X-Men: Days of Future Past

Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class restored some rude health to Marvel's flagging mutant franchise in 2011. A prequel set in the groovy 1960s and featuring younger versions of established characters (James McAvoy as Professor X, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Jennifer Lawrence as blue-hued shape-shifter Mystique), it rejuvenated audience interest virtually overnight. Having kicked the whole X-Men series off, director Bryan Singer makes a triumphant return, upping the ante with an ambitious time-spanning tale that puts the original stars - Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman - together with their younger counterparts. A grizzled Wolverine (Jackman) is sent back to 1973 by old sparring partners Professor X (Stewart) and Magneto (McKellen) to save the future from mechanoid mutant killers called Sentinels. Trouble is, that means convincing McAvoy's drug-addled (and now powerless) Xavier to bury the hatchet with frenemy Magneto, who's languishing in a vault beneath the Pentagon. Cue a terrific Mission: Impossible-style rescue that introduces mutant speedster Quicksilver (Evan Peters). Indeed, there are plenty of memorable action sequences (not least the climax as past and future X-Men battle to avoid annihilation) though the moment when the two Xaviers have a quiet tête-à-tête is just as powerful. In the end, it's the compelling cast that makes the movie more than just a noisy action-fest: McAvoy and Fassbender are at their charismatic best; Lawrence demonstrates that blue is not the warmest colour; and Jackman is more mentor than mauler. Plaudits should go to Singer for making the franchise fit for purpose with a rip-roaring re-calibration of past and current X-teams that offers a bright new future for the characters.