Can't think of a proper introductory
paragraph. Whatever, begin the review already!
So X-Men: Days of Future Past
begins in a dystopian future where Sentinels rule the Earth,
enslaving/killing mutants and mutant sympathizers. Professor Xavier's
surviving mutants send Wolverine's consciousness back to 1973 in an
attempt to prevent the Sentinels from being created and thus save the
world from devastation. So this movie actually has two plots/settings
going on at once – resulting in simultaneous fight scenes – and
it is presented splendidly. Everyone's favourite mutants can be found
here as well as a few new ones like Warpath, Bishop, and Quicksilver.
As always Hugh Jackman contributes an impeccable Wolverine portrayal.
Both James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart give excellent,
emotionally-charged dual performances as Professor X, who pretty much
owns the film. Mystique's character is also fleshed out a bit more
just as it was in First Class. And to top it all off we even
get Richard Nixon! The only thing that's missing is a Stan Lee cameo.
Seriously, where is he?
Both the action scenes and special
effects are very well done, reminiscent of the style of First
Class. The jokes are decent and the set pieces are impressive.
Also, if you've ever wanted to see Wolverine's butt then this movie
is for you.
However there are some problems
present. Like why is Magneto such a counterproductive dick? And since
when has Kitty Pride – the girl who can phase through solid objects
– had the ability to project peoples' consciousness back through
time? In 1973 Beast has found a cure for paralysis but he never
bothers to share it with the rest of the world. What a jerk! There's
also an unnecessary, ridiculous subplot about one mutant's
involvement in the Kennedy assassination. Every successive line
relating to it is even dumber than the last.
Additionally,
there's a few problems that have been carried over from other X-Men
films too. We're still never given an explanation as to why/how
Magneto's powers returned after losing them in X-Men 3.
There's also no explanation for Professor X being alive after he died
in X-Men 3. (And for
those of you who say that he transferred his consciousness into a
comatose man I still have some questions: Why does his new body look
just like his original one? Why can't he walk still?) Days
of Future Past also suffers from the same problem that plagued
First Class: it doesn't fit in with the rest of the X-Men
timeline (though just those two movies fit together OK). For example,
Origins: Wolverine establishes that during this time period,
Wolverine was working for Colonel Stryker with Sabretooth.
But on its own, X-Men: Days of
Future Past is a pretty good film. It has good action,
exceptional acting, and a thought-provoking story. Come to think of
it, the time-travelling, history-altering ending of this film kind of
makes all the past plot inconsistencies not matter any more. Things
are different now; it's as if they've rebooted the series without
really rebooting it. It's incredible, really. This screenplay is a
stroke of unparalleled genius!
(Ahem.) It's pretty good despite
evidence of several rewrites (some staple characters make only
momentary appearances and a couple subplots end up going nowhere).
X-Men fans and action fans will like it. The time-travelling and
retcons give it a more comic book feel to it than First Class, which
I'm sure some people will prefer. Just don't bother seeing it in 3D
(in this case it isn't all that great).
Rating: three and a half stars out of
five.
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