Nicholas Hoult, James McAvoy and Hugh Jackman star in 'X-Men: Days Of Future Past'. Picture: Supplied.
The story is far-fetched and sometimes confusing, but that is part of the fun.
Wolverine (the authoritative Hugh Jackman) is sent back to the past to change the future concerning the lovely Raven, played by Jennifer Lawrence. In the process, we meet Richard Nixon and discover that John F Kennedy was also a mutant.
The best reviews are likely to be for the stellar cast, their excellent characterisations and the weight their personas and talents bring to their characters. Where many science fiction characters are just monster food or light sabre fodder – there to be destroyed – here the cast functions as human beings, or at least mutants who are more human than many of the real humans in this film.
The power and appeal of this chapter lies in the fact that Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles and Ian McKellen as Magneto meet their charming selves as younger men. Both James McAvoy as the younger professor and Michael Fassbender as a younger Magneto deliver commanding performances. The first-rate acting and seriousness in tone, as well as the flair and sophistication of the film, elevates it above some of its predecessors.
The main showpieces belong to an impossibly sexy Jennifer Lawrence, kicking and cavorting. Bryan Singer’s film is over the top, slightly overlong, appealing, dramatic and charismatic. The special effects are – as one would expect – outstanding.
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