A brilliant addition to a very hit or miss franchise. Dare I say better than "The Avengers"?

Rating: 8/10 (4 June 2014)

I always thought the X-Men were the real deal. When everyone was praising the brilliance of The Avengers I was more preoccupied in the compelling dynamic between the 2 leads, Xavier and Magneto in X-men First Class. Despite loving "Earths Mightiest Heroes" the story hasn't got a lot of grit to it and is rather zany. X-Men on the other hand I find to be a lot more compelling especially through it's sub-text of societies prejudice on minorities these are highlighted specifically well in First Class and X2.
By taking the principal characters from both these films and bringing them together into a desperate attempt to warn the past of the atrocities of the future in Days of Future Past is a work of genius. Days of Future Past is loaded full of exceptional performances James McAvoy is superb as a young Professor who has lost his way and has withdrawn from offering guidance. Michael Fassbender's performance is magnetic quite literally...but figuratively it is a fascinating portrayal of a man determined to get his way yet still showing respect for his old friend Charles Xavier. This dynamic that has carried on from First Class really fascinates me. Yes the action scenes with the mutant side characters like Blink and Storm are very impressive but the conflicting principals of these 2 characters is the big draw to me.
Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian's interpretation of these characters is a much welcome return adding an element of class to the rowdiness of there youthful selves. However I wanted to see more of the desperate survival within the post apocalyptic future. A whole movie could've been done on establishing the bleak future of a world ruled by Sentinels.
The big poster characters of these movies Wolverine and Mystique are also great. Wolverine is a bit of a bore in his solo outings. Having him function within a team is infinitely more compelling. Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique has many poignant scenes with the story hinging on her actions entirely which really raise the stakes.
With such an expansive cast all having a chance to shine it is a massive shame that Bryan Singer didn't direct the major let down that was X-Men 3 and Origins. It's nice that the characters act like the events never happened but it's a shame that I can't. As a standalone entry to the series X-Men Days of Future Past has a thoughtful script that doesn't rely on mindless action sequences to keep your attention. Along with it's stellar cast, this is a truly amazing installment to a messy franchise that now has a chance to develop.