Heh?

Rating: 7/10 (22 June 2014)

I'm extremely conflicted about this movie since it seems to raise more questions than it purported to answer. It made an extravagant claim that it would connect the rebooted First Class with the original trilogy, however in my mind it has destroyed both.
Assuming the future in DoFP is 20-30 years from the end of The Wolverine, were Magneto and Prof. X just sitting on their asses after warning Logan, knowing this day would come? Where does Logan get adamantium to cover his claws again after The Wolverine (he slashes Kitty with metal, not bone claws)? Everyone thinks Prof. X should be the one to go back in time, but it's only after Kitty tells him he wouldn't survive the trip that Logan volunteers. Um... wouldn't both Prof. X and Logan know this already?? On top of that, the scene at the end of The Wolverine implies "we all have our gifts", implying it would be Prof. X sending Logan back. HE DOESN'T DO CRAP. Kitty's the one using her power. X just mind melds with Logan so he can talk to himself. Assuming DoFP never happened (no time travel), Trask develops and deploys sentinels in the 70's! That's 60 years before the future in DoFP! Seriously, no one knew this was coming? Shouldn't it have already come? After that presentation at the White house, did they just put the sentinels in storage for 40 years then start selling them at the end of The Wolverine (the 70's model is shown on the monitors at the airport where Logan encounters Magneto and the Professor)? Given her outrage at the experimentation on Mutants, why is Mystique/Raven imitating Stryker at the end? Does she want to be the one to give Logan adamantium? Does she just give him up to Stryker? WTF? And finally, does Magneto just... go good at the end? Foregoing the Brotherhood of Mutants and retiring in a country home? I mean, Phoenix in X3 apparently never occurs after Logan 'changes' history, and in the end, Phoenix was a consequence of Liberty Island, which was a consequence of the Brotherhood being in existence. And Jean's death at Logan's hand (claws) was a huge subplot of The Wolverine, which it looks like never happened in this new future. And let's just ignore the fact that the Sentinels in the Danger Room in X3 look nothing like the ones presented in DoFP (future or past) despite the fact they've known about them for almost 30-40 years at that point.
Sigh. I could go on and on with these circular questions, but they start to give one a headache. Which is my main problem with the film. I like it's style, direction, and I even think it had a good story to tell... but that is only if you ignore every other X-Men film. Which brings us to the paradox.
We as fans were led to believe that this film was going to concatenate First Class with the original trilogy, something that was even hinted at in The Wolverine (which I happen to think was the best X-Men movie, with X2 coming in a close second). None of them are perfect in terms of continuity, but I just can't help but I just can't help but think this was the worst. It's almost as if it occurred in a parallel universe. Like Fringe or something.
Edit: In my list of favorite X-Men films, I seem to have forgotten First Class, which I think was an excellent picture. I'd probably wedge it in between The Wolverine and X2. I just wish they had gone on with 'Second' Class or whatever they would have named it instead of the hodgepodge that is DoFP. Also, I forgot about X-Men: Origins... which I admit I never saw but heard it was awful... so I don't even consider it 'canon'.
Ignorance may very well be bliss in this case. I really wanted to like this movie; but then I started thinking. Que sera.
Edit: OK, Fox decided to release "The Rouge Cut" of this movie and I have to say the plot of this 'director's cut' is much more entertaining. Don't get me wrong, it's still full of holes that make little to no sense when compared with the rest of the franchises canon, but I think the added sequence of older Magneto saving Rogue makes up for it. Enjoyment still requires heads be in the sand but at least now I can find it enjoyable without persistently asking question after question.