X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST Review

The X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.

THE GOOD

We herald in the return of Bryan Singer, the director of the original 2 X-Men films.  Now I did have a pretty hate hate thing going on with that dude for what he did in 2006, which was leave the X-Men franchise high and dry, to make the ever awful Superman Returns.  One man, 2 ruined movies.  That being said, X-Men Days of Future Past is a remarkable return to form.  They’ve taken the best of all the previous incarnations and put them all on display here.  Yes that even includes X3.. Amazingly.

The new mutants in the movie are pretty much all awesome.  Blink blew me away.  The way they conveyed and displayed her powers was pretty amazing.  Sunspot was bad ass as well as Iceman.  I mean we finally get to see an Iceman in the way he was always meant to be.  Beast had a little Hulk thing goin on there but that’s forgivable.  At this point I must say that out of all the mutants, the one that definitely takes the cake is…  Wait for it..   QUICKSILVER!  I mean he takes Nightcrawlers mantle here folks.  If you thought they couldn’t top that amazing scene in X2 (at least in the X-Men franchise anyway), You’re dead wrong, because  you have something awesome that awaits you.  You’re going to love it.  Whatever you thought you were worried about with him is irrelevant, just throw it out the window.

The very well done writing, the exchanges, the dialogue they did in the movie, makes you wonder what the frack Simon Kinberg was doing in X3.   It’s such a stark difference.  The way they play with history and take the unexplained to tie it to mutants etc is one of the things I liked very much in X-Men First Class, and they’ve done it again here.  Bravo.

I also really enjoyed the exchanges between Fassbenders Magneto, and McAvoys  Professor X.  It’s a special dynamic that these two nail in spades.   The movies story is an original take, or at least one that I haven’t heard of before.  I thought the way they handled the Sentinels was very inventive, both in the past and future.  They are so visceral and deadly, and dare I say.. a bit scary?  They also seem to be branching off into other X universes here.  You’ll know it when you see it.

I enjoyed the humor quite a bit in the movie as well.  All of these kinds of movies need some humor, or that bit of an escape from the serious to ease the tension a bit.  It’s part of all summer tent-poles.  X-men Days of Future Past not only had it verbally, but they had it situationally as well.  It worked fantastically.

The following is kind of a spoiler so do not read ahead if you want to know absolutely nothing about this movie.

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 I know this isn’t a big spoiler but like I said, if you want to know nothing, not reading this helps with the nice surprises you’ll see.  With that, here it goes.

This movie is an apologetic love letter to the fans.  It basically goes through most of the past transgressions and sets things straight.  From what I understand, this movie is supposed to basically erase the stain of X3 from our minds, and replace it with very much awesome sauce with a side of fries.

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I also really love how they’ve kept the original theme music from John Ottman.  I found myself very nerdily singing along to the beginning credits theme of X-Men.  Apparently movies these days don’t care much for keeping a recognizable theme across all movies.  Iron Man.. I’m looking at you!

Lastly..  STAY AFTER THE CREDITS!!!

THE BAD

You can’t help but think while you watch this movie.. How did good ol’ Wolvie get his claws back?  Was the teaser at the end of The Wolverine just something to get you excited about Days of Future Past?  Are my questions just one of those time travel conundrums?  I would have loved to have at least some mention of that, because lets face it.. That was a huge plot point of The Wolverine.

I would have loved to see much MUCH more of Quicksilver through out the story instead of how they handled it.  Warpath, I’m not sure how exactly I feel about that.  He didn’t seem to do much other than lunge.

Kitty Pryde aka Shadowcat.. uhh.. When the heck did she get that power?!  No one I saw the movie with knew.. but apparently the movie is so good, no one cares.

There were a couple of shaky CG moments.. where it wasn’t quite as good as the rest of the movie.  Just parts that looks unfinished.. but that is a minor gripe.

Other than that.. I’m not sure I have much else to complain about.  I mean it all works in movie land, but there are some serious things left to the suspension of disbelief.  Like how they handle Magneto in the end and how the world is all of a sudden all good.  I mean dude just did some crazy stuff and the future still turned out fine all because of.. ack.. forget it.. I’ll get into spoiler territory again.  You’ll know it when you see it.

This is a solid movie that you don’t want to miss.  Everyone in it is in top form, and it’s entertaining from beginning to end.  Bryan Singer and crew have created a wonderful movie that demands multiple viewings.

Thanks for tuning into this X-Men Days of Future Past Review.  And as always.. love your comic book movies and stay Dorky!