Logan (2017) review

There have been many iconic superhero film casting choices over the years; Christopher Reeve as Superman, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, the list goes on. But, easily, one of the most iconic casting choices of the entire genre, namely due to how long he’s been in the role, has been Hugh Jackman in the role of the clawed mutant James ‘Logan’ Howlett AKA Wolverine. Jackman was first cast in the role in Bryan Singer’s first X-Men film back in 2000, and while some may have taken issue with a 6’2’’ Broadway actor taking on the role of a character who is a full foot shorter by comparison in the comics, it would end up becoming the definitive role of Jackman’s career. He would then go on to reprise his role in almost every subsequent X-Men film, either in a leading role or an awesome cameo. The popularity of the character even resulted in a few spin-offs. However, the Wolverine spin-offs have been a bit more hit-and-miss. The first of these, 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, was savaged by both critics and audiences for its flawed screenplay, disastrous deviations from the comics (e.g. ‘Deadpool’, a term used loosely in this case), and for being overcrowded with other mutants. Even Jackman himself has admitted that it didn’t turn out as well as he had hoped. Thankfully, he managed to get Wolverine a much more satisfying spin-off in 2013 when he teamed up with director James Mangold (whom he had previously worked with on 2001’s Kate and Leopold) for The Wolverine, based off the popular 1982 limited series of the same name by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. And while not perfect, it at least did better with critics and audiences compared to the previous film. However, the film truly shines with its unrated Extended Edition. Debuting with the film’s home media release, this was easily the superior cut of the film, partially because it gave fans some of the R-rated Wolverine action that they had been hoping for after many years of PG-13 rated Wolverine action in the previous films.

But, this year, fans of the character are finally getting what they’ve always wanted, as Mangold and Jackman team up once again for their second Wolverine solo film, this one simply titled Logan. Like The Wolverine, the film takes inspiration from a famous storyline in the comics; in this case, Old Man Logan, a 2008 mini-series by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven which centers on an aged Wolverine in an alternate future where supervillains have taken over the world. However, in this instance, the film is not a direct adaptation of the source material, probably because some of the key characters featured in that story are over at Marvel Studios. But, of course, most of the hype surrounding this film is due to one primary reason, and that is that it is set to be Hugh Jackman’s final outing in his career-defining role. As such, he and Mangold seek to give the iconic X-Men member a fitting onscreen send-off. And, thanks in part to the success of last year’s Deadpool, the two were given the chance to do what fans of the character have been demanding since Jackman first debuted in the role; an R-rated Wolverine film that wasn’t tied down by the limits of the PG-13 rating that was given to every other X-Men film to date (minus Deadpool, of course). Having now watched this film, I can safely say that it does live up to its status as a gritty and brutal R-rated Wolverine film. But, of course, now the big question remains; does this new film manage to not only be the best of the Wolverine films but also serve as a fitting send-off for one of the superhero genre’s greatest icons? The answer… is a resounding yes.

The year is 2029 and most of the mutant population has gone extinct. One of the last surviving mutants, Logan (Hugh Jackman) AKA Wolverine, now spends most of his days working as a chauffeur in Texas. He also looks after his increasingly senile friend, telepath Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), with the help of mutant tracker Caliban (Stephen Merchant) as it becomes clear that Logan himself is starting to age as well due to the diminishing nature of his healing powers as the result of poisoning caused by the adamantium in his body. One day, he is approached by a woman named Gabriela (Elizabeth Rodriguez) who asks for his help in escorting her and a young girl named Laura (Dafne Keen) to a place known as ‘Eden’ in North Dakota. Logan reluctantly accepts but Gabriela is soon murdered and he, Xavier, and Laura begin to be pursued by Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook), the ruthless, cybernetically-enhanced head of security of the company that Gabriela used to work for, Transigen. Logan learns that the company had been experimenting with mutant DNA on the children that they had been breeding. When the children were set to be killed following the completion of a different mutant project known as ‘X-24’, Gabriela helped several of the children escape, Laura being one of them. Not only that, but it’s revealed that Laura was bred with Wolverine’s DNA, resulting in her not only having the same abilities as him but also technically being his ‘daughter’. Now forced to go on the run, the trio embarks on a road trip across the country in hopes of finding the mythical ‘Eden’.

