and the generic, dull 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine') and I wouldn't have minded him returning at all. But as it turns out, Bryan Singer (yes, I dare speak his name) still has a few tricks up his sleeve. For its sheer scale and epic storytelling alone, 'Days of Future Past' is fantastic.

It's a shame there's so much controversy surrounding this film, but I guess whoever chooses to deprive himself willingly of such a pleasure must be fully aware that he does so at his own expense. Because this is the kind of film that made me fall in love with movies in the first place.

Yet (despite my 10-star review), it's not perfect. And it's not 'The Usual Suspects' with mutants - how could it be; this is simply not that kind of film. But I have to say that pretty much my only gripe with this movie is that it has too many characters and that some of them don't get enough screen time (or actually, there's not too many characters: there's just too many great actors playing those characters – but then again, that's half of the fun). Of all the X-men films, this has the most complex plot – and also the most interesting. Different time-lines are tricky to do and can be rather hard to follow, but thanks to a (very!) clever script with a great part for Logan, we never get lost. And that's the best news: sorely missed in the last instalment (except for a hilarious cameo), the franchise has Hugh Jackman back. And of him at least we do get to see a lot, since he really leads us through this film (giving his best Wolverine performance yet along the way). If Logan can be called the heart of the X-men, then Charles Xavier must be the mind while Magneto and Mystique provide the - slightly twisted - soul, and seeing them all together again brought a broad, stupid grin to my face (which only got broader whenever Quicksilver appeared on screen - for reasons you will have to find out for yourselves).

What really sets the X-men films apart from the ever more derivative comic-book adaptations – at least as far as I'm concerned – is that I always genuinely cared for the characters, and 'Days of Future Past' is no exception. I love loud, spectacular action movies as much as the next guy, but if I don't get to care for the protagonists – what's the point? The reason I gave this 10 stars, and what is so exceptional these days, is that what we get here is a complex, smart Fantasy/Sci-Fi thrill-ride that respects its origins as much as it embraces the future, while never - ever - forgetting that its first job is to entertain the audience. For finding that perfect, rare balance between character-driven human drama and no-holds-barred popcorn action spectacle, 'Days of Future Past' deserves my 10-star rating (which is a first for me: I've never given 10-stars to a comic-book movie).

So my verdict: If you like to get your minds blown by something with true heart and soul, this massive 'mutant' of a film is upon you, and all you have to do is give in to the X-citement. Enjoy the ride.

Favorite Films: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054200841/

The first X-Men was a good, fun, well-made start to the series, though with a yet-to-find-its-feet feel. That was found with X2, which turned out to be bigger, darker and even better. X-Men The Last Stand I didn't find quite as terrible as its reputed to be but it was very disappointing and a big step-down, it had its moments like the visuals, some good performances and the action but suffered from too much going on, a script that was sorely lacking and too many characters that were largely underdeveloped and out of character. X Men Origins: Wolverine was just as disappointing and with very similar pros and cons to The Last Stand. The Wolverine was a definite improvement but still had a fair share of flaws. And First Class was excellent. I was hugely excited for Days of Future Past because the cast is such a good one and the return of Bryan Singer promised much. And Days of Future Past didn't disappoint at all. It is a visually very stylish film that has an even darker and more audacious feel than the rest of the films in the series, the special effects are of great quality and everything looks very slick. The score is the best since the one for X2 in terms of memorability and how it fits and the script is the sharpest since X2 as well and is probably the best and most well-balanced script of all the X-Men films put together. There's a bit of humour that is subtle and genuinely funny, not feeling overly-broad or overkill, while there are plenty of suspenseful and emotional parts. Bryan Singer makes a triumphant come-back, the action sequences really thrill especially the battle between past and future X-Men to stop annihilation while the drama resonates. Great also was the quietly powerful tete-a-tete between the two Xaviers. There is a fair bit going on and there are a lot of characters, but the solid pacing, chemistry between the characters/actors and how well everything's balanced in the writing makes the story thrilling yet with plenty of space to allow you to feel emotion, and for the amount of characters there are here a vast majority of the characters have real personality and soul(plus they're treated with respect), something which Last Stand and Origins did not do. The cast are spot on, Hugh Jackman is grizzled and charismatic while bringing the subdued quality he brought to The Wolverine and Jennifer Lawrence is surprisingly good as Mystique(blue is definitely not the warmest colour with her), the transformation sequences are as eye-popping as they were in X2. James McAvoy gives one of his better performances here and Michael Fassbender is suave and calculating. As the older versions of Professor X and Magneto, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen make a welcome return, Stewart is cool and McKellen is menacing yet with a sympathetic quality, Magneto is much more than a one-dimensional villain(a mistake Last Stand made and that the first two films did not). Evan Peters is excellent too as Quicksilver, like how Alan Cumming's Nightcrawler almost stole the show in X2 Peters' Quicksilver almost did here, a definite scene stealer. Nicholas Hoult is fine as Beast and is very well made-up, but Kelsey Grammar for me was a touch better, and Halle Berry gives her, by far, best performance of the series(the only time she really made an impression as Storm, who's also developed best). My only complaint for Days of Future Past is the cop-out ending(outside of the action), other than that it was a brilliant film that was not only the best X-Men film since the second but a big contender for the best of the series. 9/10 Bethany Cox

In the future, the world is devastated by constant war. Sentinels are robots created to hunt mutants. Xavier and Magneto team up with a plan to change history. Kitty Pryde sends Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) 50 years into the past to 1973. He has to find Xavier (James McAvoy), free Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and recruit them in a mission to stop the Sentinel program before it starts. They have to stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) who tries to kill weapons designer Trask (Peter Dinklage).

This is a compelling sci-fi thriller achieving one of the most seamless transition from an old cast to the new. The story is terrific. It introduces Quicksilver as a fresh injection of fun. That's probably the only minor complaint. It needs a bit more fun to offset the serious tones. It's not really a complaint. OK! Forget about it. The new cast is set to take off in place of the old.