Year 2023: In a dystopian future where Sentinels, sentient robots programmed to exterminate mutants, have dominated all of humanity, a group consisting of Magneto and the last surviving X-Men (including a revived Professor Xavier) prepares to oversee a Chinese monastery where Kitty Pryde sends Wolverine's consciousness back in time to 1973. The goal: to prevent the shapeshifter Mystique from assassinating Bolivar Trask, creator of the aforementioned and fearsome automatons, ensuring that the fear of mutant gene carriers doesn't spread and that the Sentinel project is never approved by the American government. All this while seeking the complicity of the young Magneto and Xavier, who at that period are as distant from each other as ever.

This is the premise from which the plot of "X-Men: Days of Future Past" begins and unfolds, the highly anticipated seventh feature film dedicated to Marvel's most famous mutants, tasked with reviving the saga after a third chapter that was enjoyable but not thrilling, two Wolverine spin-offs that were simply embarrassing, and the reboot "First Class" which had shown some reassuring glimpses of light. A difficult task indeed, which Bryan Singer, back at the helm of the X-Men cinematic adaptations, accomplishes admirably, crafting a film not without flaws, but which stands as one of the best superhero films of recent years. 

Alternating between future and past, with the latter taking the spotlight, the film flows swiftly through its two-plus hour duration, featuring excellent action scenes and more reflective moments, and for the first time in the saga (excluding "First Class") it doesn't focus entirely on Wolverine, but rather on an ensemble film where each character has their own space to shine in their own light, regardless of the time in which they appear on screen; owing also to the cast's performances, with the now legendary Hugh Jackman, in the role of the clawed mutant, sharing the scene with the brilliant James McAvoy and Jennifer Lawrence (respectively in the roles of Mystique and the young Charles Xavier) and the excellent Michael Fassbender, who in the part of the '70s Magneto exudes charisma from every pore, offering the audience the film's best performance. Also commendable are the actors confined to smaller parts, including Halle Berry, whose Storm, though in only a few minutes, finally shows what she is capable of, Ellen Page and the always superb Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, as well as Peter "Tyrion Lannister" Dinklage in the role of the eccentric Bolivar Trask, a character that, unfortunately, is not explored sufficiently, although, thanks to the actor who plays him, is saved from becoming a mere caricature. Evan Peters' Quicksilver also passes with flying colors, who initially caused some raised eyebrows due to his costume, but reveals himself, with his irony, as one of the film's most successful ideas, besides starring in a sequence that alone is worth the ticket price, the excellently crafted special effects, and the look of the future Sentinels, which may not please die-hard comic fans, but ultimately gives them the right amount of aggression and power. Finally, among the new mutants introduced, one cannot fail to mention Blink, a teleporter who will very likely return in the saga's upcoming chapters and whose portal-creating ability is rendered visually excellently.

"X-Men: Days of Future Past" is thus an excellent film, capable of entertaining to the point of overlooking the few flaws (specifically a somewhat stereotypical characterization of 1970s America and some characters that could have been explored more) and generating great anticipation for the next slated film of the saga in 2016, "X-Men: Apocalypse," with Singer once again directing. Doing better than this will be tough, but if the American director can even come close to the level set by this film, we will have absolutely nothing to complain about.

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By Lord Mirror

 The most fitting adjective is rhetorical, and although almost all American films are so, when levels so nauseating are reached, there’s little to overlook.

 I was dozing off waiting to see Blink reappear... so beautiful and goth... but the director intended to use her as cannon fodder for the sentinels.