One of the coolest things about director James Mangold’s two entries in the superhero genre is that both films are more than just ‘superhero films’. The Wolverine, being set in Japan, utilized a lot of the elements that are commonly seen in samurai action films, especially from a stylistic perspective. And in the case of Logan, he basically made a superhero film that was a western, a genre that he’s certainly well-versed in having directed the 2007 remake of 3:10 to Yuma. It’s also worth noting that these last two Wolverine films don’t rely heavily on action sequences. Now, that’s not to say that they aren’t there because they are. But just keep in mind that this is a slow-moving film, especially considering that it’s over two hours long (admittedly, it may be just a tad bit overlong). But, that’s ultimately one of the key elements of the film’s narrative. The longer runtime allows you to become fully invested in the lead trio of Wolverine, Xavier, and Laura as they embark on their road-trip, so much so that even if you probably guessed in advance how it’s all going to end, the film ends on one of the best emotional notes in the history of the superhero genre. It also very much stands on its own compared to the other X-Men films; for one thing, they don’t tie it too much into the series’ overall continuity, which is probably for the best because it just would’ve sparked more debate over the series’ infamously convoluted canon. As for the action sequences, fans will be pleased to know that the film does live up to its status as an R-rated Wolverine film. These action sequences are intense and bloody and many of them will have you audibly saying ‘oh s***’ when they happen because of how brutal they are. Seriously, Mangold doesn’t hold back on them; not even Deadpool was this intense.

I’ve talked about how great Hugh Jackman has been in the role of Wolverine many, many times over the years (in fact, I just did so again the other day) so I’ll try not to repeat myself too much here. However, this may arguably be his greatest performance in the role to date and if so, it’s only fitting that it came from his last appearance as the character. Logan’s trademark hard-edged persona is still there, of course, but that’s well-mixed with the tragic nature of him being at a point in his life where he’s clearly past his prime. Patrick Stewart is also great as usual in the role of Xavier, whose role in the film is also one based in a tragic light as we sadly see the beloved telepath becoming more and more senile by the day. In fact, one of the darkest plot-points in the film establishes that Xavier inadvertently had a hand in the decimation of the mutant population due to the intense, seizure-induced psychic attacks that he now suffers from on a regular basis. Still, he works great off Logan, as always, and while the film does maintain a generally serious tone throughout, the R-rating does allow for some funny moments in which Stewart gets to be a bit cruder than he usually is in these films. The two are joined by newcomer Dafne Keen, who makes one hell of a great first impression in the role of the primarily mute but often quite volatile young girl who becomes the closest thing that Wolverine has ever had to a daughter. Stephen Merchant also has a memorable supporting role as Caliban, who had previously appeared in a much smaller role in X-Men: Apocalypse. As for the villains, they’re admittedly the weakest links of the film. Still, Boyd Holbrook proves to be an enjoyably despicable antagonist in the role of Donald Pierce, who’s shown to be quite a big fan of Ol’ Wolverine. The same can’t really be said, though, for Richard E. Grant, who plays Zander Rice, a scientist who is revealed to have an interesting personal connection to Wolverine. Despite this, he’s barely in the film.

Hugh Jackman has been in the role of Wolverine for nearly two decades. He was first cast in 1999 and has since appeared in all but one of the ten currently released films in the X-Men franchise. And with Logan, he and director James Mangold give the character the proper send-off that he deserves in a film that is pretty much the official finale of the original X-Men series. From an action perspective, this film delivers some of the most epic and brutal action sequences that the genre has ever seen. But, through all that bloodshed, stabbing, and numerous scenes of limbs being sliced off, the direction from Mangold is fantastic. This is an unrelentingly brutal but also fully emotional story in which the film’s [possibly] overlong runtime gives you plenty of time to care about the main characters in their endeavors. As such, if you’ve been a longtime fan of this franchise, it is practically guaranteed that you will get teary-eyed at one point or another while watching this film. Thus, not only is this the best Wolverine film, by far, but it’s one of the best installments of the entire X-Men series. Clearly, 2017’s lineup of live-action superhero films is off to a great start. And on that note, I’d like to salute the legend that is Hugh Jackman by saying thank you, Mr. Jackman, for all your contributions to both the X-Men franchise and the superhero genre in general. Because at the end of the day, the story of Weapon X ended on the best note possible.  

