For anyone who hasn’t read my previous two
reviews, I would like to establish two things. The first is that I always aim
to steer as far away from specific details about a film’s plot and its
characters as possible. This may make my reviews seem vague at points, but I
believe in letting people go into a film fresh. If you don’t wish to read my
full review for fear of spoilers, you can skip to the final paragraph of the
review to see my overall verdict and rating. Secondly, as this is another film
with a long franchise history (much like Captain America: The Winter Soldier
and The Amazing Spider-Man 2), I feel that I need to express my
opinions on the other films in the franchise before beginning to fully review X-Men:
Days of Future Past. So if you wish to avoid my opinions on the other films
and instead skip to my views on X-Men: Days of Future Past, jump forward to the fifth paragraph and go
crazy. With that being said, let’s begin…
In 2000, X-Men hit the big screen.
Seeing as I wasn’t old enough to see it in the cinema (I’ve seen every other X-Men
film in the cinema), I saw it on VHS within a year after its release. As a
kid, X-Men changed my views on what a superhero film could be. By
combining smart allegorical ideas and (mostly) compelling characters with a
superhero team dynamic which allowed for a spectacular variety of powers
playing out within skilfully constructed action sequences, X-Men provided
me with arguably my first adult superhero film experience. Plus, it introduced
me to one of the most awesome cinematic superheroes in Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine
and one of the most understandably malevolent cinematic super villains in Ian
McKellen’s Magneto (the fact that the next role I saw McKellen in was that of
Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings confirmed my belief that this guy was
beyond cool). Three years after X-Men had its release, X2 hit the
big screen and upped the ante. From the knock-out opening to that beautiful
tease of a final shot, X2 was more ambitious, intelligently crafted,
spectacular and an overall better film than its predecessor. The action
stunned, the actors continued to bring their A-game and both Singer and his
writers continued to put characters and story first. While it wasn’t perfect,
it was still a tremendous film which showed off the immense potential of ’comic-book’
films. Everything was going smoothly…
Until Singer jumped ship for Superman
Returns, leaving X-Men: The Last Stand in the hands of one Brett
Ratner. Many fans were in uproar, saying that the departure of Singer and the
replacement choice of Ratner spelled doom for the franchise. After it came out,
it received a lot of heated hate from fans. I’m just going to say this up
front: I loved this film when it first came out. Back then, I didn’t have as
much critical awareness of films as I do now, so I loved it without much
question and saw it more than once in cinemas (using my Cineworld card so that
I spent nothing on it). Now that time has gone on, I can understand why people
have their complaints. For a film running around 100 minutes, there are too
many characters and subplots, some of which get squashed in the shuffle and
leeched of some of their power as a result. The delicate yet confident skill
with characters and story which Singer displayed is replaced with a more brash
style (see every line Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones) utters for evidence). Finally,
I’m sorry if anyone disagrees, but Halle Berry’s Storm becomes a royal pain in
this film. Apparently, this was due to Berry’s insistence on an expanded role
and a higher salary for the third instalment. If this is true, I dislike Berry
not only for her greed but also for her inability to understand that she’s not
the best actress for this role. She got away with this in the first two films
due to her role as a supporting character, but put front and centre, she doesn’t
impress. She instead comes across as confrontational, unpleasant and high ‘n‘
mighty. With all that ranting out of the way, I still enjoy this film. Don’t
get me wrong; I consider it to be the weakest film in the original trilogy, but
I don’t think that it’s anywhere near devoid of merit in its entertainment
value. The cast is still superb, with Jackman and McKellen nothing short of
exceptional (Famke Janssen and Kelsey Grammer also do terrific work as Jean
Grey and Beast respectively), the themes of the first two films are present,
there are numerous nods to the comic-book crowd, the action sequences are
exceptional and the pacing helps immeasurably in building momentum to a finale
with a genuinely operatic punch. So, while I understand the flaws which many
might find with it, I can’t bring myself to dislike X-Men: The Last Stand.
On the other hand, I’m more than happy to admit my immensely negative opinion
of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. This is the only X-Men film where I
don’t like acknowledging its existence (and I think that 20th
Century Fox feels the same). It throws in characters to please the fans instead
of giving them a legitimate role in the narrative, making them and all the
indignities performed upon the characters all the more offensive. It screws up
the narrative of the original films and provides answers to long-gestating
questions which are so anger-inducing through their laziness (as far as foolish
choices in superhero films go, I think that adamantium bullets are in the top
tier along with the Bat credit card, emo Spider-Man and casting Ryan Reynolds).
The visual effects are awfully awkward and the action sequences make ’routine’
look ’genre-defining’. In the end, despite the best efforts of a fine cast
(with Jackman and Liev Schreiber as
Sabretooth doing brilliant work), X-Men Origins: Wolverine is nothing less than a stain on
the X-Men legacy. Whatever the next film did would have to wash the bad
taste of franchise poison away…
Cue the heroic music!
