Full disclosure: The only X-Men movie I’d seen before the screening of the newest in the franchise, X-Men: Days of Future Past was Wolverine and I saw that because I had to review it (and, of course, Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) is eminently interesting and watchable). So the day of the screening last week, I watched the 2000 original in this series, X-Men. I fell asleep. So you can imagine how jazzed I was to see the 2014 incarnation.

Well, I might not have been jazzed going in, but I sure was by the time the movie ended. This is one terrific movie — outstanding cast, intriguing story and lots of interesting effects.

The movie opens in 2022, 50 years after most of the action takes place. How is this possible? Why, time travel, of course. This way, they are able to join forces with their younger selves to fight the bad guy, Dr. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) and the sentinals he’s developed. These are machines hell-bent on destroying mutants and anyone else who gets in their way.

We soon learn that Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellan) plan to send Wolverine back 50 years to 1972 so he can save the X-Men and everyone else.

We meet the young Xavier (James McAvoy), who works with Wolverine and Quicksilver (Evan Petrs) to get a young Magneto (Michael Fassbender) out of prison deep underground.

They enlist Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) to send Wolverine back. Also working with them are Storm (Halle Barry), Raven (now Mystique, played by Jennifer Lawrence all in blue).

The movie was directed by the now-scandal-plagued Bryan Singer. He does a tremendous job.

Next up, in 2016, is X-Men: Apocalypse.

The trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past is a fine sample of the entire film.