ACTION; 2hr 12min
STARRING: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Peter Dinklage, Ian McKellen
I, clawed: Jackman
Marvel Comics culture can demand a cheat sheet. So know this about Future Past: despite their genetic X factors, mutants are in mortal strife in “a dark, desolate [future] world” on account of killer robot Sentinels. But is that future set in stone? Striving to reshape it, Professor Charles Xavier (Stewart) and Magneto (McKellen) send the stupendously husky Logan/Wolverine (Jackman) back to 1973, to prevent Raven/Mystique (Lawrence) from shooting the Sentinels’ designer (Dinklage), and thereby alter the war-torn course of history.
Are we clear? Let’s hope, because it gets trickier. Young Charles (McAvoy) is a dissolute wreck, while Erik Lehnsherr (Fassbender) is unfairly incarcerated in the Pentagon for killing President Kennedy and must be sprung forthwith. Not that he’s oozing gratitude. This lot have more scores to settle than a marathon chess tournament, which is kind of what FP feels like, only with snazzorama special effects and better looking players. Whether director Bryan Singer — back for the third time — has kept all the moves together is the multimillion-dollar question. But even if the cerebral time-meld is a hard act to follow, its blue mood, lavish looks and marquee stars make a pretty staggering package.
