X-Men: Days of Future Past

While First Class felt like a way to sidestep old mistakes and still capitalize on beloved characters, Days of Future Past is an excellent swing at fixing those mistakes so the franchise can move forward. It didn’t pay off as substantially worse movies followed, but the film’s remixing of an iconic moment in X-Men’s history is a truly effective use of the series’ past to pave the way for its future.

The movie is essentially a crossover of X-Men movies new and old, with Jackman’s Wolverine at the center. During an apocalyptic moment in mutant history, Logan goes back in time to warn the First Class versions of the X-Men of the creation of the sentinels, only to find them in a state of disarray and McAvoy’s Professor X in need of some schooling himself. It’s X-Men at its most melodramatic, filled with some of the series’ best depictions of the mutant struggle. McAvoy, Fassbender, and Lawrence give their best performances in what should have solidified them alongside their predecessors in these roles. It’s a shame the films that followed failed to capitalize on its successes. — Kenneth Shepard