WARNING: I WILL BE DISCUSSING MAJOR PLOT POINTS IN THIS POST, SO IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE THEATRICAL RELEASE OF THIS FILM OR READ THE COMIC, BE SURE TO CHECK THOSE OUT FIRST.
Released: Theatrical-2014, Rogue Cut-July 14, 2015
Director: Bryan Singer
Run Time: Theatrical Release – 131 Minutes, Rogue Cut – 148 Minutes
Rated PG-13
Cast:
Hugh Jackman: Logan/Wolverine
James McAvoy: Charles Xavier
Michael Fassbender: Erik Lensherr/Magneto
Nicolas Hoult: Hank McCoy/Beast
Jennifer Lawrence: Raven Darkholme/Mystique
Peter Dinklage: Bolivar Trask
Anna Paquin: Rogue
Halle Barry: Storm
Ian McKellen: Future Magneto
Patrick Stewart: Future Charles Xavier
Ellen Page: Kitty Pryde
A few months back I did an article on extended versions of movies and the different types of extended versions. There was a kind of extended cut that totally slipped my mind, but is equally important as far as movies that re-released with additional footage: The Alternate Cut. An alternate cut of a movie is not necessarily the preferred version of the film, from a director’s perspective. What an alternate cut of a film shows how certain scenes play out differently, even if the outcome of the story is unchanged. Sometimes the ending does change, but it’s rare. So, why an alternate cut? There are various reasons, but generally the footage that was cut, was cut for logistical reasons. Pacing, time, money, and importance of such footage are some of the things that directors and editors have to take into account when making a film. Some things are going to get sacrificed. It’s part of the process. There is some footage that directors really love and feel that it doesn’t necessarily detract from the experience, therefor they try to reintegrate that footage for a home video release. Bryan Singer is one of those directors who doesn’t really like doing director’s cuts, or special editions, but X-Men: Days of Future Past, he made an exception.
For this post, I’m not actually going to review the film again, but I’m going to go over the changes that Bryan Singer and company had made to this re-release of Day of Future Past. I gave the original version of the film very high marks, and I regard it as one of the best X-Men movies to date. Anna Paquin, who plays Rogue, was initially supposed to have a very substantial part in the film, but due to budgetary reasons and pacing purposes, her role was cut down to what amounted as a basic cameo at the end of the movie. So, what happened was that Bryan Singer got together with some executives at Fox Studios and got permission to go back and re-introduce Anna Paquin’s character into the film with additional visual effects and action sequences. There’s a scene in the film where Kitty Pryde is trying keep Logan from waking up in the future, when he inadvertently slices Kitty across her torso and she’s basically bleeding out. The original intention was to have Iceman, Magneto and Professor X try and find Rogue so she could take Kitty’s powers and keep Logan’s consciousness in the past. All this footage for Rogue is set in the future. Basically, Magneto, Iceman, and Professor X head to the old mansion which had been taken over by whoever was running the Sentinels, and they discover Rogue being experimented on in Cerebro. They break her out only to run into more Sentinels. So how does this version of the film compare to the theatrical version?
While there are other extended scenes and alternate takes with additional visual effects, none of this really affects the final outcome of the film. It’s very interesting to see Anna Paquin back as Rogue in a very important part of the story. It actually makes a lot more sense that they brought her back, because with Kitty being severely wounded, there was just no practical way that she could continue doing what she was doing. Rogue is brought in to help keep Logan in the past so they can end the war before it begins. I actually rather like this cut a bit better, because the character of Rogue was given more to do, instead of being the damsel in distress like she was in the previous films. We also get to see the older Magneto and Xavier take on one last mission together to rescue her. It’s kind of a last hurrah for the two. That was the bulk of the footage that makes up the “Rogue Cut” of the film. We also get see some of the characters have a little bit more to say. Honestly, getting to see the remnants of the old X-Men headquarters was pretty cool. Overall, there was 17 minutes of footage re-introduced in the film. It didn’t really feel like it, though. That is a testament to how good Bryan Singer is at making movies.
There is a bit of contention, though, regarding the Rogue Cut. See, the Rogue Cut was announced before the home video release of X-Men: Days of Future Past. The idea of double-dipping didn’t strike people as a particularly attractive. For the most part, I agree. However, in the case of The Rogue Cut, I understand why they did that. Singer needed additional time and money to finish up the footage and visual effects so they could effectively be spliced back in. People aren’t happy about it, because the Rogue Cut also includes the theatrical version of the film on the same disc, if you got the Blu-Ray. It’s understandable, why people aren’t particularly happy about that, considering that movie studios have basically divided special features across multiple versions of the DVD/Blu-Ray. What that means is that you get certain features depending on where you buy the disc, and I find that to be egregious. In the case of X-Men: Days of Future Past, the Rogue Cut is absolutely worth it. It’s still a fantastic film at the end of the day, but it’s a different look at how things could have ended up. So, I appreciate that Bryan Singer took the time to do something like this, when he really didn’t have to. When you do do an alternate version of a film, this is how you do it properly. So, which version do I recommend? Honestly, both. Both of them are fantastic, and the additional footage will excite fans of the films. I personally prefer the Rogue Cut, because some of it makes a little bit more sense to me. Overall, though, I’m going to give the Rogue Cut the same score I gave the theatrical version, 9.5/10. It’s still a damn good movie.