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| In the future hope has claws. |
-George Santayana
I've always felt this to be a fairly poignant statement really, and one that I wish more would try to take to heart. Sometimes it's only through looking back to the past that we actually realize what it is we need to do in order to move forward to the future.
Apparently the creators over at Fox Studios are taking this sentiment seriously as well because their latest installment to the X-Men film franchise seemingly is built around this very notion. The idea of learning from past mistakes permeates almost every aspect of this movie. Be it from the characters, to the story, to even the production process itself, there is a distinct sense that this film is meant to make right on former misdeeds.
Frankly, I don't think that I could be more happy for it. What we now have is an X-Men movie that not only feels like a proper return to form, but also a movie that goes out of its way to rectify the sins of the franchise's relatively troubled history.
To be completely honest I didn't think that I would like Days of Future Past as much as I do. The X-Men films have always been hit or miss with me, and even the better ones out of its prior six film lineup I feel have never really been that great. Thankfully with the more current works such as First Class and The Wolverine I feel like this franchise that has struggled to gain back its lost glory for so long may finally have its head on straight.
In the not too distant future a desperate war is being fought against the vicious automatons known as the Sentinels. The mutant race and potentially all of mankind are now on the verge of extinction at the hands of this terrible menace. Few remain who can even legitimately fight back against the near unbeatable threat. As a last-ditch effort a plan is made to send one lone mutant back into the past to prevent the Sentinels from ever being created. With nowhere to hide and time running out, Wolverine is chosen as the one to travel back in time. Carrying the hopes of both mutant and man alike Wolverine sets out on his mission to save the world from a dark and horrible fate.
Normally I'm not a huge fan of stories that introduce time traveling as a plot device in its later installments. I feel all time travel mechanics essentially do is cause the narrative to become unnecessarily convoluted. It can bring everything to a screeching halt and start making the audience ask the wrong questions. For instance, how did Kitty Pryde obtain the ability to project people's consciousness back into the past? Did she always have this ability? If so, then why wait so long to use it? See what I mean? In this particular case I am willing to let it slide a little bit, as I think the time travel idea works out well enough. It doesn't overly distract from the characters too much, and the time-line to the X-Men films has always been pretty inherently screwed up anyway. This story and its time shenanigans mostly serves as a means to get the franchise back on track by fundamentally wiping the slate clean. Even though it isn't perfect it gets the job done.
With director Bryan Singer back in charge of the film franchise Days of Future Past possesses that same energy we all saw way back in 2003's X2: X-Men United. The pomp of the earlier films is so prominent here that it almost feels like Singer never left at all. This could in fact be arguably one of the best X-Men movies from Singer yet. In a lot of ways this is a very Inception-esque setup, and it works to great effect. The paralleling of sequences taking place in the past to those taking place in the future feels appropriately dramatic, and actually builds a great degree of tension. By combining the pretty awesome casting of the previous films with that of the First Class cast, this movie feels like the grand spectacle it should be. I'm especially fond of the ending as it does comes off as legitimately gratifying and heart-warming. It's a nice reunion that almost seems to reassuringly tell the audience that from here on everything is going to be okay.
Oddly enough, even though Wolverine is the mutant who goes back into the past to save everyone, this isn't a movie about him. Wolverine exists more so as a means to bridge the gap between casts, and it's something I'm very fond of. Don't get me wrong, I love Hugh Jackman as Wolverine; I think he completely owns the role. One of my more larger gripes with the previous installments though was that I felt they focused far too much on Wolverine and not enough on the X-Men team itself. The thing about First Class that stood out to me the most was that it was the first X-Men movie that actually put more emphasis on multiple characters than it did on one character. In a lot of ways Days of Future Past is a direct sequel to First Class, and one that focuses primarily on the characters that made First Class work so well. Xavier, Mystique, and Magneto are fundamentally our chief characters for the narrative, and all three are totally awesome.
The chemistry between James McAvoy's Xavier and Michael Fassbender's Magneto is just as palpable here as it was in First Class, and their mutual chemistry with Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique feels just as natural. Acting icons Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart reprise their roles as the present day versions of Magneto and Xavier, and they're just as awesome now as they were back when the whole franchise got underway. Stewart and McAvoy share an excellent scene together as the young and old Xavier meeting that is so good it makes me wish that we could have seen the same thing play out with Fassbender's and McKellen's respective Magnetos. Sadly due to the finite run-time of a movie there just isn't enough time to go around for everyone's parts. Ellen Page returns as Kitty Pryde, and even though she is the one who maintains Wolverine's consciousness in the past, she doesn't really have much else to her. Halle Berry comes back as Storm, and she looks amazing, but she barely gets to say a word. Shawn Ashmore shows up as Ice Man and only gets a couple of cool moments to himself in an early action scene. Peter Dinklage's Bolivar Trask is fantastic, but sadly he doesn't get to interact with any of the main cast. While I don't think the under utilization of actors is a deal breaker, it is a shame to see so many great performers get little to do with their roles.