Rating: 5/5!

(P.S. When you go to see this film, be sure to get there in time before the film starts. Without giving anything away, there’s a special little clip that plays before the opening credits that’s sure to put a smile on your face.)

X-Men: Days of Future Past: SPOILER Post

WARNING!!!

The following post contains spoilers for the film ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’. If you have not seen the film yet, please refer to my spoiler-free review of the film (link provided below) because I will be addressing key moments within the film. Continue at your own risk!

Spoiler-Free Review: (http://rimoviecorner.blogspot.com/2014/05/x-men-days-of-future-past-2014-review.html)

Like with pretty much every superhero film that comes out nowadays, there is quite a lot to talk about in regards to ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ that I just couldn’t talk about in a non-spoiler review… and I really mean it. Before I started writing this, I made a list of all of the points that I wanted to talk about in this post and there were at least 8 different elements of the film that I had listed that I wanted to talk about. So in that case, let’s not waste any time. Let’s delve further into what is no doubt the most anticipated film of the year for many people and why wouldn’t it be being that it’s an adaptation of an iconic ‘X-Men’ storyline, directed by the man who helmed the first two X-Men films (again like my previous review, I’m ignoring the allegations made against him because they don’t matter here), and stars a big ensemble cast of actors/actresses from both the original X-Men trilogy and the film ‘X-Men: First Class’ plus a few new additions as well. And at the end of the day, this film really delivers. Yes, ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ is not only one of the best X-Men films to date, possibly even the best, but easily one of the best films of this year so far.

So of course, this film features a big ensemble cast but at the end of the day, it mainly focuses on four characters; Wolverine, being that he’s the one who goes back in time to try and set things right, and the ‘First Class’ iterations of Professor X, Magneto, and Mystique. But the good thing here is that Wolverine doesn’t overshadow the other three which I’m aware is what some people were worried about and I can see why because Wolverine has basically been the main character of the film franchise since the beginning (he’s literally been in every film). Now, that’s not entirely a bad thing as Hugh Jackman has been fantastic in the role but in the original trilogy of films, he did overshadow some other members of the cast, most notably James Marsden as Cyclops. Here, his role in the film is handled very well while still serving as one of the main characters; Jackman of course is excellent again but he’s not the ‘main’ character in this film. Instead, he lets James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence lead the film. Plus, I have to say it is sort of funny how in a case like this where the X-Men of the future send someone back in time so that they can convince their younger selves to stop the dark future from happening, they end up sending the one member of the group who’s probably the least diplomatic out of all of them. Still, it fits well into the story considering that Wolverine, being the one who can heal himself, is the only one who could possibly survive going back many decades in time.

But of this cast, the biggest standout of the entire group would have to be James McAvoy as Xavier. In ‘X-Men: First Class’ the standout was easily Michael Fassbender as Magneto. Not only did he really channel Ian McKellen’s performance in the original X-Men trilogy through his own performance in that film, but it can be argued that ‘First Class’ was pretty much Magneto’s film as a lot of the story did revolve around him. Days of Future Past, on the other hand, is easily Xavier’s film. What I really love about both this film and ‘First Class’ is that this younger Xavier isn’t the Xavier from the original trilogy just yet. In ‘First Class’, he was a bit of a playboy before he ended up getting paralyzed and in ‘Days of Future Past’ it’s clear that everything that happened during the climax of the previous film has really hit him hard because he’s lost so much in the years since the whole Cuban Missile Crisis incident. He’s lost his best friend (Magneto), his foster sister (Mystique), and the use of his legs after a bullet deflected by Magneto ended up hitting him in his spine. However, in this film, we learn that because of a serum developed by Hank McCoy (Beast), he’s now able to walk again but he no longer has his telepathic powers. This, along with the closure of his school for gifted youngsters (partially due to the Vietnam War) has led to him giving up on his dream of humans and mutants living in harmony.

