Glitzy Special Effects, Waves of Star Power and a Beloved Source Can't Compensate For a Murky, Dated Screenplay

Rating: 5/10 (5 January 2015)

Wolverine gallops through time and space to deflect an ugly outcome for all of humanity, pausing frequently to give old cast members the time to wink directly into the camera and strut off set. I'm somewhat ashamed to admit I thought it was a rather large mess. The story had a lot of potential, especially in the unusual settings of both timelines, but it somewhat predictably gets tangled in the tripwires often associated with a time travel flick and spends far too much time delivering fan service when it should've been examining character motivations and further world-building. Trask and his sentinels barely play a supporting role in the proceedings, patsies at best, and I'm still struggling to comprehend Magneto's decision-making in the third act. It retains all of the unease-inspiring puns and goofball moments that I'd hoped the series could shed, making it feel dated and slightly pandering... a significant backtrack from the progress made in First Class. Even the built-in fireworks of the two heavyweight casts meeting face-to-face doesn't really work as well as it should. Seeing the new guys (McAvoy and Fassbender) alongside the old guard (Stewart and McKellen) didn't result in a torch-passing or spotlight the nuanced efforts that had so delighted me in the previous picture, it just made me yearn to see more of the senior guard. I mean, it's not all bad - the effects work is wonderful, it's a lot of fun spotting all the little love notes scattered about for hardcore fans, and the action roars along for a two-hour candyland cruise - but I had trouble shutting off my brain when earlier chapters hadn't been nearly so demanding in that department.