In steps Matthew Vaughn, fresh off his
brilliant superhero parody Kick-Ass, to reinvigorate the franchise with
2011’s X-Men: First Class. By putting the relationship between young
Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Eric Lensherr (Michael Fassbender)
front-and-centre and by turning the story into a globe-trotting Bond-style
thriller, Vaughn both reintroduced the emotional undercurrent of Singer’s films
while creating a terrifically slick and fast-paced adventure. The performances
(particularly those of McAvoy, Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence as young shape
shifter Mystique) were beautifully well-judged, the action was powerfully
exciting, the characters were engaging and entertaining, the story was
thoroughly gripping and the visual effects (with the exception of an awkward
rendition of a young Beast) were fantastic. Vaughn not only washed away the
stench of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but in doing so, he arguably created
the best X-Men film thus far. The next step in re-building the franchise came with
2013’s The Wolverine, the second spin-off for the character of
Wolverine. With a focus on character over action (though there is some great
Wolverine action) and with a significant focus on Wolverine instead of the
scattershot approach to characters adopted by X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The
Wolverine proved to be another strong addition to the franchise. Hugh
Jackman delivered another fiercely committed and terrific performance in the
role, the locations and mythology proved to be both visually interesting and
important to the character, the action was refreshingly low-key for the most
past and the direction by James Mangold made the character seem new and
intriguing by making him the focus of a gangster thriller. Despite a
final 20 minutes which disappointingly abandoned the low-key character approach
for generic visual effects chaos, The Wolverine still showed that the
franchise was heading in the right direction.
And now, we reach X-Men: Days of Future Past. This instalment is important for two major reasons. The first is that Bryan Singer has returned as a director. The second is that Days of Future Past combines both the cast of First Class and the cast of the original film. In short, Days of Future Past would be an essential film to see for any fan of the X-Men film series, regardless of its quality.
It is 2023. Mutants are being hunted by an imposing menace called The Sentinels. In order to prevent the apocalyptic future, Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Eric Lensherr (Ian McKellen) agree to send Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back in time to 1973 to prevent the chain of events which will lead to The Sentinels' eventual domination. In order to do this, Wolverine will need the help of both the young Charles (James McAvoy) and Eric (Michael Fassbender)...
Bryan Singer, you sure know how to make a triumphant return. With X-Men: Days of Future Past, Singer has proved that, no matter what James Mangold (The Wolverine) and especially Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class) excelled in during their directorial stints, he is the key director of the X-Men film series. From the very beginning, Singer takes you on a thrilling roller-coaster ride which never lets up in its ferocious pacing and action while still taking its time with character interplay and a immensely intelligent and satisfying story. Both Singer and his team of writers prove up to the task of capturing the best of the film series' previous accomplishments while moving forward in a spectacular new direction.
X-Men: Days of Future Past wouldn't work nearly as well as it does without the terrific array of performances at its centre. Front and centre is Hugh Jackman, whose star power is still overwhelmingly palpable. Jackman is still nothing less than the perfect choice for the role of Wolverine; he has the indestructible charisma, the thunderous rage, the staggering physicality and the roguish likeability down pat, allowing him to depict the character in a way which couldn't be duplicated. The day when Jackman tucks away the claws for good will be a sad day, indeed. Here, Jackman adds new shades to the character, showing that even after almost a decade and a half, there are still many interesting facets for Jackman to explore. However, unlike the other X-Men films where he has a pivotal role, Jackman doesn't walk away with the film entirely. While I found Jennifer Lawrence powerful in First Class, I felt that her work lacked the physical prowess which Rebecca Romjin brought to the role in the original trilogy. In the original trilogy, Mystique was an active participant, whether it be through infiltration or combat. In First Class, Lawrence had a touching emotional arc, but wasn't much of an active participant in the events of the story. Here, however, Lawrence's Mystique is given a much more important role in the story and is much more of an active character. Lawrence delivers arguably her most physically compelling performance to date through some thrilling fight sequences while still providing an emotionally stirring portrayal, making this the most powerful portrayal of the character to date. Fassbender is once again fantastic as a young Magneto, sharing the same kind of cruelly intense charisma as Daniel Craig's portrayal of James Bond. Not only is Fassbender excessively cool, he also creates a strong sense of sympathy and understanding for the character combined with a chilling determination which continues to make him an exceptional antagonist. Nicholas Hoult once again delivers an impressive performance as a young Hank McCoy AKA Beast, benefitting from a larger role and from much improved make-up. As Boliver Trask, Peter Dinklage (also known as Tyrion Lannister from HBO's Game of Thrones) is suavely menacing and ensnares attention every time he's on screen. Josh Helman also makes a strong impression as an associate of Trask (the character's name will not be mentioned here to retain surprise for those unaware, but if you want to know who it is, you can type in Helman's name on IMDb). Evan Peters is a scene-stealing delight as Peter Maximoff AKA Quiksilver, and he plays a pivotal role in one of the most sensationally executed action sequences in recent memory. And I haven't even talked about the returning cast member from the original trilogy yet. It is fantastic to see Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Ellen Page's Kitty Pryde and Shawn Ashmore's Iceman and Daniel Cudmore's Colossus return, and all of them step back into their roles with ease (I felt a sense of indifference towards Halle Berry's return as Storm both before and after the film), and all of them step back into their roles with ease. Stewart, in particular, delivers some beautifully poignant work. Despite all of the great work from the actors across the board, the performance I found the most compelling was that of James McAvoy as the young Professor Xavier. As much as I love Patrick Stewart's interpretation of the character, McAvoy's work transforms Professor X into a much more fragile, funny and sympathetic figure. McAvoy beautifully captures all of the character's pain and conflict, but he still has some very funny moments. Whereas Stewart plays the man as a wise mentor who has experienced sorrow in his past, McAvoy's face is etched with said sorrow, allowing us to see where Stewart's Xavier was born. McAvoy rivets every time he's on screen. I am not saying that he inaguably gives the best performance in the film (there are way too many terrific, attention-grabbing turns here), but as far as I am concerned, McAvoy's work as Professor Xavier is an unerringly powerful portrayal of the film's most intriguing character.
