Tempus Fugit

Rating: 7/10 (31 May 2014)

X Men: First Class was a clever re-jigging by having new younger actors playing Magneto and Xavier and focusing on the origins of the X Men.
However like last year's Star Trek: Into Darkness, the second film gets away from a fresh page and goes back to its franchise history here we have the return of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen playing their older selves as past meets the future. It might be because both actors are not getting any younger that the producers decided to accelerate their appearance in the franchise.
The glue is Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) as he travels into the past and prevent Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) killing scientist Trask (anagram of Stark!) By killing Trask (Peter Dinklage) the governments declare war on mutants and develop the robotic anti-mutant Sentinels who have almost wiped out the mutants in the future.
As Wolverine returns he see's McAvoy's Xavier, addicted to a serum, drunk and without his powers. Erik is in a maximum security prison but aided by Quicksilver, they free Erik and set about to Paris to stop Raven. The prison escape scene is marvellously done balancing wit and bravado.
The film is mainly set in the past as there is distrust and anger between Charles and Erik and whether Erik can be fully trusted. The set pieces are well executed with a balance of wit and pathos. Because of the focus on the newer actors there is little time devoted to the classic X Men actors as they are reduced to almost cameo status.
As a stand alone film I found the film enjoyable, its well paced the film hardly misses a beat. You can quibble about the time travel elements and the changing of the time strands. McAvoy, Fassbender, Lawrence, Jackman all deliver in the acting stakes although surely I cannot be alone in thinking that the ageless Logan is actually looking old.
Bryan Singer the returning director of the first two X Men films brings a tight narrative focus and delivers a film with little flab but plenty of fab.