Released: May 2014
Director: Bryan Singer
Run Time: 131 Minutes
Rated PG-13
Cast:
Hugh Jackman: Wolverine
James McAvoy: Charles Xavier
Michael Fassbender: Eric/Magneto
Patrick Stewart: Older Charles Xavier
Ian McKellan: Older Magneto
Halle Berry: Storm
Ellen Page: Kitty Pryde
Jennifer Lawrence: Mystique
Peter Dinklage: Bolivar Trask
For many comic book fans, the X-Men are some of the most well-known characters. Wolverine, Storm, Cyclop, Professor X, Magneto and Mystique are all part of a universe that is both diverse, amusing and thrilling. During the 80’s, there was a story-line in The Uncanny X-Men which garnered praise from many comic-book fans: Days of Future Past. Taking place in both the future and the past, Days of Future Past showed a dark future with mutants and humans like on the brink of extinction. They’re only hope is for someone to go back in time to prevent a war with mutant-hunting Sentinels from ever happening. When the live-action films started coming out, people were wondering if we would ever see the Days of Future Past story-line put on the screen. With Bryan Singer returning to the director’s chair for the latest X-Men film, the live-action version of Days of Future Past is now a reality.
In the not-too-distant future, we witness a world that has been ravaged by nuclear war, and we see people both human and mutant alike being forced into concentration camps by large robots known as Sentinels. Most of the mutants and mutant-sympathizers have been eradicated, and it’s up to a small band of mutants to try and turn the tide. Leading the X-Men are Professor Charles Xavier(Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy), Magneto(Ian McKellan and Michael Fassbender), Wolverine(Hugh Jackman), and Storm(Halle Berry). Magneto and Xavier have put aside their differences to combat this world-ending threat and their last hope is to send Wolverine’s consciousness into the past to prevent Mystique(Jennifer Lawrence)from assassinating Dr. Bolivar Trask(Peter Dinklage), the very man who created the Sentinel program during the 70’s.
The X-Men comics, at their very core, was their message about racism and fearing/hating those that are different from the rest of us. It’s that message that tends to resonate with audiences world-wide. The first two films did an admirable job of bringing the characters and their fight against prejudice to the screen, the third film: The Last Stand, threw all that out the window in favor of spectacle. What Days of Future Past does, is that it addresses a lot of the issues in some of the past X-Men films and comes to a conclusion that not only advances the story, but wipes out previous mistakes. In many respects, this film is both a sequel AND a reboot. D.O.F.P(Days of Future Past) brings back many of the original cast members from the previous films including, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, and Patrick Stewart in their respective roles. We’re also introduced to new mutants, such as Bishop(Omar Sy), Quicksilver(Evan Peters), Blink(Fan Bingbing) and Sunspot(Adan Canto). The main villain at the core of the picture is Dr. Bolivar Trask, played by Game of Thrones star, Peter Dinklage. His short stature masks an impressive ability to deliver a very compelling and, at times, sympathetic performance. You don’t truly hate him the way you hate Brian Cox’s William Stryker from the second film. Throughout the film, we get to see Wolverine try to convince the younger Professor X of the coming war and subsequent end of the world. Hugh Jackman IS Wolverine. His character has evolved over the years. From a wandering loner to reluctant leader, he is now forced to try to convince and guide Professor Xavier to becoming the Professor X that the world needs him to be. All the performances in this movie are fantastic. Jennifer Lawrence really inhabits the role of Mystique, while Michael Fassbender has his own agenda as the younger Magneto. Unlike many of the previous X-Men films, this one isn’t about Wolverine. Oh, no. This movie centers on Professor X, Mystique and Magneto. James McAvoy portrays Prof. X as a man who has been broken by the departure of not only his best friend, Magneto, but by the mutant he grew up with, Mystique.
For fans of the comic book story, there are some changes that were made, even though the majority of the story-line is intact. The biggest change, is that instead of Kitty Pryde going back in time, it’s Wolverine, because he’s the only mutant that can physically survive the trip. That’s the biggest change. Another one, is that the target of assassination was Senator Kelly. But in the first X-Men film, Kelly was killed, so to maintain some kind of continuity with the other movies, they had to find another target, Peter Dinklage’s character, Trask. Honestly, the changes actually make sense when you watch the other movies. The action sequences are stellar. One of the highlights is Quicksilver’s moment in the Pentagon, when they’re trying to free Magneto. Because the character moves so fast, it seems like time slows down, and it’s both exciting and funny. The scenes that take place in the future are dark, bleak and absolutely stunning when the X-Men make their final stand against the Sentinels.
Composer/editor John Ottman returns to give X-Men: Days of Future Past an exciting score with some very familiar themes. It gives the action sequences a very frenetic pace, and the character-development moments an intimate and sympathetic feel that draws you in. In a film like this, music is extremely important and ends up becoming a character itself. So, how does this entry stack up to the others? It’s better than Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, for one. Honestly, it’s one of the best ones. X2 is still number one on my list, and Days of Future Past comes in at number 2, with First Class taking the number 3 spot. Days of Future Past has been designated the second film in the First Class trilogy. So, we’ve got one more movie on the way, tentatively titled: X-Men Apocalypse.
Overall, X-Men: Days of Future Past is probably one of the best action movies this year and offers up some extremely compelling performances from it’s lead actors. With outstanding direction by Bryan Singer and some of the most visually striking action sequences I’ve seen in years, we have a movie that actually lives up to it’s name-sake. It’s a great story with an extremely satisfying conclusion. It’s not a perfect movie, though. One of the actors from the previous movies, Anna Paquin doesn’t even make an appearance in this version of the movie, even though her name is on the list. Apparently, they are releasing another version of the film next year that has Paquin’s character, Rogue. That seems like a pretty silly decision. However, those little tidbits don’t really detract from the experience as a whole. It’s an amazing experience. It comes highly recommended at 9.5/10.