If a film based on iconic characters can appeal to viewers who know nothing about them, it's doing something right. If it can add time travel that doesn't frustrate or confuse, it has a winning formula. X-Men: Days of Future Past is one such film.
In the near future, mutants have been hunted almost to extinction by relelentless robots called Sentinels. Not even the X-Men can beat them.
In a final attempt to end the war, they send Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) mind back to his younger self in 1973 to try to change the past. He needs help from that era's X-Men, but to make matters trickier, they're not exactly on speaking terms.
DOFP is essentially a sequel to both 2006's The Last Stand and 2011's First Class, and stars cast from both franchises. Despite the ensemble cast, director Bryan Singer gives each character plenty of screen time. And the parallel time- and storylines never get confusing, even when scenes from both times are woven together.
Singer litters the film with details only die-hard comic book fans will pick up on, but everyone will enjoy the storyline, well-timed pace, and comedic moments, particularly the ones that involve newcomer Quicksilver (Evan Peters).
As with most comic book films, DOFP leaves you desperate for the next one. FYI, it's due out in 2016.