The writing for Xavier in this film is just fantastic as is McAvoy’s performance in the role. This Xavier has become a broken man after all that had happened to him in the previous film, meaning that he needs some guidance in order to get his life back on track and McAvoy perfectly captures the bitterness and frustration that the young Xavier is experiencing throughout this film. This film really shows the growth of Xavier as he slowly becomes the Xavier that we remembered from the previous trilogy. Speaking of which, let’s talk about that great scene between the Xavier of the past and the Xavier of the present/future (the latter of course being played by Patrick Stewart). This was just an excellent moment, mostly because the filmmakers weren’t trying to revel in the fact that they were able to get both Xaviers on screen together. It’s an effective character moment for the young Xavier as his future self inspires him to ‘hope again’ and this scene uses both the young and future Xaviers to great effect. Of course, as I said in my original review, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are sort of just making cameos in this film, but regardless it was still great to see to these legends back in these roles once again. After all, this might actually be ‘the’ last time we’ll be seeing these two in these movies. We don’t know if that’s true yet, but if that ends up being the case, then I believe that they both went out on a very good note.

So while this movie is more focused on Xavier than Magneto this time, Michael Fassbender is of course excellent once again in the role. Heck, Magneto has his own qualms against Xavier for not being there to help him protect their fellow mutants. It’s revealed through some dialogue and some documents that Mystique comes across in Bolivar Trask’s office that pretty much every other mutant from ‘First Class’ aside from Xavier, Magneto, Mystique, Beast, and Havok (who makes a brief appearance in the scene where Mystique infiltrates a military camp in Vietnam) was killed, some of them through ‘Project Wideawake’, a military operation led by Trask, so this of course is keeping in line with Magneto’s views that humans are the enemy and this does help give a lot of contrast to his relationship with Xavier as he accuses him of failing their fellow mutants. Also excellent here is Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique; in fact, even better than in ‘First Class’. Here, we see her starting to become more like the Mystique from the original trilogy (as portrayed by Rebecca Romjin) in terms of her ‘cold-blooded killer’ nature. But at the same time, while her new outlook has certainly been influenced by her joining Magneto at the end of ‘First Class’, she’s still torn between the bitter views on humanity of Magneto and the compassionate/optimistic outlook on the future that Xavier has.

So seeing how this film mainly focuses on Wolverine, Xavier, Magneto, and Mystique, that means that most of the other members of the cast don’t get much to do by comparison. Probably the one who gets the most to do out of all of them is Nicholas Hoult as Beast (on that note, the makeup for him as Beast is much better here than it was in ‘First Class’) but even then he’s mainly just there to assist Xavier and Wolverine. As I said in the review, there’s also not really a definitive villain; Bolivar Trask is mostly just a side character. Still, that shouldn’t be held against this movie as Trask is in the film enough and of course Peter Dinklage is excellent as he usually is. Despite all of this, this is not that much of a problem because A.) The film does focus on the right characters, B.) Every member of the cast serves their purpose to the story well and C.) There actually isn’t any weak link in the cast. This is probably the first X-Men film where everyone in the cast is terrific. Unfortunately, some of the other X-Men movies, despite having really good casts, have each had their own ‘weak link’ in its cast, like January Jones in ‘X-Men: First Class’ or Svetlana Khodchenkova in ‘The Wolverine’. Here though, every member of the cast does a good job, even if some of them are only on screen for like a few minutes or so.

But an even greater aspect about this film in regards to its ensemble cast, which really help the action sequences in this movie stand out even more, is how it handles what can very much be referred to as the crucial dynamic of the ‘X-Men’ franchise; teamwork. Now most of the action sequences in this movie occur in the future and it is there where you really get to see the X-Men working together as a team. This whole team dynamic is done better here than in any of the other X-Men films that came before this one. And on that note, the action sequences in this film are terrific, especially the one at the end, which is easily the best climax out of any X-Men film as we cut back and forth between the past and the future as Wolverine, Xavier, and Beast look to stop Mystique and Magneto in 1973 while the X-Men of the future try to prevent the Sentinels from finding Kitty Pryde and Wolverine so that Kitty can keep Wolverine’s mind in the past long enough for him to complete his mission; otherwise, the future will stay the same and nothing will have been changed because of it. As noted before Wolverine goes back in time, this is pretty much the last chance they have in ending this war before it ever began so as a result, the final action sequence here is just fantastic in pretty much every aspect (pacing, cinematography, music, etc…).

