X-Men: Days of Future Past - Review

I have kind of a love/hate relationship with the X-Men film series. On one hand, the films generally average out to be pretty good. You have your good ones (X-Men, X2, The Wolverine), your not-so-good ones (Last Stand, Origins: Wolverine), and your sole great one (First Class). So yeah, for the most part, good films. Even the bad ones aren't totally without any merit (Last Stand at least has some decent action). Yet, I can't help but feel like they've kind of been jogging in place since this series began. They've basically been telling slight re-iterations of the same story (protecting those who fear them). Don't get me wrong, that's generally been the basic premise for the comics as well, but the comics did manage to throw some curve-balls to the general formula once in a while. Still, I guess it's a reasonable concept on which to base a franchise, and at the very least, none of the films have been generic re-stagings, so that's got to count for something. The newest entry, X-Men: Days of Future Past, represents three things... a loose adaptation of one of the comic's most well-known story-lines, a coming together/reunion of First Class's characters/actors and the original cast, and finally to ret-con the faults and lame endings of The Last Stand and Origins. Plus, it features the return of X-Men and X2's original director, Bryan Singer. I'll admit that I had some reservations about this one, but I won't say that I couldn't help but buy into the hype. How did it turn out?

The year is 2023, and the world has become a complete apocalyptic wasteland. Those born with mutant abilities (as well as those who aid mutants) are being hunted down by advanced machines known as Sentinels, robotic weapons created in 1973 to destroy mutants after their existence became public knowledge and led to mass paranoia. With the existance of mutants (and humanity) on the line, Professor Charles Xavier aka Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and Erik Lehnsherr aka Magneto (Ian McKellen) have once again joined forces with a small group of remaining X-Men to fight the Sentinels. In a last ditch effort to prevent this dark future before it even starts, Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) uses her abilities to send Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) consciousness into his body from 1973, where he then will attempt to stop the chain of events that lead up to the dark future. To do so, he must not only stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from killing the Sentinel's creator, Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) but also reunite the young Charles (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) when they couldn't be further apart. With time running out, Wolverine must act quick or the future of the mutant and human race could be wiped out forever.

So like I mentioned, I had some reservations going into this film, even though I generally thought it looked pretty good. It's just coming off the excellent X-Men: First Class, it was definitely a bummer when I heard that Matthew Vaughn had stepped down as director. When it was announced that Bryan Singer would return to the series, my thoughts were mixed. I still think the first two X-Men films hold up pretty well, especially X2. It's just that superhero films have improved significantly over the years, and I was concerned that Days of Future Past would repeat some of the more forgettable qualities of the first two films that were acceptable at the time, but harder to accept now. For instance, the black leather costumes of the first three X-Men films is boring and uninspired, some of the action doesn't really hold up in the first two, and with the exception of Wolverine, Magneto, Professor X, and Mystique, character development was pretty limited. Still, the cast was (generally) spot-on, some of the action was passable, and the scripts of the first two, for the most part, understood the source material... at least enough to make them passable movies. Though in case your wondering, here are my thoughts on all the films... X-Men (good), X2 (quite good), The Last Stand (some decent action, but overall not very good), X-Men Origins Wolverine (pretty bad), First Class (awesome), and The Wolverine (decent). So with all that said, where does Days of Future Past sit... we're right back where we started with just "good."

