In 2004, director Bryan Singer made a horrible decision by abandoning the "X-Men" franchise in favor of rebooting Superman. One could understand his reasoning. He had already made two X-men movies (good ones at that) and saw an opportunity to try something new that could potentially push him to greater heights as a filmmaker. But the plan failed. Despite solid reviews, "Superman Returns" was a box office disappointment and the series was rebooted several years later with a different production team. Meanwhile, the X-Men franchise went down its own dark path to mediocrity with a terrible third installment (directed by Brett Ratner), two woeful Wolverine films and a solid prequel; the prequel, known as "X-Men: First Class" was well-received but suffered at the box office.

Now Bryan Singer has decided to atone for his mistake with "X-Men: Days of Future Past" with a film that revises the history of the franchise literally and figuratively. And the result is easily one of the top films in the franchise.

At the start of "Days of Future Past," the viewer finds the X-Men in a situation that correlates to the state of the franchise. The characters are on the verge of extinction with no seeming way to save themselves from the omnipotent Sentinels sent out to kill them off. But then the mutant superheroes find out a way to return to the past and get an opportunity to revise history and avoid this seeming apocalypse. Likewise, Singer is getting his big chance to rewrite the history of the franchise and essentially eliminate the stories told in most of the films that he did not direct; in fact, he gets a chance to even erase his own films in some ways as well.

Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) becomes the selected one to travel back to the 1970s to meet up with a young Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) as they attempt to stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from killing Bolivar Trask and avoid the creation of the Sentinels altogether.

The film will certainly delight fans of the original films as they will get a chance to see veteran actors Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen return to the franchise for the first time in nearly a decade (Stewart made a brief appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but few people want to remember that). A number of other characters from the original trilogy also get their moments onscreen, but they are for the most part cameos. Storm, for example, gets all of 10 minutes on screen while other classic characters get seconds.

The main reason for this is because Singers' focus is on the younger iterations of Xavier and Magneto that were introduced in "First Class;" the story continues to explore the relationship between these two characters. When Wolverine finds Charles for the first time in 1973, the Professor is a depressed man who has found a serum that gives him back his ability to walk, but has eliminated his powers in the process. The character of Charles is portrayed as a man who remains afraid of utilizing his power and is unwilling to attempt to control it. Meanwhile Magneto remains bitter and hopes to assert the power of mutant kind; he is still willing to eliminate all obstacles, even if it means attacking his own friends. Meanwhile Mystique is forced to combat her own inner turmoil; one in which she must continue to choose between Magneto's violent ambition and Xavier's continued desire to do good. The film develops the characters beautifully throughout the narrative and enables the viewer to continue witnessing the maturation process that will eventually lead them to their older incarnations.

Wolverine and Beast (Nicholas Hoult) both get ample screen time throughout, but the character development is not really there for either. Wolverine, whose search for identity has been a major part of the franchise, instead takes on the role of mentor and is marginalized from most of the major action; in fact he is deliberately taken out of the film's climax to place the focus on the three aforementioned characters.

Quicksilver (Evan Peters) appears for a few scenes early in the film and is easily one of the most memorable characters in the entire film. His scenes are littered with tremendous comedic genius that will have viewers laughing uncontrollably. Most of the time, quick flashes in real time emphasize just how fast this character is, but in one crucial moment Singer subverts expectations and instead slows down time significantly while Quicksilver moves about in his "real time." This scene is filled with numerous light touches that have never been present in any X-Men film to date; even Singer has seemingly found a way to top his earlier efforts in regards to implementing the franchise with comedy. 

Trask (Peter Dinklage) is unfortunately not a particularly interesting villain. His characters' desire to destroy the mutants is not explored in depth and is limited to a line or two of dialogue. He fails to inspire a true sense of dread; this is due more to being unwritten than Dinklage's solid performance.

Worthy of note is the fact that the climax borrows heavily from the final moments of the Wachowski siblings' "The Matrix" with the two diverging timelines (the future and the past) both facing major crises at the same time; the fact that the villains in "The Matrix" and "Days of Future Past" are both called Sentinels makes the correlation all the more obvious. This is not a hindrance, but leaves the viewer convinced that there is no coincidence and that there was certainly some inspiration for this choice.

The performances are top-notch with McAvoy's Charles portraying a greater range of emotional instability. His performance is a beautiful contrast to the more composed and calm portrayal by Stewart. Their meeting in the film is quite potent in how this contrast if further amplified by their demeanors. As they look at one another in a tight two-shot, the intensity in McAvoy's eyes is matched by a more ponderous look in Stewarts. Fassbender continues to steal the show however and this time he gives Magneto not only tremendous swagger, but understated menace. He is not an explosive figure and it is this sense of control that makes him all the more fearful. Lawrence gives Mystique more vulnerability and Singer really hones in on her internal battle with an array of close-ups throughout her major scenes. Even behind the yellow eyes and blue make-up, Lawrence gets to create a character that is brimming with inner turmoil.

Jackman's Wolverine is not that different from what has come before, but he does portray warmth and fatherly affection during scenes with the younger Xavier.

"X-Men: Days of Future Past" gives Singer the opportunity to restart his relationship with the franchise and erase all of his errors of the past. Those who despised the more recent "X-Men" films will be relieved by this latest entry that is not only a terrific thrill ride, but also one that effectively negates those woeful films. Whether this quality is retained in future installments remains to be seen. But everyone can now breathe easy knowing that the franchise is back in Singers' hands.