Good Stuff

Rating: 8/10 (5 June 2016)

X-Men is really an unusual franchise for Marvel. As an avid reader of Marvel during its breakout period fifty years ago, X-Men was a nice magazine but I would guess not one of their top sellers. Back then the talents were a little more modest, Cyclops and X-Girl were around along with Angel, Iceman and Beast (not blue). As a movie franchise I would guess X-Men is Marvel's top seller, they have gotten a lot of mileage out of the characters and have almost flawlessly crossed over to a younger cast (but for Wolverine). I have seen two or three of the most recent entries at the movies, but even though I have enjoyed them they are not something I die to watch again on cable.
Which brings us to the most recent X-Men. Right off I have to say that Marvel excels at casting and the newer X-Men are no exception, the new Prof. Xavier (McAvoy) continues to be spectacular as does Fassbender as the Magnetic One. I thought the rest of the characters are done well also, including Peters as Quicksilver and a stunningly gorgeous Munn as Psylocke. The adversary for the X-Men is an ancient Egyptian mutant who seems too much to handle, the problem with these apocalyptic show-downs is that the next time out they sometimes feel they have to top it (ala Avengers I and II). This movie was not something I would necessarily see again (maybe?) but it never let up and me and my 11 year old never thought of leaving early, well done.