The script is fantastic, with numerous nods to the fan base of the comic-books and spectacularly written interactions between the characters. Also fantastically realised is the intergration of real-life events from the 1970's and how they are linked into the story in relation to the mutant struggle. Simon Kinberg, Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn have all done a brilliant job crafting a compelling script and story here, and I'm glad to hear that Kinberg will be behind the script for the following instalment. This, combined with Singer's effortless direction, the characters and story would be more than enough to make this film worth seeing.
But then we come to the action. The breath-taking action sequences not only provide stirring spectacle; they also lend even more power to the characters and their journeys, while emphasising the never-higher stakes. The visual effects beautifully bring the powers of the mutant characters to life in thrilling and inventive ways; this is particularly true of the characters of Quiksilver and Blink (Bingbing Fan). The action sequences, with one exception, offer a palpable sense of threat and dread. The first and final action sequences, in particular, are dazzling, edge-of-your-seat set-pieces with a genuine sense of despair which should be applauded. For those who are coming to this film for the action, prepare to be amazed.
Technically, this film is worthy of many plaudits. Returning along with Singer, John Ottman provides wonderfully coherent editing which allows the film to unfold with intense urgency while allowing time for the characters to breathe. He also does a terrific job at reprising composing duties, reminding us that his theme for the X-Men is one of the most flat-out awesome superhero themes thus far. The sound editing and mixing is superb, while the soundtrack is brilliantly chosen (Jim Croce's Time in a Bottle is particularly well-chosen). Finally, the cinematography is fantastic, capturing an apocalyptic dread in the future scenes while making the 1970's scenes seem naturalistic without straying over-the top in referencing the period. In fact, when the cinematography does acknowledge the period, it is done in ways which only enhance the events of the story. Finally, the period detail (namely the clothing and the settings) are adeptly accomplished.
None of the X-Men film are perfect (I doubt that any of them will ever fall into that category), and Days of Future Past is no exception. As with all X-Men films, there are characters who could have been given more to do. One example here is Ian McKellen's Magneto. McKellen is brilliant as always, but I would have liked to see more of him. His rendtion of Magneto still stands as one of the finest portrayals of a comic-book villain to date. With that being said, I can understand why Fassbender's rendition of Magneto was given more focus in this film. He hasn't had as much time in the role as McKellen, so I'm glad to see Fassbender given more time to develop his rendition of the character (especially seeing as he's proving to be just as electric in the role as McKellen). Also, while I often don't appreciate how much the marketing for films can give away too much detail, I was disappointed to find that one scene between two character with a lot of promise didn't appear in the final film. Finally, the 3D conversion doesn't accomplish much in providing immersion, only managing to diminish the film's picture brightness. This 3D conversion merely feels like a cash-grab; if you can, I'd highly recommend seeing this in 2D.
Final Verdict and Rating
Despite some problems (a cast with some given more to do than others and a pointless 3D conversion), I still adore X-Men: Days of Future Past. The cast is phenomenal, the action sequences and visual effects are stunning, the script is terrific, the story is propulsively engaging and the film is technically exceptional. This is, for me, the most accomplished of the summer blockbusters thus far this year. By acknowledging the successes of the past while bravely paving a road forward for the future of the franchise in new and unexpected ways, director Bryan Singer has returned to this series with a deafening bang. This is spectacular, emotional and intelligent entertainment of an incredibly high order. Following the pitch-perfect conclusion to Days of Future Past (as well as the usual after-credits scene), I can't wait to see how he tackles X-Men: Apocalypse.
I was simply going to offer my rating of this film here. But I thought I'd have a bit more fun with it. So here is how I would rank the X-Men films, from lowest to highest...
7. X-Men: Origins - Wolverine (1.5/5)
6. X-Men: The Last Stand (3.5/5)
5. The Wolverine (4/5)
4. X-Men (4.25/5)
3. X2 (4.5/5)
2. X-Men: First Class (4.5/5) - 2 and 3 could change based on me giving them the same rating.
And taking the top spot as the franchise's pinnacle...
1. X-Men: Days of Future Past (4.75/5)
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