Though easily one of the best moments in the entire film is the sequence with Quicksilver (Evan Peters) when he helps Wolverine, Xavier, and Beast break Magneto out of prison. You really have to feel bad for Peters considering all of the flak he got before this film came out. First, a lot of people were complaining about his character’s costume once it was first revealed and then he appeared in a Carl’s Jr ad which probably got even more negative attention, though I’ll admit that I’m not too certain as to why this ad in particular was ‘that bad’ (now the one with Mystique… that one I get but Quicksilver’s? Not really…). Of course, all of those complaints ultimately became pointless because the character was well-executed in the film. Peters really captures the character’s fun-loving but also occasionally pain in the ass personality and the scene where he’s running through the Pentagon preventing the guards from firing at Xavier, Magneto, and Wolverine is both fun and funny at the same time (he gives one guard a wedgie, he has another guard punch himself in the face, and this is all while he has headphones on and listening to Jim Croce’s ‘Time in a Bottle’… and that’s not even listing everything that happens during this scene). Heck, he even alludes to who his father may be when he mentions to Magneto that his mother ‘knew someone who could move metal (hint hint). It’s like the Hulk in ‘The Avengers’… Quicksilver’s not in the film that much but his scenes are so great that we’re left begging for more.

Now of course, one of the big things about this film is how it alters the timeline so much that certain events from ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ and ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ never occurred. In other words, the filmmakers were looking to fix the many problems that plagued both films in terms of the series’ timeline and in short, they do succeed here. In regards to erasing the events of ‘X3’, that occurs at the end of the film. After Wolverine returns to the future after his mission is over, he awakens back in Xavier’s school and finds that all of the other X-Men (including Storm, Beast, and Xavier) are all alive, and that also includes Jean Grey and Cyclops (both Famke Janssen and James Marsden reprise their roles here), who had both died in ‘The Last Stand’. As for ignoring ‘Origins’, that occurs at the very end of the film before the credits start rolling. Back in 1973, during the climax sequence in Washington, Magneto had impaled Wolverine with metal and thrown him into the Potomac River. He’s then recovered from the river by William Stryker (Josh Helman; on that note, the first scene between the two is very well-done as Wolverine initially starts to suffer some emotional turmoil when he (more specifically his future conscious) remembers what will happen between him and Stryker years later) who is then revealed to be Mystique in disguise. How this will affect Wolverine in the future is unclear but this can definitely be seen as an effort to negate the events of that film, just like the filmmakers had did just a few moments earlier in regards to ‘X3’.

Finally, let’s talk about the post-credits scene that is intended to set up the main villain for the next film; Apocalypse. Now, this scene is sort of similar to the post-credits scene with Thanos in ‘The Avengers’ in that you might have to read up on who this character is otherwise you might not realize who he is at first, though of course unlike ‘The Avengers’ it’s already been confirmed beforehand that the next film is going to be ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ (set for a 2016 release) but one of my friends pointed out that the person featured in this post-credits scene doesn’t really look like Apocalypse from the comics (to quote him directly, he said that he looked like ‘some blue skinned 20 something in a robe’). Now, writer/producer Simon Kinberg has confirmed that an older actor will portray the character in the next film so we’ll just have to wait and see who will get cast in that role. Plus, comic book fans will no doubt note two things about this scene; that Apocalypse’s followers are calling him by his birth name (‘En Sabah Nur’) and that his servants, the Four Horsemen, are seen watching him from afar. And on that note, considering that Gambit is going to appear in the next film, maybe he’s one of them. Again, we’ll see how that turns out. 

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) review

(Note: Before I start this review, I want to address the recent controversy surrounding the recent allegations made against director Bryan Singer. True or not, these charges have no connection to this film whatsoever so it will in no way affect the following review.)

I’m fairly certain that, for quite a lot of people, ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ will be their most anticipated film of the year and there are quite a few reasons for why this is. It’s based on one of the most iconic storylines in the history of the X-Men comics, 1981’s ‘Days of Future Past’, written by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. Taking the director’s chair for this film is Bryan Singer, the same man who brought the film franchise to relevance in the first place with 2000’s ‘X-Men’ and 2003’s ‘X2: X-Men United’. It’s safe to say that when he left the franchise after that, the series began to go downhill with the extremely disappointing ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ and the god-awful ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’. Thankfully, Singer returned (albeit only as a producer/co-writer) for 2011’s ‘X-Men: First Class’, which was certainly a return to form for the franchise. Heck, Wolverine even got a far superior solo film, ‘The Wolverine’, and the post-credits scene for that film set up what was to come for this film. Finally, because of this film taking place in different time periods, this film features one heck of an ensemble cast, probably the largest to date in the history of the franchise, consisting of members from both the original trilogy and the ‘First Class’ cast. But at the end of the day, will this film be able to live up to expectations? In two words… Hell yea!

