X-Men: Days of Future Past is an energetic blast of summer entertainment. Smart,
engaging, and filled with eye-popping action and a surprisingly emotional story,
it’s a superhero movie done right. An all-star cast along with some clever
action and a few nifty new twists makes X-Men the most enjoyable superhero movie
of 2014 so far.

Wolverine (a buff, restrained Hugh Jackman) must go back in time to prevent
Raven/Mystique (alluring mega-star Jennifer Lawrence) from killing mutant-hating
dwarf Bolliver Traak. Her actions bring about the rise of the sentinels and the end
of mankind/mutant kind. The future is one of those desolate landscapes made
popular by Cameron’s Terminator movies. Wolverine must travel back to the 70s
and bring together younger versions of Professor X (an impressive James McAvoy)
and Magneto (Michael Fassbender, radiating cool contempt and sneers) at a time
when they couldn’t be further apart. The stand out action scene involves a
teenager named Quicksilver (finally a young mutant not full of angst and
sadness)!  and his slow-motion prison break of Magneto. This scene staged by director
Bryan Singer as a bullet time style comedic symphony is a triumph and so is this
dark, but ultimately hopeful summer blockbuster.

Grade: A-

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