CliqueClackX-Men: Days of Future Past is a mind-blowing thrill ride of a movie
The X-Men are back – old and new – in what is sure to become a benchmark for comic book superhero movies, ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past.’
Three years ago, I wrote about X-Men: First Class, “I felt like I was watching one of the finest comic book, superhero movies I’ve ever seen.” There have certainly been many more since then that have given me that same feeling (both Captain America movies and The Avengers, for example), and now we have the sequel to X-Men: Days of Future Past, which also serves as a prequel to X-Men and a sequel of sorts to X-Men: The Last Stand. So where does it stand in the pantheon of X-Men movies (which include both Wolverine outings)?
The plot of X-Men: Days of Future Past is much too complicated to explain in a brief review … and there are too many plot twists to possibly ruin as well. Briefly, the story takes place in a future time (after X-Men: The Last Stand) where giant robots called Sentinels have wreaked havoc in the mutant community by wiping out any mutant they find. A small band of mutants who are constantly on the run – including Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (Ian McKellan), Storm (Halle Berry), Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) and Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) – are traveling to the near past to try to outrun the Sentinels and find a way to stop them.
Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is contacted and brought into the group to help, and he volunteers to be sent 50 years into the past because he’s the only one of them who can physically recover from the perilous psychic journey. His mission is to convince a young Charles (James McAvoy) to partner again with his former friend Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) to stop Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from killing Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), the effect of which proves mutants are a threat to society and the Sentinel program is launched using her DNA to create machines that can change and adapt to any mutant power. The problem is Charles and Erik are not on the best of terms (after the events of X-Men: First Class) and Erik is in the most maximum of maximum security prisons – deep underground in the center of the Pentagon.
This scratches the surface of the story, and even though it gets a bit complicated with the shifts back and forth in time, it’s all done to give viewers the biggest bang for their buck by reuniting the First Class cast (well, the ones who survived) and the original X-Men (including Colossus) while adding some new mutants like Blink, Bishop, Sunspot, Warpath and Quicksilver (Evan Peters). Much is being made over the appearance of Quicksilver in this and the next Avengers movie, but it looks like these will be completely different takes on the character (one of the few that Marvel jointly owns with another studio). Here, Quicksilver is introduced in the 1970s part of the story and has one of the most entertaining scenes in the movie as he is enlisted to help spring Erik from his prison. Unfortunately, we don’t see him again until the very end of the movie, so we’re left to wonder how he’ll play into future films, if at all. (And since the next film has already been announced as X-Men: Apocalypse — be sure to stay for the post-credits tease — which features the First Class characters, Quicksilver certainly could return.)
Of course, the real draw of the movie is seeing the new and classic cast together in the same movie. Logan is the only character who gets to interact with both sets of Charleses and Eriks, but there is a rewarding moment when both Charleses have a psychic connection. It’s also nice to see Nicholas Hoult return as Hank McCoy, who has become the caretaker of the younger Charles, who has become addicted to the serum which quells his powers and gives him back the use of his legs. We are also introduced to a young Bill Stryker, whose presence nearly puts an end to Logan’s mission when he realizes who the young man is.
Director Bryan Singer juggles all of the plot threads and keeps it all flowing smoothly and it’s rip-roaringly entertaining. Even if the ending opens up a few more questions than gives us answers (did the events of the movie ultimately erase The Last Stand?), it unquestionably stands up there with First Class as a fine example of a superhero movie done right. The film also looks gorgeous, featuring some of the sharpest, clearest, most colorful 3D I’ve seen on the big screen probably since The Great Gatsby. It helps that the film was shot in native 3D and is not a cheap conversion, so if you have the extra bucks I’d highly recommend the 3D option. As for the story, I’ve heard that the film could have used another hour to fill in some plot holes, but I was along for the ride and I loved every minute of it. As much as I enjoyed Captain America: The Winter Soldier, I am more excited to see X-Men: Days of Future Past a second (and third) time.
One Comment on “X-Men: Days of Future Past is a mind-blowing thrill ride of a movie”
Evan Peter’s Quicksilver is confirmed to be in the next flick, supposedly with an increased role.
Considering the throwaway line in there about his mother having a “friend who could do that,” I’ve got my guesses where that story will go.