When X-Men 3 came out, I was ready to completely check out from the franchise. Prequels, sequel-prequels, and reboots took up adspace for a few weeks at a time, but never compelled me to head to the theatre. But 2014 is looking to be the Year of Superhero Sequels Which Are Actually Pretty Okay Even Though Stephen Never Saw The Original, and X-Men: Days of Future Past was no exception. The younger characters are fresh and compelling, the time travel gimmick didn’t make me hate myself, and in the tradeoff between exposition and mindless action it hit just about the perfect blend. It wasn’t transcendent, suffers a bit from the now-common Rotten Tomato Inflation Syndrome, and I’ve been told it pales in comparison to First Class. But as a newcomer to the reboot series, I was plenty satisfied, and am glad to see that the Avengers aren’t the only blockbuster machine in town. The days of blandness past have hopefully passed, and the future of well-made, stupid popcorn flicks is looking bright.