In the year 2023, the mutant race is on the verge of extinction as a group of sentient robots known as Sentinels are in control, exterminating mutants left and right and they are even persecuting any humans who try to help them. In order to end this war in which the mutants are very much outnumbered, Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) form a plan, with the help of Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page), who has the ability to send a person’s conscious back in time, to send Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back in time to the year 1973 when the defining moment that led to the beginning of this war occurred; the assassination of Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), the creator of the Sentinels, carried out by Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence). Once back in time, Wolverine finds the young Xavier (James McAvoy) and the young Magneto (Michael Fassbender) as he attempts to have them team up so that they can all stop this dark future from happening before it even begins. But this won’t be that easy, as there quite a bit of bad blood between the two following the whole Cuban Missile Crisis debacle in ‘First Class’.

Now while this is a very big ensemble cast, at the end of the day the film mainly focuses on four characters; Wolverine and the three main stars of the First Class cast; the young iterations of Xavier, Magneto, and Mystique (though thankfully, Wolverine doesn’t overshadow any of them here). As for the rest of the mutants featured in this film, they’re mostly just cameos, though some do get a decent amount of screen time like Beast (Nicholas Hoult) and Quicksilver (Evan Peters), the latter of which has one of the best sequences in the entire film. There’s also not really a definitive villain here; sure, Bolivar Trask does play a key part in the film’s overall story but he’s actually more of a side character here. So even though the bulk of this film’s ensemble cast isn’t given as much attention as the main characters, this film still does a great job at not only having quite the variety of mutants on display but by also really showing the ‘team’ aspect that defines this franchise as evident through a lot of the very well done action sequences. Also, if you’re still pissed about ‘X3’ and ‘Origins’, then don’t worry because this film basically says ‘screw you’ to those films in regards to what happens in this film and from what I can tell, that was the filmmakers’ main goal; to right the wrongs (mostly in regards to continuity problems) from those two films and they do succeed in doing so.

In ‘First Class’, the standout member of the cast was Michael Fassbender as Magneto, though James McAvoy did an equally terrific job as Xavier in that film. Here, McAvoy’s the big standout, not only because this is easily McAvoy’s best performance in the role to date (even though this is only his second film appearance in the franchise) but the writing for this character and the arc that he goes through in this movie is just fantastic, as he continues to grow into the Xavier that we know from the original trilogy (on that note, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, like a lot of the other cast members in this film, are basically just doing cameos here but regardless of that, it’s really nice to see these two back). But of course, Fassbender is excellent once again as is Hugh Jackman (I’m not sure yet if this is his best performance in the role to date after his excellent turn in ‘The Wolverine’ but I’d say it’s definitely one of the best) and Jennifer Lawrence. In fact, the whole cast is great here; this is the first time in a while in regards to these movies where I can’t think of any ‘weak links’ in the cast (which unfortunately was the case with ‘First Class’ and ‘The Wolverine’, which both had one weak link in their casts).

Do you want to know how good this film was? It’s so good that I think that I’m actually becoming more of an X-Men fan than I had been before (I was a general fan of the movies but I haven’t read the comics or watched the 90’s TV series) because of it. This is definitely one of the finest X-Men films to date, if not the best. Not only does it erase the bad memories of ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ and ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ but in terms of its essence, this truly feels like an X-Men movie with plenty of mutant action and some excellent action sequences (this film also has the best climax in the entire franchise to date). I was hooked into this film almost immediately after it started and for what is certainly a lot of people’s most anticipated film of the year, this film really doesn’t disappoint. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… thank god Bryan Singer returned to this franchise because it’s clear that he understands this franchise and now thanks to this film, the series’ chronology is far more consistent following the whole debacle of ‘X3’ and ‘Origins’ and hopefully he’ll stay for good this time as the series will continue on. It’s already been announced (and is briefly hinted at in this film’s post credits scene) what’s happening next.

Rating: 5/5!