X-Men DOFP is the best blockbuster of 2014

Rating: 7/10 (5 September 2014)

The X-Men franchise has set itself apart, among the gluttonous crop of superhero movies in recent years. After seven films, the characters are very familiar to us, and the latest installment is arguably the best yet, with its predecessor as the only other contender for that title. This is vastly better than the two stand-alone Wolverine films.
This movie wastes no time, putting us right in the action from the opening credits. The storyline is complex and frankly doesn't make an enormous amount of sense, but with a modest disbelief suspension makes for an entertaining couple of hours. It's also a decent science-fiction film in its own right.
The all-star cast does a satisfactory job. (I'm not really convinced by Jennifer Lawrence, sorry.) It's satisfying to have so many characters, which was a hallmark of the comic book series. We could easily be experiencing this story in the pages of a Marvel mag.
The film stumbles a bit when it begins to fall into the blockbuster trap of trying to pack in too many spectacular scenes. On the other hand, the musical score is far less obnoxious than we've been hearing in other recent Hollywood movies.
I was surprised to learn this was directed by the same person who helmed "Superman Returns". I thought that film was a disaster. So he seems to have evolved in his artistic skill.
These new X-Men movies demonstrate how to convincingly make prequels, in contrast to some other blockbuster franchises. One wonders why they gave the coveted Star Wars sequel to JJ Abrams when there are clearly better directors in the business.