I’ve been waiting for this movie since it was announced. The coming together of mutants in order to stop stuff with time travel thrown in, what more could you want? After seeing many reviews around online, this movie skyrocketed to the top. It was raved about since it was released. Days of Future Past was marketed as the film in which James McAvoy meets Patrick Stewart basically. I didn’t watch many trailers/TV spots due to not wanting to spoil the movie too much. It paid off, let me tell you! I knew Bryan Singer is back in the Director’s chair and Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart were returning, that’s pretty much the main info I had.

Of course, X-Men: Days of Future Past is a superhero flick. However, once you throw a dashing of time travel into the mix, you get some very interesting results. The movie conveys a message of hope. An overall feeling of stand side-by-side rather than fight. Show the path to greatness rather than block things off and take them for your own.

In Days of Future Past, we are introduced to a dystopian future. There are robots known as Sentinels and basically they are destroying the mutants. The creator of said Sentinels is Bolivar Trask. Trask was murdered by Mystique in 1973. The murder will treat Trask as a martyr, take Mystique’s blood and make her mutant powers reverse engineered so the Sentinels can adapt to any power. In order to stop this from all happening, Wolverine’s consciousness has to be sent back to 1973 via Kitty Pryde’s powers so that he can stop Mystique, stop the Sentinels and stop the slaughter. When we are introduced to 1973, Charles Xavier seems to be half the man he was. He’s now a junkie on a serum that gives the walking ability back he’s wanted but takes away his telepathic powers. Most of the mutants have been stationed to fight in the Vietnam War and basically, Xavier is broken.

Magneto needs to be broken out of a prison, situated beneath The Pentagon. Why is he in prison? Well Magneto bent the bullet that went on to kill the president of that time, Mr John F Kennedy. Once Xavier is persuaded by Wolverine, they enlist the help of Quicksilver. Quicksilver is a blazing fast mutant. Once the jailbreak occurs, we are greeted with one of the best cinematic uses of slow-motion I have ever witnessed. As Magneto, Xavier and Wolverine stand, due to ultra-fast motion of Quicksilver, we see the superfast mutant move body parts for fun, poke a guy’s cheek, move bullets and ultimately save the group’s asses. The film carries on to some great scenes, including a young Xavier and Magneto argument in which the emotion is on fire. As far as mutants and superheroes go, it’s pretty believable at its core. The twists and turns along this delightful road of cinema will keep you hooked, just remember to watch the previous movies before this one……….well at least X-Men: First Class.

Reprising his role as the young Charles Xavier is fantastic actor, James McAvoy. Opposite him is Michael Fassbender as the torn up younger Magneto. Hugh Jackman returns as the bearded, clawed up and usually annoyed, Wolverine. Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Jennifer Lawrence, Ellen Page, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage and a load of others round out this ensemble cast. I have to say, they all put in a marvellous performance (yes, that pun was intended). The two stand out actors, for me, are James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. They have such chemistry on-screen and play their opposites like it was what they were born to do. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is a lot more down-to-Earth in DOFP and isn’t the kick-ass claw killer like we are used to. Of course, there is Wolverine’s own movies for that! In the start of the 1973 scenes, when you see Xavier as a broken man, you can really sympathize with the state of his well-being. Throughout, Fassbender seems to be playing with his emotions in a game of Tennis. He just doesn’t know whether to stand with the mutants or go on his own path of revenge against Humanity. Jennifer Lawrence plays a commanding role, back as Mystique. I have to say she is becoming a very good actress, very quickly. Her rise in ability is skyrocketing. It’s great to see Peter Dinklage, especially after watching him in Game of Thrones. There are a few cameo appearances I will let you see for yourself, however there isn’t a Stan Lee appearance. I wasn’t really looking out for him due to being tied into the plot but it’s a shame that he wasn’t there. Stan Lee has a very good reason for not appearing however, he chose to attend a Fan Expo in Toronto, Ontario instead of being in DOFP. Quoting that he “couldn’t disappoint the fans so he came out to Fan Expo instead.”

Taking back the reigns of the Director is “X-Men” and “X2 – X-Men United” director, Bryan Singer. It’s fantastic that he has returned back to direct, he gives the fans what they want to see in DOFP. Coming back after leaving before The Last Stand, Origins: Wolverine and First Class, it was nice to see the movies return to form. It’s good to note that Singer missed directing X-Men: The Last Stand due to directing Superman Returns, well that went well………anyway, it’s great to see him back. The film as a whole is paced very well, there’s even scenes with glimpses of slow-motion and it’s used to expert precision! The scene mentioned before, starring Quicksilver in a super-fast slow-motion mash-up, is done amazingly awesomely. How on Earth they pulled that off I would love to know! It’s brilliance. The CGI as a whole with the use of portal travel, a flying stadium and beams of stuff, these techniques also work wonders intertwined with the main story. From the opening titles, that look like they throw back to the first movie, to the end, it’s a thrill-ride worth the price of admission and the hellacious prices of cinema refreshments.

The soundtrack is as it should be. Composed by John Ottman, who previously composed for X2 – X-Men United, does a brilliant job of scoring DOFP. The soundtrack has that all-to-familiar comic book superhero feel that we have all come to know and love.

If you like comic books, the X-Men or just a good action/sci-fi movie, then go and watch this movie. Take your friends, take your girlfriend, and even take your grandad! They’ll all find something to enjoy, just make sure they’ve watched at least X-Men: First Class first! There’s a great after-credits scene for X-Men fans and it’s a great teaser for what’s to come. I would love to see this movie again soon and will definitely be getting it on Blu-ray! For a rating, X-Men: Days of Future Past gets a solid 10/10.