"X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014)

Rating: 9/10 (3 June 2014)

Perhaps the best thing that can be said about the 2014, Bryan Singer-directed "X-Men: Days of Future Past" is that it is a near-perfect melding of past and present, much like its source material. Personally, I've long considered the best "X-Men" movies to have always been under Singer's direction (i.e., 2003's "X2" - the best "X-Men" film there ever was). As an openly gay Jew who was raised in a mostly Christian community growing up, Singer knew what it was like to be an outsider, which is why, it can be said, that the best "X-Men" movies belong to him and do contain a slight personal touch.
I've admired the X-Men pretty much since the time I first got into comics and superheroes. They are my favorite superhero team, without question. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby first launched the title for Marvel Comics in 1963 as a way of voicing their feelings about racism in American society, and over the years other artists and writers have used the title as a platform to voice similar concerns about racial hatred, homophobia, anti-Semitism, religion and religious fundamentalism, and any & all other forms of hatred and intolerance.
"X-Men: Days of Future Past" is adapted from the famous two-part comic book story arc of the same name ("The Uncanny X-Men #141-142" - both of which I do own) by long-time "X-Men" writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne. Like the original story arc that inspired it, the film features old and new, meaning old characters (from Singer's first "X-Men" film series) and new ones (the new series that began with 2011's "X-Men: First Class"). The story is greatly different from the comics, but the basic premise is still the same: in a dystopian future where mutants are hunted down and either killed out-right or imprisoned in internment camps, Professor Charles Xavier/Professor X (Patrick Stewart) uses his powers to send someone - Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat in the original comics, Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) here - back in time and avert the disaster that will turn humankind against the world's mutant population and lead to an eventual mutant holocaust.
I'm going to stop there. The movie is quite thrilling and occasionally very frightening. The best thing that can be said about the picture is the fact that Bryan Singer is back on-board the film series he helped to create and bears his signature. The movie is a spectacle and can be pretty funny in some spots, i.e., the early scenes set in 1973 with the teenage mutant speedster Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver ("American Horror Story's" Evan Peters), and the younger, disenchanted Professor X (James McAvoy). And the way that it re-writes history to suit its vision is very creative (the JFK assassination, anyone?); special credit should be given to screenwriter Simon Kinberg in that regard. Oh yeah, and the fearsome Sentinels finally make their screen debut after all these years.
So far, this is the second-best "X-Men" movie I've seen. The return of Bryan Singer was very welcomed by this long-time X-Men fan. If the film's ending is any indication, I can't wait for this film's follow-up in a few years ("Age of Apocalypse" is what I've heard).
9/10