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X-Men: Days of Future Past Movie Review

In what was the most ambitious release from the X franchise to date, this installment of the mighty, Marvel mutants turned out to be a delight that delivers all the comic book elements of a superhero film combined with brilliant writing and direction. As a fan of the days of Future Past story from the X-Men comics in the early ‘80s, I was excited to see this film. I knew that it would be very loosely based on the comic’s plotline, but knew that it being used as the inspiration for this movie to accomplish bringing the film franchise together while fixing continuity was going to be a good idea

 

That is exactly what this cast and crew accomplished. This film achieved high marks for both the marvelous plotline and the combining of the earlier X-films (Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, Halle Barry, Ellen Page etc.) with that of the pre-boot cast from “X-Men First Class” (James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, etc.). All that talent and the return of Bryan Singer, who gave us the first two installments of the X-films. This cast includes 10 Oscar nominations, with a few wins, and countless BAFTA, Emmy’s and Golden Globes. With credentials like that, you would think this was a Scorsese or Spielberg picture, not a summer blockbuster comic book film.

 

As Singer did with his prior contributions, he took what borders on absurdity and preposterous ideas and turns it into a compelling story that is a well-rounded and contains both a moral message as well as the fun tones that the source material has given. This film interweaves timelines, plotlines and both the dramatic and humorous, which is what Singer is best at. For me, the fact that this practically negates “X-men: The Last Stand” makes me appreciate this film even more.

 

The film opens in a dystopian future where Sentinels (intelligent mutant destroying robots) have been eradicating mutants and those that are determined to birth offspring of mutants for over a decade. Professor X, Magneto, Wolverine as well as Bishop, Blink and Sunspot are hunkered down in a Himalayan monastery and launch a plan to save the future by having Kitty Pride project Logan’s mind back to his younger self in the past. There he enlists the help of the younger Professor X and Magneto to thwart Mystique’s plan to kill Boliver Trask (Peter Dinklage), who created the Sentinel program. His murder is the catalyst that results in the future Sentinel war.

 

I won’t spoil it, but there is a scene that I feel is the most brilliant as well as witty in the film. Look for Quicksilver (Evan Peters) to appear in the movie. When you hear Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle”, prepare yourself for greatness and a memorable scene that tops most you have seen in a superhero flick. Quicksilver is the first dual owned property between two studios. When Joss Whedon directs the next Avengers movie, he has big shoes to fill with his version played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson seen in the credit sequence at the end of “Captain America: Winter Soldier”.

 

Hugh Jackman stands out with a well delivered performance. Wolverine is showcased quite a bit in this film and Jackman’s ability to give a good, wry delivery to his lines, while also spanning the spectrum of emotions, steals most scenes. I am impressed with the entire cast’s performance. Even with a character like Mystique, Jennifer Lawrence demonstrated why she is “Oscar Winner Jennifer Lawrence”. Sure, there are a few missteps here and there, and dealing with continuity from the repercussions of time travel leaves some questions. However, the shear brilliance this film has and the great execution and delivery of the story overshadows any minor blemishes this film might have.

 

The X-Men capture the imagination like no other comic book franchise and “Days of Future Past” adds to the legacy of the Mighty, Marvel Mutants. I highly recommend that anyone who has not seen this, go now. Go see it now. If we have to, we will have Xavier probe your mind and will you to go! This film has had high praise all over and brought in over $300 million worldwide for the opening weekend. That is impressive no matter how you slice it. I feel this is my favorite of the X-films to date, and rate it with 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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