Days of Future Past is the last film I did see in theaters, and a large part of that is because we get to see the return of some of the first gen X-Men actors. The other reason is that this is actually my favorite Chris Claremont story and the one that I think is more iconic for the franchise than the Phoenix Saga. Finally, getting Peter Dinklage to be Bolivar Trask was a nice touch and between this role and his one in Inifnity War, I feel this role gives his acting more clout.

The future sequences are nice but again, we're kind of filled with randos taken from more recent versions of the team that modern readers would recognize. A lot of liberties are taken, especially with making Wolverine the lead, but again, Hollywood prefers star power and the producers would rather have an iconic character that even non-fans would recognize over bringing in Kitty Pride into the story. I will give them props for having the Mystique/Xavier dynamic from First Class giving a bit more of a touch in this film. Quicksilver's sequence is certainly the highlight of the film in terms of memorable scenes, but MCU Quicksilver is far closer to the source material in terms of characterization. Pietro is an unlikable asshole who always looks down on people, not a spazzy ADHD kid. Likewise, he becomes like Mystique in the sequels where he always now shows up.

The one aspect I did always like about the soft reboot entries is how each film takes place in a different decade, so the 70s vibe of this film and the fun sequence with Wolverine in the beginning when he first shows up in the past was a nice touch. I always appreciate period pieces. In fact the past sequences are probably some of the best and it was nice to see Beast get a larger role. While the scripts for these films have always been questionable, I will say the X-Men films have largely been blessed with good actors at least.

I dodged Apocalypse, but I would honestly say this is probably the best of the soft reboot films, and judging by the reviews the next two X-Men films got/are getting, that seems to be a sentiment most fans share.