With director Bryan Singer back in charge of the film franchise Days of Future Past possesses that same energy we all saw way back in 2003's X2: X-Men United. The pomp of the earlier films is so prominent here that it almost feels like Singer never left at all. This could in fact be arguably one of the best X-Men movies from Singer yet. In a lot of ways this is a very Inception-esque setup, and it works to great effect. The paralleling of sequences taking place in the past to those taking place in the future feels appropriately dramatic, and actually builds a great degree of tension. By combining the pretty awesome casting of the previous films with that of the First Class cast, this movie feels like the grand spectacle it should be. I'm especially fond of the ending as it does comes off as legitimately gratifying and heart-warming. It's a nice reunion that almost seems to reassuringly tell the audience that from here on everything is going to be okay.
Oddly enough, even though Wolverine is the mutant who goes back into the past to save everyone, this isn't a movie about him. Wolverine exists more so as a means to bridge the gap between casts, and it's something I'm very fond of. Don't get me wrong, I love Hugh Jackman as Wolverine; I think he completely owns the role. One of my more larger gripes with the previous installments though was that I felt they focused far too much on Wolverine and not enough on the X-Men team itself. The thing about First Class that stood out to me the most was that it was the first X-Men movie that actually put more emphasis on multiple characters than it did on one character. In a lot of ways Days of Future Past is a direct sequel to First Class, and one that focuses primarily on the characters that made First Class work so well. Xavier, Mystique, and Magneto are fundamentally our chief characters for the narrative, and all three are totally awesome.
The chemistry between James McAvoy's Xavier and Michael Fassbender's Magneto is just as palpable here as it was in First Class, and their mutual chemistry with Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique feels just as natural. Acting icons Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart reprise their roles as the present day versions of Magneto and Xavier, and they're just as awesome now as they were back when the whole franchise got underway. Stewart and McAvoy share an excellent scene together as the young and old Xavier meeting that is so good it makes me wish that we could have seen the same thing play out with Fassbender's and McKellen's respective Magnetos. Sadly due to the finite run-time of a movie there just isn't enough time to go around for everyone's parts. Ellen Page returns as Kitty Pryde, and even though she is the one who maintains Wolverine's consciousness in the past, she doesn't really have much else to her. Halle Berry comes back as Storm, and she looks amazing, but she barely gets to say a word. Shawn Ashmore shows up as Ice Man and only gets a couple of cool moments to himself in an early action scene. Peter Dinklage's Bolivar Trask is fantastic, but sadly he doesn't get to interact with any of the main cast. While I don't think the under utilization of actors is a deal breaker, it is a shame to see so many great performers get little to do with their roles.
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| Michael Fassbender's Magneto is still totally awesome! |
Of course one of the biggest attractions to the X-Men franchise has always been seeing all the cool superpowers on display. Days of Future Past thankfully delivers with some pretty memorable mutant mayhem. All of the mutants get to show off their abilities in one way or another, and the special effects on them look pretty good. The Sentinels in both the past and the future are rendered well, and are certainly intimidating in appearance. It took me a little bit to adjust to their past and future designs, but after seeing them in action I think their looks serve the visual tone of their respective time periods well. Special mention I think must go to the use of Blink's portal powers too. For those not in the know, Blink is a mutant who can open portals to different locations all over the world. As a fan of the videogame franchise Portal, it was pretty awesome seeing a mutant with this power-set get some kickass scenes. The standout sequence of the film though goes to none other than Quicksilver. An assault on the Pentagon quickly leads to what is easily the most funny and visually impressive action beat of the whole film. I won't go into spoilers, but I will say this much, you may never listen to Jim Croce's song "Time in a Bottle" the same way ever again. While I'm not crazy about the design choices for the character's costume, there is no doubt that he easily steals the show with his speedster antics. Magneto does come in a close second though with him lifting an entire arena into the air.
Costuming for the most part looks good, and is somewhat convincingly 70's at points. Other times though some of the aesthetics come off more as what someone probably thinks the 70's looked like to the point of almost parody. Again Quicksilver's design just doesn't sit right with me. It isn't too egregious but it does create a small tad of artifice in a semi period piece that is supposed to otherwise look authentic. Jennifer Lawrence's new body-glove costume for Mystique doesn't look bad most of the time, but is obvious at some points during some of the closer shots. I do like the choice to use a brighter blue for her mutant form, as it does make her character seem a bit more energetic. For the first time ever though I feel like we finally have a Magneto costume that really brings out the menace of the character. Magneto's look has always been somewhat silly in concept but here they really make it work. Michael Fassbender looks totally badass once he gets into his proper Magneto duds, and it really does feel like things are about to go down the moment he dons his iconic helmet.
