X-Men: Days of Future Past

Welcome to another episode of Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Directed by Bryan Singer.

Written by Simon Kinberg.

Screen Story by Simon Kinberg, Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn.

Based on the Marvel Comics characters The X-Men.  Created by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby.

Review #253

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 ffor sequences of intense sci-fi violence and action, some suggestive material, nudity and language.

Run Time: 131 min

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Cast

Hugh Jackman...Logan / Wolverine

James McAvoy...Charles Xavier

Michael Fassbender...Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto

Jennifer Lawrence...Raven Darkholmme / Mystique

Halle Berry...Storm

Nicholas Hoult...Hank McCoy / Beast

Ellen Page...Kitty Pryde

Peter Dinklage...Dr. Bolivar Trask

Shawn Ashmore...Bobby Drake / Iceman

Omar Sy...Bishop

Evan Peters...Peter Maximoff / Quicksilver

Josh Helman...Maj. Bill Stryker

Daniel Cudmore...Colossus

Bingbing Fan...Blink

Adan Canto...Sunspot

Booboo Stewart...Warpath

Ian McKellen...Magneto

Patrick Stewart...Professor X

Lucas Till...Havok

Evan Jonigkeit...Toad

After Bryan Singer made his mark with the first 2 films in the X-Men franchise. He then stepped away to tackle a superhero franchise that proved to be tougher to revive.

This left Fox Studios scrambling to find someone to replace Singer. They went with hack Brett Ratner who proceeded to butcher the great work Singer left behind. Then X-Men: First Class (click link to read review) gave the franchise a shot of adrenaline it desperately needed after the s**t show that was X-Men: The Last Stand.

So what does Marvel and Fox do for and encore?

They go BIGGER!

Plot

The X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.

Any X-Men fan will tell you that one of the most popular story runs ever was Days of Future Past. It's also the most ambitious that was filled with twists and turns that shook up the X-Men comic universe. To even suggest that it would be a good story to adapt for the silver screen would have been met with laughter and ridicule. Of course times have changed and comic book movies have become more sophisticated and serious. So with Bryan Singer back in the fold, all parties concerned decided to give this storyline a shot.

They NAILED IT!

The first thing Singer got right was juggling the massive amount of mutants that ran across the screen. This film was overloaded with characters both old and new. It was a tight manage of screen time between all the major players but I never got the sense of underplaying or over exposure when it came to one mutant over another. The central story required certain characters to dominate the screen time so it was only natural to gravitate towards them and just enjoy everyone else when you saw them. Could there have been more development with some of the new jacks? Of course but that's what sequels are for.

Plus, there's no time to dive into new mutants back story when the fate of their kind is at stake. 

Instead the film just goes into the action head first after a bit of expositional voice over from Patrick Stewart. With the complicated stuff this plot provides, going through the roster just isn't a viable option. That being said, Singer tried and in my opinion succeeded in giving everyone who was really important their just due. This is evident with the introduction of one very special character.

His name is Quicksilver. Pictured on the right.

He was by far the highlight of the film. The scene depicted above brilliantly showcased his abilities and persona. It also tossed in a very sweet Easter egg for fans of the character concerning his family tree. Quicksilver's role in this film was small but he was the main attraction in this scene. Aided by some very clever photography with a high speed camera called phantom, Singer was able to show off this kid's amazing speed while giving the audience the opportunity to see it in all of it's glory. It was a very well done scene that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Singer hasn't lost his touch when it comes to the X-Men world.

Now he did have some big time help. In the form of writer Simon Kinberg. He has a background writing comic book films. He wrote X-Men: First Class which I mentioned earlier rebooted the franchise. His work here was extraordinary considering the massive challenges facing him. We all know that geeks are never satisfied and love to judge the comic book by it's cover. I am guilty of that myself. Choosing this story run was a big time roll of the dice and Kinberg did a really good job of blending the core elements of the story with the big changes that were made.

The other impressive feat of Kinberg's script was making sure that this film played more like a sequel to First Class than The Last Stand. Another tricky concept. It was important to continue the journey of the young X-Men while washing away the filth The Last Stand did to the old X-Men. Kinberg pulled it off and it seems to have earned him some major clout and trust among the Marvel community and with Fox. He's gone on to write the script for the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot and will handle writing duties on the follow up to this film X-Men: Apocalypse. If Days of Future Past is any indication of what to expect from the next installment then we are in for a fun ride.

Script changes aside. Singer and company accomplished their mission with flying colors. Days of Future Past merged the old with the new and gave fans the X-Men film that surpasses all other X-Men films. Let's just hope that Bryan Singers pending legal issues don't hurt the promotion of Apocalypse. As of this writing he is still assigned directing duties but we all know Tinseltown. If things get nasty which could lead to bad press for the film, he may get the ax.

Which could be very "Apocalyptic" for the future of the franchise.

For now let's just enjoy this one because it was just that.

Enjoyable.

On the 5 star scale. X-Men: Days of Future Past gets 4 stars with a "Worth Every Penny" recommendation!

That's a wrap for today.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"