Sunday 4 January 2015

250W: X-Men: Days of Future Past

Short reviews for clear and concise verdicts on a broad range of films...


X-Men: Days of Future Past (Dir. Bryan Singer/2014)

The announcement of X-Men: Days of Future Past after the success of First Class was inspired. Between a dismal solo-Wolverine movie and an appalling ‘final chapter’, the series that kicked off the superhero genre in 2000, had spectacularly imploded. This time-travelling adventure with old favourites (Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, Halle Berry, Ellen Page and Hugh Jackman) and the new crew (Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and James McAvoy) would give the series a new lease of life. Involving sentinels and a morbid dystopia that has destroyed everything (except for pretty Chinese temples), Professor X sends Wolverine back in time to save the future by leading his younger rebellious self into battle. It isn’t perfect, and the enormous cast unfortunately seems to complicate matters rather than illuminate. Unnecessary conflict between Magneto and Xavier muddy the plot, confusing the core narrative whereby Mystique simply needs to be stopped from committing her first murder. But there are nods to almost every film in the series. Director Bryan Singer successfully makes X-Men relevant again in this Avengers-age of blockbusters. Evolution is central to all of the X-Men stories, and DOFP evolves into a beast that celebrates the history of the series (akin to the Fast and Furious franchise) while committing to a future that looks bright. For example, newcomer Quicksilver (Evan Peters) steals the screen within the few minutes he appears. A glorious reboot, X-Men: Days of Future Past is not to be missed and a worthy excuse to revisit every other metal-clawed, X-Men adventure.

Rating: 8/10

Nb - 150 word reviews of all the X-Men films are accessible by clicking here

2 comments:

  1. I agree that DOFP is bit messy and has too many characters, but I also love the ambition. You're right that the Xavier/Magneto fight seems unnecessary; I was a lot more interested in the main time travel story. Still, it's a fun ride.

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  2. Oh yeah, it's a fun ride. My minor criticisms don't weigh down the film too much - i'm glad it has been made and im happy about the results. Could it be better? I think so. And apocalypse may be able to do this.

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