Forget Spider-Man. Forget Godzilla.
This summer will belong to the mutants.
Early reviews are pegging "X-Men: Days of Future Past" as the movie of the summer.
Currently, the movie is sitting at 94% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. While we still have a week before its release, that's better than "Godzilla" (74%) and "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" (53%).
Here's why the movie sounds like a must-see.
Unlike other superhero movies, “X-Men” isn’t full of gratuitous destruction.
"No skyscrapers blow up, no cities are leveled, and while the White House and a football stadium suffer some serious structural damage, the wholesale destruction of human civilization is kept to a refreshing minimum."
Jennifer Lawrence and Hugh Jackman are both great, returning as Mystique and Wolverine.
The Hollywood Reporter (THR):
"Jackman brings powerful physicality, laconic humor and depths of sorrow beneath his gruffness that make him an unusually nuanced figure for a sci-fi action movie."
"Lawrence is sensational, whether slinking around in Mystique's body-hugging blue reptilian skin, displaying the shape-shifter's balletic fight skills or adopting seductive human form."
However, it's Quicksilver, a lightning-fast mutant played by Evan Peters, who will have everyone talking.
IGN:
"The movie’s biggest surprise is actually the character that’s been the greatest object of scorn online: Quicksilver. Yes, Quicksilver’s not only awesome here, but he pretty much steals the show at one point."
"Quicksilver steals every scene he’s in, especially one brilliant, deliriously fun action sequence that reveals how everything seems to advance in slow-motion from his perspective."
It's not the only awesome sequence.
THR:
"The midsection includes thrilling action set pieces too. One involves the chaos that ensues when the X-Men thwart Mystique's initial attempt to kill Trask, spilling from an official building out into the crowded square below."
One of the only issues, The Wrap notes that you may want to brush up on your X-Men history before heading to theaters.
"Do some light streaming, dig out the DVD box sets, browse the Wikipedia pages or consult the cashier at your neighborhood comic store, but make sure you come into the theater with a fairly confident grasp of what went down in “X-Men,” “X2,” “X-Men: The Last Stand” and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” — “The Wolverine,” oddly, not so much — since the screenplay by Simon Kinberg (“Sherlock Holmes”) assumes you already know mutant chapter and verse."
A few reviews also suggest Peter Dinklage's character Bolivar Trask is a bit of a letdown.
"The one weak link, script-wise, is Bolivar Trask, played here by Peter Dinklage. It feels like Dinklage does as much as he can with the role, but there's really no weight to him as an antagonist."
IGN:
"It's also surprising how mundane Dinklage’s Bolivar Trask turns out to be. He may be played by an awesome actor, but Trask never manages to be that compelling a villain despite the huge stakes hinging on his survival."
Overall, it sounds like a good time.
"Still, this is the best “X-Men” movie since Singer went off to other pursuits, and it puts enough of a whammy onto the mutant narrative to allow future sequels to veer off in any number of directions."
"With style, heart and thrills, Singer has nailed the most ambitious X-flick yet. Popcorn pizzazz combines with X2’s emotional sweep and something extra: a platform for the X-Men’s screen survival."
"While it's more dramatically diffuse than the reboot and lacks a definitive villain, the new film is shot through with a stirring reverence for the Marvel Comics characters and their universe. And it ups the stakes by threatening nothing less than the genocide of the mutant population, among them faces old and new. Huge worldwide box office seems guaranteed."
"X-Men: Days of Future Past" is in theaters May 23. Check out a trailer below:
SEE ALSO: 25 photos that show what it would be like if "Godzilla" tore through the US today
