This movie earns a solid 4 Icee rating (out of 5).  First off, I must confess I went into this movie with the full intent to hate it.  I haven’t liked an X-Men movie since X2. X3 was stupid, and the First Class movies have been so inconsistent with the rest of the franchise, it was just hogwash.  Don’t tell me they’re in a “different universe” than the originals either.  That shipped sailed when they used the characters from the originals to supplement the new.  They just have been bad.  Also, incredibly inconsistent. First, Charles is dead, and the BAM.. he’s alive in a subsequent movie with no explanation as to how he returned.

So, with all that said, to my delightful surprise this movie was good.  Really good.  Now I must start off by saying that this movie is not a kids superhero movie.  It more than earns its R-rating for the graphic violence.  The death toll in this movie is pretty large, and most of them die in a way that isn’t pleasant, to say the least.

Also, this is the type of movie you actually have to pay attention to when they are talking, because that is how they establish the past.  That’s how you find out it is 2029.  That’s how you find out what happened to mutants. That’s how you learn (somewhat) about the other X-Men.  That’s how you learn how a man that has been alive for centuries is now aging.

This movie has an excellent mix of storytelling and violent action. The moves of the little girl are awesome. She’s got skilz.

This is not your stereo-typical X-Men movie, by any means, so you need to accept that and go in with an open mind. I would describe it as more of a dystopian action film, where the future is dark, and the heroes have to deal with it.

Although there are no scenes after the film, you don’t want to be late because there is a trailer at the beginning of the film.  I have also posted that trailer on the ReviewsByTheDon Facebook page.

Next week: King Kong: Skull Island