X-MEN : DAYS OF FUTURE PAST - Sunday 22nd June 2014.

It's overdue I know considering that this film was released in Australia on 22nd May! And so, four weeks late I saw 'X-MEN : DAYS OF FUTURE PAST' (finally!) at the weekend at my local multiplex who are running this as their discounted 'movie of the week'.

This time around for the seventh 'X-MEN' outing Bryan Singer is back in the Directorial chair with the biggest budget yet that would easily sustain a small third world country for a year or two. What can US$230M get you? Well, a whole lotta X-Men shit going down that's for sure! Be prepared for  time travel; there are mind games; there are massive explosions, death, destruction and mayhem; there is impressive CGI; there is a rewriting of history; and there are quips, jibes, period jokes all intertwined in a solid story.

Bryan Singer helmed the first two films in this franchise - way back in 2000 we had 'X-MEN' and in 2003 we had 'X2' and in the intervening period he has been off doing other stuff like 'SUPERMAN RETURNS', 'VALKYRIE' and 'JACK THE GIANT SLAYER', but this represents a return to form for Singer, and the franchise. He has assembled the star cast that we have become accustomed to, as well as introducing a bunch of new mutant characters that get an inkling of screen time as a possible set up to future instalments (the young Quicksilver easily the best of that bunch and good fun too!) Hugh Jackman is back as Logan/Wolverine of course, as is Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy (as the older and younger Professor X respectively), Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender (as the older and younger Magneto) and then we have the always dependable Jennifer Lawrence as Raven/Mystique, Halle Berry with an all too brief appearance as Storm, Anna Paquin as Rogue and the vertically challenged Peter Dinklage as Dr. Bolivar Trask the originator of the 'Sentinels' . . . who have a lot to answer for!

The plot line is fairly straightforward and doesn't require too much thought process to get your head around. Interesting to note that whilst this film is designed to follow on from its predecessors and re-group after the sub-division of the previous 'X-MEN : THE LAST STAND', you can see this as a stand alone film if coming new to the franchise, and then fill in the back story and the blanks by viewing those that have gone before.

That said, essentially it goes like this - it's 2023 and the mutant population have been systematically hunted down to within an inch of extinction by the 'Sentinels' that were first developed back in the 70's following America's pasting in Vietnam. The Sentinels were developed by diminutive weapons engineering expert Dr. Bolivar Trask designed specifically to eradicate mutants and any human possessing a mutant gene that could be passed on to future generations. In 2023 only the last vestiges of the mutants remain and so Professor X and Magneto have joined forces to find a solution. It seems the only way is to send someone back in time to 1973 to deal with Trask before he develops the Sentinel project and so prevent a future war from happening. Of course the only mutant who can go back is Wolverine because he can self-heal and withstand any manner of crapola thrown at him. He will not be going back physically though you understand (this is only 2023 after all, and that technology does not yet exist!). Instead his 2023 mind will go back to his 1973 body, and from there it's upto Logan to find the younger Professor X and Magneto and thwart Trask and the Sentinel project, and all those involved - mutants, humans, the odd President and other global leaders of the time!

It, however, is not as simple as that of course! This is a race against time in both the 2023 and the 1973 worlds, there are much stronger forces at play that seek to prevent success, and there is a conflict of interest in 1973 from the 'youngsters' who don't know what their older selves know fifty years hence.

For lovers of this series, followers of the Marvel canon, and enthusiasts of the genre you should go and see this on the big screen while it is still doing the rounds. This is a solid offering from Bryan Singer, Screenwriter Simon Kinberg, and the actors who have made each 'X' character their own over the last seven outings.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-