X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), directed by Bryan Singer, stars Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Nicholas Hoult, Evan Peters, Peter Dinklage, Elliot Page, Josh Helman, Halle Berry, Shawn Ashmore, Lucas Till, and Omar Sy. The film follows the X-Men from Fox’s original trilogy as they attempt to survive an apocalyptic future where they are hunted by sentinels – dangerous robots designed to hunt and exterminate mutants. In a last-ditch effort to save their reality, the surviving mutants (including Magneto) hatch a plan to send Wolverine (Jackman) back in time to stop to creation of the sentinels. Now in 1973, Wolverine is faced with the impossible task of convincing a young Charles Xavier (McAvoy) to set aside his differences with Magneto (Fassbender) so they can work together to prevent a dark future. 

The cast is once again too large for its own good, but the balance of focus on individual characters is strong enough to mostly forgive this overstuffed nature. The readdition of actors such as Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen remind the audience just how much they brought to the franchise in the first place. They add a rare level of inherent prestige to the material that films in this genre often lack.

 Focusing on the new additions, Peter Dinklage as Oliver Trask provides the series with one of its best political villains. Since this archetype rarely provides a character that is a mutant themself, they often fall to the wayside in the shadow of characters with flashier powers. Dinklage breaks this trend through a series of effective monologues that elevate some admittedly redundant material. The other new addition is Evan Peters as Quicksilver and he’s a true delight. His tendency to do everything at hyperspeed leads to a lot of effective humor and his wacky power provides one of the coolest action sequences the series has to offer.

 As for the returning cast from X-Men: First Class (2011), things are a mixed bag. Because this film includes a handful of familiar faces from the original trilogy, a few of the newer characters are frustratingly pushed to the side. These include characters such as Mystique (Lawrence), Beast (Hoult), and Havok (Till). Mystique is relegated to the same characterization she had in the last film while Beast is treated as no more than comedic relief. As for Havok, it seems like this film felt like it was forced to include him. He doesn’t factor into the plot and just appears to let the audience know he’s still a part of the universe. 

As for Wolverine, the series once again finds new, intelligent, and satisfying ways to use his powers. This particular premise completely justifies Wolverine’s inclusion as the main character as opposed to feeling like he is included simply for the sake of fan service. My one complaint with his characterization would have to come from the fact that he has still seemingly been unable to overcome the death of his true love, Jean Grey. That arc was explored enough in The Wolverine (2013), so anything involving Jean in this film just feels a bit redundant. 

The film’s plot borrows a lot from films such as Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991), but it’s a timeless formula that fits this particular genre like a glove. The timeline logic is a bit shaky, but the film doesn’t focus in on the nuanced details of time travel enough to create too many plot holes. Even so, I don’t necessarily expect an X-Men film to deliver in terms of rock-solid time travel logic. 

This film is impressive and exciting when considering how groundbreaking it is in terms of being the first to combine two eras of a franchise. This film isn’t talked about much, but I feel as if it led the way for blockbuster Marvel films such as Spiderman: No Way Home (2021) where legacy actors are brought back to reprise their iconic roles alongside the current actors who portray them. It’s undeniably a winning formula to provide this kind of fan service, but it’s not the soulless kind that could annoy the more seasoned viewer. This story is worthy of bringing back old characters and works nicely as an ending to their story as well as a sequel to X-Men: First Class. Superhero films often struggle with finding effective stakes for their characters this deep into a franchise, but this is yet another common pitfall this film sidesteps. There’s an overwhelming sense of brutality, desperation, and death that sustains a rare level of tension for the genre. My one small issue would be that I could’ve used a few more check-ins with the original characters’ timeline. It’s just so exciting to see them again that I would welcome any screentime involving them with open arms. 

As for some of the film’s more problematic aspects, the less grounded approach compared to X-Men: First Class and The Wolverine leads to the use of much heavier CGI, which therefore becomes noticeable and breaks a certain level of immersion. There’s also a lazy retcon involving Professor X’s crippling in the previous film. This film retcons that inevitable part of his story to do it all over again and leave the character in the same place he was at the end of the previous film.

Overall, this is one of my favorite X-Men films and is undoubtedly in my top three for the series. The exposition is efficient and the pace is swift, leading to consistent entertainment no matter if the script occasionally stumbles. It also takes advantage of its nostalgic era better than its predecessor which helps add a level of individuality that these films require to distinguish themselves. More character-driven than its peers, X-Men: Days of Future Past stands out as a passionate and generally intelligent installment in the franchise. If you’ve liked any of the X-Men films before this one, you shouldn’t be disappointed. Just don’t expect perfection, it still has the occasional flaw or two. B+