John Ottman returns as the composer for this piece and I couldn't be happier to hear his incredible opening score from X2 blare across the speakers. While it could be argued that it is a tad lazy to just rehash some of the old themes from X2 and cash in on the nostalgia of that movie, I personally feel that Ottman's orchestral flare really does capture the sense of wonder that a story like the X-Men has. His work on X2 injected a lot of power into that movie's most iconic scenes, and was easily one of the best aspects of that movie. Without a doubt I feel that he manages to do the same here with Days of Future Past. All of his new pieces blend right in and feel at home with his old work. This marks the first time that a composer has done music for two X-Men movies now, and hopefully they'll retain him for future installments.
Overall I will say that X-Men: Days of Future Past is a wholly solid endeavor that you really can't go wrong with watching. Bryan Singer's big return to the franchise is exactly that, a big return. Not just for him, but for the series as a whole. While it isn't a perfect adaptation of the iconic comicbook story of the same name, I do feel that this may be the best X-Men movie to date. In my eyes it's at least a good enough film to give X2 a decent run for its money. For those who have been waiting for this franchise to get itself back on track, your time has finally come. Fox Studios was swinging for the fences on this one, and the passion that everyone had to make this project work really showed through. They've clearly learned from past mistakes and have managed to move the X-Men brand forward in a big way. The mutants are back in style and if the post-credits tease to this picture is any indication, they're going to be here to stay for quite some time.
Costuming for the most part looks good, and is somewhat convincingly 70's at points. Other times though some of the aesthetics come off more as what someone probably thinks the 70's looked like to the point of almost parody. Again Quicksilver's design just doesn't sit right with me. It isn't too egregious but it does create a small tad of artifice in a semi period piece that is supposed to otherwise look authentic. Jennifer Lawrence's new body-glove costume for Mystique doesn't look bad most of the time, but is obvious at some points during some of the closer shots. I do like the choice to use a brighter blue for her mutant form, as it does make her character seem a bit more energetic. For the first time ever though I feel like we finally have a Magneto costume that really brings out the menace of the character. Magneto's look has always been somewhat silly in concept but here they really make it work. Michael Fassbender looks totally badass once he gets into his proper Magneto duds, and it really does feel like things are about to go down the moment he dons his iconic helmet.
John Ottman returns as the composer for this piece and I couldn't be happier to hear his incredible opening score from X2 blare across the speakers. While it could be argued that it is a tad lazy to just rehash some of the old themes from X2 and cash in on the nostalgia of that movie, I personally feel that Ottman's orchestral flare really does capture the sense of wonder that a story like the X-Men has. His work on X2 injected a lot of power into that movie's most iconic scenes, and was easily one of the best aspects of that movie. Without a doubt I feel that he manages to do the same here with Days of Future Past. All of his new pieces blend right in and feel at home with his old work. This marks the first time that a composer has done music for two X-Men movies now, and hopefully they'll retain him for future installments.
Overall I will say that X-Men: Days of Future Past is a wholly solid endeavor that you really can't go wrong with watching. Bryan Singer's big return to the franchise is exactly that, a big return. Not just for him, but for the series as a whole. While it isn't a perfect adaptation of the iconic comicbook story of the same name, I do feel that this may be the best X-Men movie to date. In my eyes it's at least a good enough film to give X2 a decent run for its money. For those who have been waiting for this franchise to get itself back on track, your time has finally come. Fox Studios was swinging for the fences on this one, and the passion that everyone had to make this project work really showed through. They've clearly learned from past mistakes and have managed to move the X-Men brand forward in a big way. The mutants are back in style and if the post-credits tease to this picture is any indication, they're going to be here to stay for quite some time.
Positive Factors
- Brings the X-Men movie franchise back on track.
- Returning cast feels like they never missed a beat.
- James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence really own their roles and make this movie work.
- Good SFX with tons of fun mutant powers on display. Quicksilver and Magneto get the coolest scenes.
- John Ottman's iconic score feels appropriately nostalgic and fresh at the same time.
- Solid ending that feels reassuring to the fans that from here on the franchise is going to only get better.
Negative Factors
- Time travel does complicate an already hectic time-line.
- A larger cast means that some performers sadly don't get much to do.
- 70's era aesthetic feels almost to the point of parody at times. Just look at Quicksilver.
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