Review 318: X-Men: Days of Future Past
Based on the comic storyline Days of Future Past by Chris Claremont & John Byrne. In the year 2023, Sentinels created by Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) hunt down and kill mutants and humans alike. With mutants now facing extinction, Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) volunteers to back in time 50 years to 1973 and rally the younger X-Men in a battle in which they must change the past – to save their future.
The plot is wonderful, it's so complex, so well detailed and so well though out. It expertly blends multiple genres with themes from previous X-Men films to create one of its best instalments.
What makes X-Men: Days of Future Past such a great film is that underneath all the visual splendour, the large ensemble cast of old and familiar faces and the parallel narratives is a central theme that no matter how dark your path, it's never too late to find yourself again. You don't just hope, you take control of your life and make sure the same mistake never happens again. It really is true about human nature in that sense. If you mess up you make things better, not just for yourself but for other people. If you make a mistake it's not permanent because you can always fix it and learn from it.
Faith and hope that things will turn out fine.
The political/anti-mutant backdrop of the two times periods is very distinct and very rich, in the future, anti-mutant threat is at an all time low, so severe and far more severe than it's been before.
It's not just a case of politicians trying to change legislation, it's turned into a fight for survival and the Sentinels are going around actually killing Mutants and the ones that aren't are kept in Nazi esque concentration camp. 50 years ago in 1973, the conflict is set against the backdrop of Vietnam War where
Along the way, a lot of threats interplay and so many relationships clash. For instance, Mystique has left Magneto's now disbanded brotherhood and is working solo trying to assassinate Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) due to her being bitter over the death of fellow mutants and Wolverine, Professor X, Beast and Magneto try to stop her. All the while Professor X is struggling to convince her to come home and do things the way she sees they should be done.
Returning director Bryan Singer's direction is precise, the cinematography is beautiful and captures the dour, foreboding atmosphere of the dystopian futre as well as the outgoing vibrant look of 1973 Washington); The special effects are amazing, the score by John Ottman is wonderfully bombastic, the production design is spectacular (creating both the dystopian future that the original X-Men inhabit as well as Washington in 1973) giving each setting a destinct and tangible look and feel.
The costumes are majestic, the action scenes are exciting, well choreographed and expertly staged, the scenery is breathtaking, the make up is rich and beautifully detailed, the sound effects are terrific and the ending has is both emotionally poignant and satisfying.
Another great thing about X-Men: Days of Future Past is the cast. Along with The Avengers and The Dark Knight Trilogy, this has one of the best acting ensembles in a superhero movie. All the gang from the original trilogy, Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Ellen Page Shawn Ashmore and Daniel Cudmore are back and so are the cast from X-Men: First Class, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult and Lucas Till.
However, there are also some newcomers to the piece: Omar Sy as Lucas Bishop/Bishop, Fan Bingbing as Clarice Ferguson/Blink, Adan Canto as Roberto da Costa/Sunspot, Booboo Stewart as James Proudstar/Warpath and Evan Peters as Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver.
In regards to Bishop, Blink, Sunspot & Warpath, they're not fresh recruits. They more like refugees that have been living day to day in this hideously ruined world. They don't have much hope in this world. They've been on the run and now they've joined forces with the X-Men to try to do this one last ditch attempt to save the world.
Hugh Jackman once again turns in a winning & charismatic performance as Logan/Wolverine. With this film we're presented with an older, wiser, calmer, more mature Wolverine, someone who has greatly grown as character during his time with the X-Men.
James McAvoy is, once again, fantastic as the younger Professor X. In this film, we're presented with an older and bitter Charles Xavier. He's gone from being a feckless playboy to wounded animal filled with rage at the way the world has treated him and has given up on his dream of human-mutant peaceful coexistence after the failure of his school and now leads a reclusive life as a result. He's also taking a serum developed by Hank McCoy/Beast (Nicholas Hoult) to regain his mobility but at the cost of suppressing his mutation and becoming rude and prone to fits of violence and uses alcohol to deal with his depression. He's traded his hope for an all consuming fear. What makes his arc optimisticly uplifting is that over the course of the film, we see him regain his confidence and ultimatly become the uncompromising optimist again for very grounded reasons.
Michael Fassbender is also playing the young Erik Lehsherr/Magneto. Magneto's brotherhood has disbanded since the events of X-Men: First Class and Magneto's become just as isolated as Charles due to becoming imprisoned for allegedy assasinating JFK.
Both Professor X and Magneto's character arcs and dynamics in both the past and the future both parallel each other and compliment each other superbly. Once again, they are two halves of the same coin. Both are people who lost those closest to them and have become isolated in the process. They both love and hate each other but ultimatly they still respect each other even th
Jennifer Lawrence is
Nicholas Hoult gives a touching, emotionally poignant performance as Hank McCoy/Beast. After Xavier hit rock bottom and his school for mutants went out of business, Beast was the one friend and ally who stood by his side and cared for him. His loyalty to Professor X a friend in need.
Evan Peters is a real highlight of this film as a Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver.
Peter Dinklage is excellent playing Bolivar Trask makes for one of the X-Men films most complex and interesting antagonist. What's fascinating about him is that he doesn't inherently hate mutants, but views them as more of a means to bring about world peace. He sees what he's doing as a good thing which isn't entirely true as his ambition is defiantly blind and this makes him quite arrogant. Technically however, Trask is doing a good thing and you can understand his POV especially as a good portion of this film is set during a time when America was in the middle of a very dangerous conflict (Vietnam War) and he found a way to unite humanity together as a spices, unfortunately that way was at the expense of mutants.
All of these actors are so well directed, so well evened out and as a result give such great performances that it makes for an superb all round acting.
X-Men: Days of Future Past is a satifying all round epic and I look forward to X-Men Apocalypse in 2016, 5/5.
The Anonymous Critic.
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