X-Men: Days of Future Past - B

Rated PG-13, 130 minutes

Lots to track of, but "X-Men: Days of Future Past" is rollicking fun

I will say up front, in the latest "X-Men" offering, there's loads of characters, plots and Marvel comic book references that should more than please the fan boy set. As for the rest of us, the epic, enjoyable "X-Men: Days of Future Past" is the best "X-Men" since "X-Men: The Last Stand" and a decent thrill ride as we enter the summer movie-going season with full force. It also helps that "Days of Future Past" is more of a throwback nod to the original film series, given that it's directed by Bryan Singer and features more characters and actors you're familiar with. The film opens in a dystopian future as the mutants are being hunted to exinction by some mutant-hunting robots called the Sentinels. Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellan) send Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back in time to 1973 to aid the younger Professor X and Magneto (James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, both terrific here) in stopping Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from killing a noted scientist (Peter Dinklage) whose efforts started the war between the Sentinels and the Mutants. Directed by Singer and a screenplay by Simon Kinberg, "X-Men: Days of Future Past" is energetic, charming fun that mixes both old and new "X-Men" to provide the most pleasing "X-Men" film in this new series, on par with the original film series, two of which were helmed by Singer himself. It's great to have Singer back as director, and it's nice seeing Stewart and McKellan as well, with nods (albeit small) to all the old group (stay around till the end and you'll see everyone, but you didn't hear that from me). McAvoy and Fassbender go at it with considerable charm along with Jackman and Lawrence and a  very large ensemble cast filled with numerous Marvel characters, most memorable Nicholas Hoult as the young Beast and Evan Peters as Quicksilver, who steals a few scenes early on from McAvoy and Fassbender. There's too many characters and plot to keep track of, but there's enough to keep you engaged for this action-packed ride; Singer manages to stage some nice action set pieces, including the interesting climax with none other than Richard Nixon, as well as filling it with some enjoyable visuals and nice special effects. As with almost all of these types of films, you'll want to stay over for an end-credits scene that sets up the next film and will most make sense if you're into the Marvel comic books. Even if you're unfamiliar with the comic book series, and count me as one of those, there's still plenty of fun to be had in the dark, intense and crowd-pleasing "X-Men: Days of Future Past."

Wes's Grade: B