7 Perfect Time Travel Movies (And 7 That Sucked)

4. X-Men: Days Of Future Past

This 2014 film should be seen in Hollywood for what it is; a perfect example of how to ret-con a dying franchise. The original X-Men series had hit a severe speed bump with underwhelming films like X3: The Last Stand and two mediocre Wolverine spin offs. X-Men: First Class was strong, but this placed more pressure on the 'original' X-Men to perform.

Rather than trying a reboot or attempt to undo the events of previous entries and risk angering fans who liked those films, Days of Future Past managed to open up new and exciting possibilities while honouring the past. The idea that everything that had happened in the previous adventures had lead the mutants to where they were managed to cement the past as canon while simultaneously rewriting it.

What director Bryan Singer and writer Simon Kinberg do so well here, is making the film an interesting story in itself. Yes, fans of the franchise appreciated that Rattner's messy work at the end of X3 was tidied up, but the film is engaging by itself, with the ret-conning a subplot rather than the main theme.

The time travelling aspect also allows for a much needed spark, with Wolverine joining the First Class crew creating a whole new dynamic. The 'conversations' between McAvoy's and Stewart's Professor X, on top of the musings of McKellan's older and wiser Magneto amps up the core theme of characters learning and growing from experience. An ending where Wolverine isn't the central hero is also a nice twist.