X-Men: Days of Future Past

In a dark future (present?) mutants and humans live under the shadow of the Sentinels, mutant hunters who have pretty much extended their own remit to most sentient life, and which adapt to counter any mutant power. To prevent this slaughter, Wolverine's consciousness is projected back into his younger self; his mission, to bring Professor Xavier and Magneto together and prevent Raven/Mystique's assassination of the Sentinel's creator, Bolivar Trask.

Days of Future Past unites, in a rough and ready fashion, the timelines of X-Men: First Class and the original trilogy, in large part through the mechanism of kicking The Last Stand to the curb and stamping repeatedly on its face, before finally flat out undoing it. It is unclear how it stands as regards The Wolverine, as despite a teaser at the end of that film, this is clearly a different timeline as future Wolverine still has his adamantium claws.

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan pick up their pay for little more than sitting in on the future sessions to add gravitas (don't get me wrong, they're awesome, but almost underused), leaving the bulk of the film to the excellent James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, as well as franchise favourite Hugh Jackman. Peter Dinklage is an assured Trask, and Jennifer Lawrence shines as Mystique, facing her moment of destiny. Evan Peters as Peter 'not Quicksilver, honest; he's in the other franchise' Maximoff is a wonderful new addition, and gets one of the movie's stand out scenes.

Overall, the future players do less well than those in the past, with Ellen Page wasted on the little Kitty Pride has to do, and the other X-Men barely getting a line between them. Apparently some of them at least have multi-picture deals, so hopefully they'll get some more mileage next outing.

Days of Future Past has a lot of work to do to reclaim a franchise that got lost a long time ago and is basically still running in order to stop the rights reverting, but it turns out a goodun.