SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW
I have never really gotten into the X-Men movies. I liked 'The Wolverine' and 'First Class', but never really got into the main series. So I was pleasantly surprised when 'Days of Future Past' turned out to be the best X-Men film to grace the screen. It had all the good parts of all the previous X-Men films. There was the great character drama, compelling story, good action, and it cleared up the continuity a bit.
The story was good. Essentially Wolverine travels back in time to stop Mystique/Raven from killing Bolivar Trask, which would lead to the creation of the Sentinels. Along the way Wolverine runs into younger counterparts of the X-Men we know and love. This was a time-travel story that managed to not screw up the timeline or make things confusing. I have to applaud it for that. The only big continuity error that bothered me was the deal about Wolverine's adamantium claws. How does he have his adamantium claws in the future? The story managed to keep things moving, too. This was a very much a character exploration, rather than an action packed popcorn flick. Each character got a chance to shine and the core managed to have time to grow and develop. We get to further see development and softening of Logan, while we also see Magneto's descend even further into his desire for a mutant rule. I loved young Xavier's rise arc the most. This man was down on his luck for the longest time and we got to see him climb back up and get stronger throughout this film. I also loved the exploration of Mystique/Raven's moral gray area. There were a few interesting story beats there were skipped over or abandoned, which disappointed me. The whole JFK assassination fell a bit flat. I also didn;t like that Wolverine couldn't remember the new future when he came to. It seems like he would be able to remember both, since he would've lived both, but oh well. I don't want to discuss time-travel theories and loopholes. The end did a great job of bringing everyone (and I mean EVERYONE from the originals back). This story was great in that it kept the story moving at an exciting pace and also managed to develop the core characters.
The actors all stepped up their game. James McAvoy really brought it as Xavier. The way he played his character actually made his version of Xavier my favorite version and favorite character of the film. Not far behind is a more nuanced version of Logan (Hugh Jackman). We are used to seeing a more aggressive and loner type of Logan, but since the events of 'The Wolverine', Logan has started to open up a bit more. It is really a lot more fun to see Logan now that he is trying to be helpful and patient with people. Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult) wasn't given much to do, but what he did worked well. The only core members that bugged me were Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and that isn't to say they aren't great actors. They are, it is just that there characters were just so gosh darn stubborn. It really just bugged me that they couldn't think logically for a minute. Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart were great as Future Magneto and Future Xavier. But that is expected. I really liked Blink, a future X-Man. She just rocked to me. Kitty Pryde was also pretty good with the little material she was given. Bolivar Trask was a better villain than people give him credit for. I loved how he was played as more of a sympathetic villain, per se, because he was really just interested in the mutants. I didn't ever really think he wanted to kill all of them. He just need an excuse to see what made them all special. The greatest surprise, though, was Quicksilver. He got a lot of hate for his costume (non-existent), but a lot of love once the movie came out. The love was deserved. He was easily the best part of the film. He had very subtle humor and his one action scene was just epic. Quicksilver was the bomb.
As for the action, well surprisingly there wasn't much big set-piece action sequences. A lot stayed intimate. The beginning sequence for example was relatively small. But seeing all these characters with all their different powers work together was pretty insane, especially considering how cohesive they were as a unit. What I loved about the action was how visually stunning it was. There was a bit of slo-mo, which I usually don't like, but Singer knew how to use it best. Plus that Quicksilver sequence was just about the greatest thing ever shown in a comic book film. There was a head scratching moment at the end. I have no idea why Magneto decided to bring a baseball stadium with him to a final showdown. It didn't really seem to play a part in anything. Overall, there wasn't too much action, but the little that was present was visually beautiful.
Overall, this was the best X-Men movie yet. I have never been a huge fan of X-Men movies, but this film actually got me excited for the next. The story gave everyone a chance to shine. There wasn't much time-travel confusion. The actors, all of them, gave it their all and rocked it. And the thing that I liked the most was how it was a character study. You don't see that much in a comic book film (The Dark Knight of the few), and this one pulled it off even with the ensemble cast. Fantastic film.
