The Xmen films have always been a mixed bag, Xmen, X2 and first class were great whilst the last stand and the Wolverine origins film were huge disappointments (yes that’s an understatement), and finally the Wolverine was frankly meh. So it was very interesting to see how Days of Future Past would fare, especially as it saw the return if Bryan Singer (who directed the first two films) to the hot seat.

Well boy did DOFP deliver. It is unquestionably the best Xmen film to date, yes even better than X2, and could possibly be pushing the Avengers for the title of best “non Chris Nolan batman” superhero film. Yes it was that good.
Based on the classic Xmen comic book of the same name in which a dissolute future where mutants are hunted and killed by robot sentinels. In the comic book story it was Kitty Pride/Shadowcat who was sent back in time to prevent this future, whilst in the film it’s Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. In the film the way of stoping this future is to prevent Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique from murdering Peter Dinklage’s Bolivar Trask, the creator of the Sentinels.

The film see the return of many of the original cast: Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Ian Mckellen as Magneto, Halle Berry as Storm, Ellen Page as Shadowcat, Shawn Ashmore as Iceman and Daniel Cudmore as Colossus. We also saw some of the younger cast: James McAvoy’s Professor X, Michael Fassbender’s Magneto and Nick Holt’s Beast. We are also treated to a couple of cameos from Anna Paquin and Kelsey Grammar. Theres a couple of other big cameos, but I won’t spoil them now.

More importantly we got some really good new characters, the highlight of which was probably Evan Peters as Quicksilver who pretty much manages to steal very scene he’s in. We finally got to see fan favourite Bishop (Omar Sy) as well as one of the coolest mutants in Blink, and two named Sunspot and Warpath. Pete Dinklage is also fantastic as Trask, but I probably focused on that because I’m a huge Game of Thrones fan.

But what was really impressive is that most of these characters were well fitted in by Singer which was a great challenge as it’s such an ensemble piece. The story holds up well enough and manages to tell that message that really is at the heart of all Xmen stories, the struggle of minority groups and whether they should respond peacefully or with violence, something brilliantly played between Stewert and McKellen and McAvoy and Fassbender. Days of Future Past also had a near perfect blend of awesome set pieces, humour and important heartfelt moments. All of this combined really allows DOFP to flourish which is just great news for diehard and casual Xmen fans alike.