Easily the best movie in the series since Singer last directed!

Rating: 10/10 (23 May 2014)

'X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST': Five Stars (Out of Five)
The seventh 'X-MEN' movie is once again directed by Bryan Singer (returning to the franchise for the first time since 2003's 'X-MEN 2') and written by Simon Kinberg (who also co-wrote 'X-MEN: THE LAST STAND') with Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman (Vaughn and Goldman also co-wrote 'X-MEN: FIRST CLASS', which Vaughn also directed). It's based on a 2 issue storyline from the Marvel Comics comic book 'The Uncanny X-Men', called 'Days of Future Past' (written by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, in 1981), which has the X-Men using Kitty Pride's abilities, to time travel a person's mind back in time, in order to stop a dystopian future where mutants are hunted down and killed by Sentinels (giant robots). Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Ellen Page, Halle Berry, Shawn Ashmore, Daniel Cudmore, Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart all reprise their roles from previous movies. Anna Paquin also returns as Rogue but most of her scenes were cut from the final theatrical film. Peter Dinklage, Omar Sy, Evan Peters, Josh Helman, Bingbing Fan, Booboo Stewart and Adan Canto all join the cast this time around as well. I found it to be highly entertaining and everything I hoped it would be; easily the best movie in the series since Singer last directed.
The story begins in 2023; a dark dystopian future where mutants are being killed off by shape-shifting machines called Sentinels. A small group of X-Men have been able to survive by using Kitty Pryde's (Page) power to transport another mutant's mind, Bishop (Sy), back in time (to warn them about future Sentinel attacks). Professor Charles Xavier (Stewart), now working with Magneto (McKellen), comes up with the idea of time-traveling back to a crucial event, in 1973, in order to prevent the current nightmarish world (they live in) from ever happening. Wolverine (Jackman) is the only one who can survive several decades of time-travel (due to his healing powers), so it becomes his mission to find the young Xavier (McAvoy) and Magneto (Fassbender) and get them to stop Mystique (Lawrence) from assassinating a man named Bolivar Trask (Dinklage). Trask designed the Sentinels and became a martyr, in the war on mutants, when he was killed. Mystique was also captured and her DNA was used to give the Sentinels the abilities they now have (to replicate any mutant's powers). Stopping these events should then change the future and it's up to Wolverine, Charles, Magneto and Beast (Hoult) to pull it off.
I read 'The Uncanny X-Men' comics when I was a kid (and all of it's spin-offs, like 'X-Force', 'Cable' and 'X-Factor') for multiple years (and read several years of back issues too, including 'Days of Future Past'). So I'm a big fan; next to Spider-Man they're my favorites superheroes. The X-Men stories have always had very cool sci-fi elements, and plenty of action, but they've also had deeper themes about dealing with bigotry and being an outsider (like Spider-Man). This is why I could always really identify with the characters and the stories. I love Singer's first two movie adaptations ('X-MEN 2' is one of my all-time favorite films) because they do such a great job of bringing the characters, and those issues, to the big screen. This movie is equally as impressive; it has all the spectacle and action (that all of the films in the franchise are known for) but it also does a really good job of capturing those human elements (and emotions). It's probably my 2nd favorite movie in the series and it's great to see almost all of the cast back for it. I especially enjoy watching Jennifer Lawrence, in the role of Mystique, because she makes a great badass action heroine and it's cool to see her playing a kick-ass villain this time as well. Jackman, Fassbender, McAvoy and all the rest are of course good once again too but it's Singer (back at the helm) that truly gives the movie it's masterpiece status.
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