X-Men: Days of Future Past

All in all, the film is a great step in the right direction. If the teaser shown in the end credits is any indication, the franchise is far from over but with this film as a base, there's hope for the X-Men yet. The bold move of combining the cast of the original film series with that of First Class seems to have paid of well, making this easily the best X-Men film to date, even better than X-2: X-Men United.

Sit back, get some popcorn and enjoy this insane ride of time travel with your favourite mutants. X-Men: Days of Future Past is one of the best films of its genre.

Though there's no shortage of fantastic special effects, the film isn't in the least bit overbearing. While it assumes viewer familiarity with all the characters, *Days of Future Past* does manage the improbable task of combining almost everything that we love about the X-Men series, in one place.

X-Men: Days of Future Past is return to the old. The future is shown dark and terrible, the past is given this shine but it isn't what it seems. You are taken through this world and you will root for your heroes. The bad guys get their head kicked in, the good guys fight with honor, there are giant robots and loads of action. Don't miss it, this is a brilliant cinematic experience! For all you Marvel fans out there, remember to stay till the end of the credits.

With an overdose of the serious and the silly, the plot manages to sustain the pace and intensity commendably. Overall, with nearly 25 characters to track, fleeting between time zones, space and technically brilliant visuals, concentrating on the film becomes a tedious affair.

You have the enviable cast, the powerful premise and yet the end result isn't as spectacular as it should've been. You can't have everything.

It must be said that, despite these what-could-have-been niggles, X-Men: Days Of Future Past is a perfectly competent comic book movie that delivers the goods and admirably so. From its uniformly excellent cast (McAvoy is especially good) to John Ottman's brass-laden score, this is your favourite restaurant serving up your favourite meal on an attractive platter. Don't expect the world from the condiments and sauces and you'll do just fine.

While it is hard to figure out why the film is in 3D and there are bits which could have easily been edited, the film makes for a very satisfying watch on the whole and is a worthy addition to the franchise universe.

It's hard to imagine fanboys having too much to grumble about here, as Singer has pulled together an ambitious, suspenseful screen chapter that secures a future for the franchise while facilitating continued reinvention. Audiences should sit tight through the end credits crawl for an enigmatic signoff scene that provides a taste of the next installment, X-Men: Apocalypse.

Mutant maniacs might just enjoy the significance of such knowing lines as "It's good to see everyone" and "You and I have a lot of catching up to do". Mutant agonistics might just feel like uninvited guests.

The many-layered narrative, which shifts back and forth in time and space, requires a mind-bend to grasp, not unlike Christopher Nolan's Inception. But it is a tribute to director Bryan Singer's finesse that he transports us on that epic journey without inducing motion sickness or getting us muddled.