Can the past be changed?

Rating: 8/10 (31 July 2016)

In a not too distant future mutants, and those who may give birth to mutants are hunted down by Sentinels; robots that can sense mutant DNA and are resistant to mutant attacks thanks to a design that incorporates mutant DNA taken from Mystique in 1973. There is one way to prevent the war but it won't be easy. Kitty Pryde uses her powers to send Wolverine's consciousness back to his 1973 body in order to stop Mystique killing the Sentinel's designer Bolivar Trask the murder that led to the programme being authorised. It won't be easy; he will have to persuade both Charles Xavier and Magneto to help him; the former is taking medication that removes his power and the latter is imprisoned deep below the Pentagon! Even when he has them it won't be easy and the clock is ticking as time passes at the same rate in the future and the Sentinels are closing in on the Mutants.
This is a solid addition to the X-Men franchise; it starts with an exciting battle scene before setting up an enjoyable and interesting story. The story moves at a good pace and incorporates several impressive set-pieces; most notably the prison break to rescue Magneto and a scene at the Paris Peace Conference where the mutants are revealed to the world. All the action leads to an exciting show down in Washington DC. As one would expect the special effects are great and the cast does a fine job. Hugh Jackman's Wolverine naturally dominates the proceedings but the rest of the cast are impressive too; most notably Jennifer Lawrence who is great as Mystique. Peter Dinklage makes a good 'bad guy' as Trask; I liked the fact that he isn't played as an evil character. The ending does undo some of the things that happened in the opening trilogy leading to some enjoyable appearances from some familiar characters that hadn't been seen for a while. Overall an enjoyable film that fans of the franchise should enjoy.