Make no mistake, X-Men: Days of Future Past is Bryan Singer’s X-Men. He brings the original vision of the franchise back to where it all began with X-Men and X2. This latest entry in the X-Men series of films is loosely based on a 1981 storyline by Chris Claremont. Days of Future Past has the team flare of The Avengers mixed with the dark, brooding mood of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. This is homerun for Singer and may be the best X-Men to date. Spoilers from here…
Written by Simon Kinberg, DOFP opens with a less than promising future for both humans and mutants alike. The threat comes in the form of the Sentinels, super robots programmed for mutant destruction by its creator, Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage).
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| Peter Dinklage as Trask (with Major William Stryker overseeing) |
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| The Sentinels |
Desperate to change the outcome of the future, the X-Men led by Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) with some help from Kitty Pride (Ellen Page), Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is telepathically sent to his younger self in 1973 to prevent this war from ever happening. His mission will be to find and stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawerence) from killing Trask and setting into motion that has become their future.
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| Jackman, Fessbender, McAvoy and Evan Peters as Quicksilver |
The first thing Wolverine must do is find Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) who back then, was a self-loathing and pity filled drunk living in his manor with Hank “Beast” McCoy as his caretaker. Then there’s Erik Lehnsherr aka Magneto (Michael Fassbender) who is imprisoned deep underground at the Pentegon for of all things, killing JFK. Time is not on Wolverine’s side as he must unite these former friends in order to find Mystique before she finds Trask and before their future selves get destroyed by the Sentinels. Confused yet? Don’t be. Singer is a master storyteller who is able to weave through the complex story with great ease.
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| Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique. |
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| Michael Fassbender as the young Magneto. |
As far as time-traveling stories go, DOFP does a good job of not complicating or overlooking what was done. If anything, Singer and Kinberg were able to “correct” without over-correcting some of what was deemed wrong from a certain Brett Ratner film. that shall remain nameless.
Singer has an uncanny (pun intended) ability to tell a superhero film without necessarily making their superpower the focus. Instead, it’s their humanity that becomes their greatest power. Even for Magneto. Also, the ability to find a balance between the original cast and those from X-Men: First Class. McAvoy, Fassbender and especially Lawrence are wonderful to watch as they have now officially stamped their place in the X-Men cinematic universe.
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| Hugh Jackman as Wolverine! |
DOFP is so much fun and the well-placed cameos only enhance the experience. As for Hugh Jackman, he may actually be the all-time best comic superhero to appear on film. Let’s hope we get to see more of him as Wolverine beyond the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse (a post credit tease) slated for 2016.
X-Men: Days of Future Past **** (out of 5)
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
