Entertaining and engaging

Rating: 7/10 (3 June 2011)

The first X-men movie was great. X2 was even better. The Last Stand was a big let down and the Wolverine spin off I haven't bothered to see yet. So this would either be the final nail in the mutant coffin or a much needed revival of strength. It turned out to be the latter. The best part was definitely James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. I enjoyed every second they had on screen separately but together they were pure gold. They echoed the equal genius of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen in the previous films and they didn't try to imitate them but instead made their own interpretations of Professor X and Magneto. Kevin Bacon was also a nice and evil pig of a villain and I had never seen Mystique be this interesting before. Beast and Azazel were cool too. However I didn't really connect to the younger recruits like Havok and Banshee then again I didn't connect with Cyclops or Storm in the previous films. The action was pretty good. The final battle in particular was a feast for my eyes. The thing I feel could have been better was the pacing. It was just a little too fast. I barely had time to get to know the characters. That aside this was an effective popcorn flick with some good action and a well executed story.