4 stars
2014 | Action/Adventure/Fantasy | Directed by Bryan Singer | Starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender | Category IIA | 132 minutes
(USA/UK) The X-Men are back. And despite a convoluted name, even more convoluted time travel timeline and more holes than Wolverine at a stabbing convention, Bryan Singer’s (“The Usual Suspects” and the first two X-Men movies) return to the X-Men franchise is witty, fun, well-cast and a grand ol’ time at the movies.
In 2023 mutants are a near-extinct race being hunted by Sentinels, nasty robots programmed to seek and destroy anyone with mutant genes. In a last-ditch effort, frenemies Professor X (Patrick Stewart; “Star Trek: Next Generation”) and Magneto (Ian “Gandalf” McKellen) call on the brain powers of Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page; “Inception”) to send everyone’s favorite muscular mutant Wolverine (Hugh Jackman; “Les Misérables”) back in time to stop the events which led to the creation of Sentinels. Destination: 1973.
The majority of the movie takes place during this time, 10 years after the events of “X-Men: First Class.” Wolverine’s plan to round up the younger, bell-bottom-wearing X-Men doesn’t go exactly to plan, since everyone is still a little mad at each other. Charles Xavier (James McAvoy; “The Last King of Scotland”) is hooked on a serum which prevents him from being wheelchair-bound but, as a result, numbs his powers; Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender; “12 Years a Slave”) is locked in a plastic cage under the Pentagon; Hank/Beast (Nicholas Hoult; “Warm Bodies”) isn’t really up to much since he’s holed up in the X-Men castle with Charles; and Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence; “American Hustle”) is out to kill Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones”), a mutant-hating arms manufacturer. Eventually, Wolverine sort of gets the gang back together and they sort of work together to save their race from extinction. Sort of.
The plot is definitely the weakest link in this movie, as it jumps back and forth 50 years without a care in the world for non-fanboys and contains a few too many time-travelling holes. But it’s saved by the X-Men themselves. The characters are so strong (as are the actors who play them) that as always, they’re the most interesting aspect of these movies. So plot holes and confusing, unexplained hints at things that only X-Men-geeks would get are all forgiven.
But you need a great cast to pull off this muddled story, and you get one. JLaw tackles her good-girl-gone-naked-villain with ease, Dinklage will cause a few fanboys’ hearts to skip a beat, Fassbender and his perfect jawline do not disappoint, and the golden oldies Stewart and McKellen are back to show off their bromance one more time. The only one who falls short is McAvoy’s unwashed and depressed Charles. And thank the Marvel gods that Jackman is there to carry the team. He’s so good at being Wolverine that he could phone it in if he wanted to—but thankfully he delivers every time.
Yes, the pros of this film are without a doubt the fun banter, the characters and one particular scene which will—without a doubt—be everyone’s favorite scene in all of the X-Men movies to date. It involves a boy named Peter Maximoff (Evan Peters; TV’s “American Horror Story”), awesome use of CGI, lots of cheekiness and a jailbreak. Perfection. If only we could have seen more of the scene-stealing Peters—hopefully he returns in the next movie.
The problem with filmmakers not putting enough thought into the logistics of a complicated script—such as one about altering the course of history to prevent a mutant holocaust—is that the audience needs to spend too much time figuring out what the hell is going on. The latest installment in the X-Men franchise may fall victim to this—but man, oh man, is it a good ride.
This review was originally written for HK Magazine.
Katie Kenny 