I have never really gotten into the X-Men movies. I liked 'The Wolverine' and 'First Class', but never really got into the main series. So I was pleasantly surprised when 'Days of Future Past' turned out to be the best X-Men film to grace the screen. It had all the good parts of all the previous X-Men films. There was the great character drama, compelling story, good action, and it cleared up the continuity a bit.
The story was good. Essentially Wolverine travels back in time to stop Mystique/Raven from killing Bolivar Trask, which would lead to the creation of the Sentinels. Along the way Wolverine runs into younger counterparts of the X-Men we know and love. This was a time-travel story that managed to not screw up the timeline or make things confusing. I have to applaud it for that. The only big continuity error that bothered me was the deal about Wolverine's adamantium claws. How does he have his adamantium claws in the future? The story managed to keep things moving, too. This was a very much a character exploration, rather than an action packed popcorn flick. Each character got a chance to shine and the core managed to have time to grow and develop. We get to further see development and softening of Logan, while we also see Magneto's descend even further into his desire for a mutant rule. I loved young Xavier's rise arc the most. This man was down on his luck for the longest time and we got to see him climb back up and get stronger throughout this film. I also loved the exploration of Mystique/Raven's moral gray area. There were a few interesting story beats there were skipped over or abandoned, which disappointed me. The whole JFK assassination fell a bit flat. I also didn;t like that Wolverine couldn't remember the new future when he came to. It seems like he would be able to remember both, since he would've lived both, but oh well. I don't want to discuss time-travel theories and loopholes. The end did a great job of bringing everyone (and I mean EVERYONE from the originals back). This story was great in that it kept the story moving at an exciting pace and also managed to develop the core characters.
The actors all stepped up their game. James McAvoy really brought it as Xavier. The way he played his character actually made his version of Xavier my favorite version and favorite character of the film. Not far behind is a more nuanced version of Logan (Hugh Jackman). We are used to seeing a more aggressive and loner type of Logan, but since the events of 'The Wolverine', Logan has started to open up a bit more. It is really a lot more fun to see Logan now that he is trying to be helpful and patient with people. Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult) wasn't given much to do, but what he did worked well. The only core members that bugged me were Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and that isn't to say they aren't great actors. They are, it is just that there characters were just so gosh darn stubborn. It really just bugged me that they couldn't think logically for a minute. Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart were great as Future Magneto and Future Xavier. But that is expected. I really liked Blink, a future X-Man. She just rocked to me. Kitty Pryde was also pretty good with the little material she was given. Bolivar Trask was a better villain than people give him credit for. I loved how he was played as more of a sympathetic villain, per se, because he was really just interested in the mutants. I didn't ever really think he wanted to kill all of them. He just need an excuse to see what made them all special. The greatest surprise, though, was Quicksilver. He got a lot of hate for his costume (non-existent), but a lot of love once the movie came out. The love was deserved. He was easily the best part of the film. He had very subtle humor and his one action scene was just epic. Quicksilver was the bomb.
As for the action, well surprisingly there wasn't much big set-piece action sequences. A lot stayed intimate. The beginning sequence for example was relatively small. But seeing all these characters with all their different powers work together was pretty insane, especially considering how cohesive they were as a unit. What I loved about the action was how visually stunning it was. There was a bit of slo-mo, which I usually don't like, but Singer knew how to use it best. Plus that Quicksilver sequence was just about the greatest thing ever shown in a comic book film. There was a head scratching moment at the end. I have no idea why Magneto decided to bring a baseball stadium with him to a final showdown. It didn't really seem to play a part in anything. Overall, there wasn't too much action, but the little that was present was visually beautiful.
Overall, this was the best X-Men movie yet. I have never been a huge fan of X-Men movies, but this film actually got me excited for the next. The story gave everyone a chance to shine. There wasn't much time-travel confusion. The actors, all of them, gave it their all and rocked it. And the thing that I liked the most was how it was a character study. You don't see that much in a comic book film (The Dark Knight of the few), and this one pulled it off even with the ensemble cast. Fantastic film.
Highlights:
My Opinion: Go see this in the theater. And then see it again. And then buy it on blu-ray and watch it again! | The Score: 9 out of 10 I really felt a few things should've been explained better or shouldn't have been included. Other than that, great film. |