If You've Given Up on the X-Men Franchise, DON'T

Rating: 9/10 (29 May 2014)

If you are like me, and a lot of people are, you probably thought that X-Men The Last Stand sucked, with good reason, it did. Wolverine was a little better, but still rated a "Meh, not that bad". First Class was a step in the right direction, but, Days of Future Past brings us back to what we loved about the X-Men in the first movie. I had read a LOT of the reviews and the build up was tremendous, so I went in with super high expectations, which is usually a recipe for disaster, however this time I got everything I had bargained for.
The bulk of the movie is essentially set in the past so you are dealing primarily with a younger set of actors, with exception of Hugh Jackman. Jackman and Lawrence dominate most of the screen time, which was just fine with me, in that, I love Jackman as Wolverine, and Jennifer Lawrence is my favorite young actress(for movies like Silver Linings Playbook, and American Hustle; Hunger Games, not so much).
As you would expect the CGI was tremendous, but as in most good sci-fi movies, the CGI was NOT the center of this movie. The characters were what drives this movie. The writing and directing are just sooooo much better than any of the other sequels, that's what really makes this a fun and absorbing movie to watch. If you like the X-Men I promise you, you will like this movie, if you've been turned off by the last few sequels, do yourself a favor and go see this one, it is well worth it.
P.S. Peter Dinklage is everywhere these days and the more I see of him the more I like him,(yes I'm a Game of Thrones junkie). He's the evil villain here in DOFP, and he's excellent.