So yeah, the film is good. It's not great, it's not amazing, but it's not bad by any means. If all you want to know is whether the film is worth watching, I can confidently say that the movie is worth watching once in theaters. That said, it's by no means great and has some noticeable (and in some cases pretty massive) flaws. Script-wise is where the film really drops the ball. The basic premise is fine and leads to some very entertaining scenes, but by the time the film finished, it became clear that the time travel based storyline was chosen less to actually tell a story but rather as a means to ret-con and do-over the faults of the previous films and to set the stage for future sequels. Almost every one of the events from the previous films has been done over, namely the God-awful ending Last Stand. Now, I'll admit that's kind of a cheap way to undo the faults of it's predecessors, but since The Last Stand really bit the big one with such a shitty ending, I can let that slide. Though what's harder to let slide are some massive gaps in logic and storytelling. For instance, where the hell did Kitty Pryde get time travel powers??? Her basic power is to walk through walls, and there was never an instance where her new powers were hinted or explained in either this film or any previous films. Plus, like many time travel movies, the actual timeline of events is so convoluted and confusing that my brain hurts every time I try to understand it. Also was a little irritated with the way they just did away with many of the mutants from First Class (what the hell was up with that). With that all said, the basic premise is an interesting setup, there are some stand-out scenes, and the pacing couldn't have been better. Like any movie an ensemble cast, some of the supporting characters get the shaft, but the main figures get enough to do to make the film work. The script is flawed, no question about that, but works well enough to support such an ambitious premise.

Once again, like all of the (good) X-Men films, the movie finds it's true success based on the strength of it's cast. It's kind of annoying that all the X-Men films (minus First Class) are so Wolverine-centric, but there's no denying that Hugh Jackman is still so perfectly cast in the part, that I'm willing to overlook that. It was also nice to see Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen return for what's probably one more outing as Professor X and Magneto respectively. James McAvoy is the true stand-out as the young Charles Xavier, running away with nearly every one of his scenes in both dramatic, and at times, heartbreaking manner. Michael Fassbender continues to show off his natural acting skills as the young Magneto, which is no surprise because he's awesome. Jennifer Lawrence phones it in a little bit as Mystique, which is a bit disappointing after her great performance in First Class (as well as her very impressive filmography) but she's got enough natural talent to make the character passable. Peter Dinklage is solid as the villainous Trask, but the script barely gives him anything to do and as a result, he's little more than a one-note villain. This was probably the most disappointing part of the film, since a more well-rounded character would have given Dinklage a lot to work with and could have made the film truly special. One of the other newcomers is Evan Peters as Quicksilver, a mutant with super speed. I will that, while his character is kind of annoying, he gets a pretty cool action scene and only appears in the film briefly, so no huge complaints there. Everyone else is, overall, pretty solid. Whether they're a newcomer to the franchise or a returning character, I have no real complaints.

As for the visual/action elements... well, like pretty much everything else, I have some mixed feelings. Bryan Singer's trademark dark, gritty, and drab visual aesthetic returns to the series, and once again I'm somewhat let down. I can generally get behind it for the post-apocalyptic scenes, though even those could have been a bit better shot. Though what I really missed was the Fleming-inspired aesthetic from First Class. The classic 007 inspired cinematography and art design from First Class gave that film a really unique quality that found that middle ground between comic book visuals and a retro film vibe. For Days of Future Past... that's sorely missed. The futuristic scenes work, but they feel more like a generic run-of-the-mill post-apocalyptic world you see it many sci-fi films while the scenes in the 1970s are decent enough but could have been great with a bit more stylish flair. Fortunately, Bryan Singer has greatly improved in his ability to direct action since X2. Even though the opening scenes are terribly underlit, the action is fast-paced, well shot, and creatively realized. It's not the most original or unique, but I won't deny that most of the action scenes are usually pretty awesome. Whether it be a fight, a chase, or an all out attack, they work. Oh and a little fanboy aside... THE SENTINELS WERE AWESOME!!! I have been waiting for the Sentinels to show up in an X-Men film for ages (no that stupid Danger Room cameo in The Last Stand doesn't count) and just to see them on the big screen in live action was enough to make my inner fanboy giddy! If nothing else, the film works strictly as an action film, and for most people that'll probably be enough.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, X-Men: Days of Future Past is not a great movie, but it works. It's a thoroughly entertaining movie despite having some glaring script and tone issues. I'd say it's about on par with the first film, though not quite as good as X2, and certainly doesn't hold a candle to First Class. Though it's a huge improvement over The Last Stand and Origins, and an improvement over last year's Wolverine movie. If you're an X-Men fan, you'll probably leave satisfied. For everyone else... you'll get your money's worth.

My Score: 3.5 out of 5!