‘X-Men’ is a whip-smart breath of fresh air

Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart reprise their role as Magneto and Professor X, respectively, in "X-Men: Days of Future Past."Photo: Twentieth Century Fox

Bryan Singer's whip-smart and witty time-travel romp "X-Men: Days of Future Past'' blows a breath of fresh air through the musty Marvel universe, which increasingly is all about pandering to hard-core fans rather than trying to make good movies for everybody.

Returning to the franchise he launched 14 years ago for Fox, Singer sure-handedly offers up a soaring adventure that's far more dramatically and thematically potent than the increasingly formulaic movies Marvel has been churning out on its own since being acquired by Disney.

It doesn't hurt that this film brings together his three original stars — Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and Hugh Jackman — with the younger, equally formidable ensemble leaders in Matthew Vaughn's "X-Men: First Cast'' from 2011, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence.

That's quite an acting lineup, and Singer gives them all a chance to shine in Simon Kinberg's clever adaptation of a 1981 comic book set in a dystopian future, where mutants are being hunted down and killed by giant robots.

Former adversaries Professor X (Stewart) and Magneto (McKellen) are reunited in old age, hiding out in a castle in China. They're barely able to keep one step ahead of their pursuers because Kitty Pryde (an excellent Ellen Page) can send Bishop (Omar Sy) back in time for two days to spy on them.

The only hope for the mutants is a much longer trip into past — back to 1973, when Raven/Mystique (Lawrence) assassinated the inventor of the robots (Peter Dinklage, very good) — who is allied with the young Stryker (Josh Helman) — at the Paris Peace talks for the Vietnam War. She was captured and vivisected by the inventor's colleagues and her shape-shifting abilities were incorporated into the robots to lethal effect.

Only the hot-tempered and fast-healing Wolverine (Jackman) is hardy enough to make to the past — where he's awoken in a Time Square hotel by the strains of Roberta Flack singing "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.'' Wolverine, of course, is probably least qualified of the mutant protégés to persuade the younger Professor X (McAvoy) — who's been hitting the bottle after giving up his powers for a chance to walk again — to put aside his differences with 1973 Magneto (Fassbender) to stop Raven/Mystique.

Hugh Jackman returns as Wolverine.Photo: Twentieth Century Fox

Of course, any attempt to change the past — especially one with lava lamps — can have all sorts of unforeseen consequences.

It's a very complicated plot that Singer delineates with admirable clarity while juggling a vast array of other mutants — some with larger roles (Nicholas Hoult's Beast, Shawn Ashmore's Iceman) and others who are barely glimpsed (Halle Berry's Storm, Anna Paquin's Rogue).

Jennifer Lawrence is back as blue beauty Mystique.Photo: Twentieth Century Fox

Most notable is newcomer Evan Peters, who nearly steals the film as the-fasting moving Quicksilver, whose extraction of Magneto from high-security captivity in a sub-basement of the Pentagon combines visionary action and slapstick comedy in a brilliant sequence.

There are many reasons to like "X-Men: Days of Future Past,'' including working in Presidents Kennedy and Nixon (a very funny Mark Camacho), as well as Singer's refreshing willingness to disregard strict fidelity to the source material. This is a superhero movie for those who don't like superhero movies — as well as those who do.

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