Jackman. Excellent performance from start to finish. Completely sold me on how completely gutted his entire world had been, and was absolutely believable as the solitary outcast willing to do anything for the last living people he cares about, while remaining the surliest of motherfuckers. His savage moments were electric.
Stewart. Another brilliant performance and the best written character of the story. The most powerful mind in the world disintegrating into dementia was incredible story-telling. Resenting the drugs that twisted him into a lack-wit and the struggle to take them to keep everyone safe really resonated with me, made me ask if I could do that. The reveal of his crushing guilt was a blow to my solar plexus. The dream of Sunchaser was tragic and beautiful. His death was so devoid of hope it was all I could think about leaving the theater; he died believing he was leaving a world where mutant kind is doomed after spending his entire life fighting for peace. Not how I would have written it but that's because I'd never have that courage. We saw that Xavier's dream lives on, but he couldn't know that. It ached to see a character I loved for so many years suffer that kind of end.
Laura. More fantastic casting, carrying an amazing performance driven by great writing. Her facial expressions and body language were perfect. She was utterly convincing and the stunt work with her was perfect, all of her action was flawless and incredibly cool. The choreography for that first boot blade strike was spectacular. The humorous chemistry between her and Jackman was smooth, comfortable, and never felt forced. The slow transformation from tension to trust between them felt very natural with some surprisingly touching moments along the way. I believed in their relationship, and never felt that things happened because they had to happen, which may not seem like a big deal, but it's everything.
The vision of the future. It was subtle and perfect. Still our (imaginary) world but slightly different. Mutants slipping into legend and the reactions of people who meet them. A world where the government has won and is just trying to exploit the X Gene however they can. The Mexicans doing their best to save children and succeeding, at great cost. The seamless technology, comfortably advanced but not TOO advanced (cybernetics, automated trucks).
