DAYS OF FUTURE PAST<br>A Magnifique (Extended) Flashback

There is only one Mystique and her name is Rebecca Romijn. Jennifer Lawrence may be America's current sweetheart and she did alright as Raven in the last instalment, “X-Men: First Class”, but she never fully manages to become Mystique in the latest from the X-Men franchise, which essentially revolves around her. Call me biased but Lawrence is no Romijn; no one is.
But fret not. “X-Men: Days of Future Past”, which is playing at Star Cineplex now, offers a lot of bang for your buck. It might even be the best from the franchise since the 2nd film, “X2”. I reckon it has something to do with Bryan Singer returning as the helmer.
In a dark apocalyptic future, with a very Mortal Kombat-like sky, the audience finds mutants -- some new, some old faces -- trying their best to not get decimated by a horde of Sentinel robots whose USP is the ability to assume the unique powers of their opponents.
There's only one way to stop them, Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) tells us. Kitty is to send Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) consciousness back to 1973 to prevent Mystique from assassinating Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), the creator of the Sentinels. Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) ask Wolverine to get their younger selves (James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, respectively) to work together. Let's take a quick look at what Wolverine has to work with in the '70s: no metal claws; Professor X has become a recluse, choosing the ability to walk over telepathic powers; Magneto is being his usual A-hole self. Alternative title of this instalment: “Wolverine: Mission Impossible”.

RATING: 8/10

Problems:
Not enough Storm.
Inadequate character development for Bolivar Trask.

Without giving away major spoilers, highlights:
Blink (Chinese actress Fan Bingbing), who is a live portal, trying to stall Sentinels.
Magneto's prison (made of plastic of course, in The Pentagon) break, made possible by a playful Quicksilver (Evan Peters). This scene alone, in 3D, is worth the ticket price.
Mystique rescuing fellow mutants from an US army camp in Vietnam. In this fanciful retelling of the past, we're told mutants were used in a war that the US still couldn't manage to win.
Richard Nixon being… well, Richard Nixon.