X-Men: Days of Future Past
(Scored out of ten; below 5 = not worth seeing, 6 = ok, 7 = good, 8 = great, 9 = fantastic, 10 = next to perfect)
As a vocal dissenter of the “FOX-Men” (First Class and The Wolverine were ok) since the beginning I was not crazy about the idea of another X film throwing mutants at the screen and hoping for the best. Boy was I wrong, Days of Future Past is by far the biggest and best Fox has produced. It not only wipes the slate clean of all continuity errors, it busts open the door for future stories.
This is not a Wolverine story (like the majority of the other films). Bryan Singer (director of the original X-Men trilogy) takes the necessary time to give everyone a role to play. Quicksilver (Evan Peters) was the laughing stock of promotional material, with his eccentric wardrobe and platinum hair. When it came time for his big debut, he smashed it out of the park. The major sequence he finds himself in is a highlight of the film and just goes to prove the old adage, “don’t judge a book by its cover”.
Evan Peters as Peter Maximoff (Quicksilver)
Days of Future Past is filled with wonderful, emotionally stimulating performances. James McAvoy really nails the inner conflict of a Xavier having dealt with the loss of not only his legs but also his loved ones and his life’s work. The present-day Xavier (Patrick Stewart) also does a commendable job. The one scene they two have together plays extremely well; offering up one of the most intense emotional beats of the film. The existence of the Patrick Stewart version in general is a continuity error but his performance and the character development derived from him being there more than makes up for the glaring flaw.
You can’t have an X-Men movie without Wolverine, and Hugh Jackman brings it. After playing the character 7 times Jackman still manages to bring something new out in the character. This is a very mature Wolverine, focused and decisive. We still see glimpses of that “I do what I want” attitude but it is obvious that his time in Japan (see The Wolverine) has changed him for the better. Early trailers hinted and another possible Wolverine film wearing the name of the X-Men (a major criticism of all FOX comic book films), fortunately this is far from the case. In the original Days of Future Past comic it is Kitty Pryde (Played by Ellen Page) who travels back in time. In the film version Wolverine is the only one capable of making the trip, this is all thoroughly explained in the movie and does justify Wolverine’s bolstered role. After Jackman is sent back the focus shifts to the other mutants, yes Wolverine is the vehicle through which the plot progresses but the film is about all of the characters.
This time around Mystique, Charles and Magneto receive the most attention. Their love triangle fromFirst Class and the way they parted has left them all in dark situations. Xavier is a drug-addicted schlep that has denied his mutation in order to regain some semblance of normality. Magneto is in a maximum-security prison and Mystique is on a quest for vengeance. Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique is phenomenal. She doesn’t say much but her expressions and actions tell it all. Her fighting style is reminiscent of Capoeira and provides an interesting dynamic in fight scenes that is vastly different from anything else the other mutants can do. Lawrence moves with purpose and passion, she really imbues the character with a sense of depth that former films sorely lacked. It is great to see a formerly background character getting their chance in the sun (rumor has it Mystique may even be getting her own solo film).
Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique/Raven
Fassbender’s Magneto this time around is very much in the same place (mentally) as we last saw him. He is still very much of the mindset that humanity must be brought under the thrall of mutant kind. This does play as a nice counter to Xavier’s coexistence shtick but it has begun to become a little grating. There have been 5 core X-Men films (counting this one) and all of them have the same thematic arc at their center. A departure from Magneto as the villain would be greatly appreciated, which leads to the biggest (and really only) problem I had with the film. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) was set up wonderfully as the main antagonist, with an army of mutant hungry robots ready to take on our band of heroes DoFP seemed poised to feature a climactic battle audiences would liken to the Chitauri in The Avengers. Unfortunately, Trask was undermined by Magneto at the last moment so he could meet his “I hate humans” quota and prove that he is the only villain worthy of the X-Men.
A big team brawl against Trask and his army would have been a sight to see as well as provide a pleasant distinction from other battles in the X universe. Plus it would have given Dinklage a little more to do. His performance was stellar but, with Fassbender taking over as baddie part way through, he was left high and dry.
While on the topic of Magneto, Ian McKellen has very little to do and even less to say. I understand that Singer had to pack a lot in with a short 2 hour run time but someone the caliber of McKellen should get more than a few lines. Each version did have an awesome action beat though, so I guess all is forgiven. DoFP is definitely the biggest X-Men film in terms of effects. The finale features very impressive CGI and manages to bring each character to their pinnacle. Magneto has never looked so powerful, Xavier stretches his mind to the limit, Beast (Nicholas Hoult) and Wolverine claw stuff up and Mystique does her body-swapping thing with absolute grace. It’s a cool sequence that, despite having the same villain for the fifth time, makes for an awesome lead in to the upcoming Apocalypse.
Like Ian McKellen’s Magneto, almost all of the future mutants are relegated to action sequences and little else. They do all get their time to show off but there is no real development, especially with the newcomers (Sunspot (Adan Canto), Blink (Bingbing Fan), Warpath (Booboo Stewart) and Bishop (Omar Sy)). Blink is a true standout, creating portals and cleverly dodging and misdirecting the super sentinels while Sunspot and Bishop take them out. Warpath was a throwaway, he had no interesting powers visually or thematically and he bore little resemblance to his comic counterpart. While this doesn’t take away from the film in any capacity it was a missed opportunity.
Adan Canto (Sunspot), Ellen Page (Kitty Pryde), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and Collosus (Daniel Cudmore)
X-Men: Days of Future Past manages to blend over the top action, deep character moments, stunning effects and a convoluted time travel story to make a compelling film that completely resets franchise continuity. Fans no longer have to beat themselves up over continuity flaws, the slate is clean and is ready for the upcoming Apocalypse (2016). DoFP brings the best of the past into a new and exciting era for the X-Men franchise. Tying in details from all prior movies, Days of Future Past is the closest thing we have to a perfect X-Men film. I may not be a complete convert yet but this film went a long way in bringing me over. With a ton of cameos, easter eggs and surprises Days of Future Past is a must watch.
Overall I give this film a 9/10
PS: EN SABAH NUR!