"Storm. Scott. Jean. Remember these names. Find us, LEAD US..."
And just like that, everything was right with the world. I hated X3: The Last Stand - it pretty much destroyed every good thing that the best Xmen movie ever had set up - murdering Cyclops, killing Jean grey, atomizing Professor X, and essentially ending any possibility of a future for the X-men in movies. Ironic that we go to the future in order to save the past for the X-Men - by going into the past to change the future. Got all that yet? We open in a dark and bleak world where Sentinels roam the planet and all the mutants and their human collaborators have been rounded up or killed. Charles Xavier and Eric Lehnsherr hatch a plan to send back Logan to 1973 in order to warn their younger selves of the destructive path they are following.
All of the fine cast from FIRST CLASS (the ones that lived anyway) return. Xavier and Magneto are great, Beast is great, Raven Mystique is great, and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine finally gets to not only kick some ass but to make a meaningful contribution in terms of acting and dialogue. This further cements Jackman as THE right choice for Logan, as if there was ever a doubt. Logan attempts to convince a younger, broken Charles Xavier that Raven needs to be stopped before she seals their fate by killing the head of the Sentinel program - Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Task. Magneto is set free, all hell breaks loose, and they race against time to change destiny - before the Sentinels can find the X-men in the future and destroy them forever.
This movie is way better than it has a right to be in a lot of ways. There are so many characters, both old and new, that you fear ample screen time just isn't possible. Somehow, they pulled it off and it mostly works. I really didn't have any complaints - I even liked Quicksilver despite his totally ridiculous silver hair and outfits. I love that young Xavier recalls Logan's cameo scene in FC when he urges Logan to "F*ck Off" about helping to save the future. There are some complex, yet very inventive future fight scenes involving the remaining X-Men and the morphing Super Sentinels. Nothing comes across hokey or too far fetched as far as this type of movie goes. The ending is great in scope, and the resolution has some nice ramifications for upcoming storylines. I won't spoil it here, but needless to say, after all is said and done, Logan wakes up to a familiar world and it's one that fans of the films have missed!
Oh and then there's this scene after the credits:
Holy Crap! They're really going there?!?
That's two great Xmen films in a row now...let's hope they keep this going for as long as the stories remain interesting and cast intact.
4 out of 5 Khans!!
