I wanted to start this review by just saying that I’M BACK! It has been a while since I last posted a review, and I give a VERY special thanks to Rick Swift for his time and understanding while I’ve been recovering from the devastation I suffered in my life on 11/17/13. I will write a special post for all of our fans later, but it’s time to get on with the review.
X-Men: Days of Future Past is the welcome return of Bryan Singer to the Director’s Chair for the X-Men series of films. Days of Future Past (#DOFP) begins with a small group of mutants fighting off the attack of mutant killing machines, called Sentinels. The group is fighting off the Sentinels in a post-apocalyptic future where the mutant race is all but extinct. The small group includes the returning Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and Colossus (Daniel Cudmore), and the group also includes the re-introduction to the series of Kitty Pryde (Ellen Paige).
After fighting a losing battle, the group somehow comes back together, thanks to the help of Kitty’s mutant powers. They are soon met by a small group of remaining mutants; Magneto (Ian McKellen), Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart), Storm (Halle Berry), and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), let the fun begin!
Kitty has the power to transport the consciousness of a person in the present to their past self. Kitty tells Professor Xavier that to go as far back as needed to go to stop the execution of Mutants, the mind would be torn to shreds, and there is no one that would be able to take that kind of punishment; well, there is one.
Wolverine is transported back to 1973, where he must find the younger Professor Xavier and Magneto and have them work together to stop the chain of events that make the Sentinels a reality, thus assuring the longevity of all mutant kind.
Wolverine, or Logan, quickly makes his way to Xavier Mansion to start his mission. Logan is greeted by Hank McCoy, also known as Beast (Nicholas Hoult), who explains to Logan that there is no Professor at the residence. After a small scuffle between Logan and Hank, a young Professor Xavier (James McAvoy) emerges walking downstairs. Now you may be wondering how Beast is back in human form, and how Professor Xavier can be walking after the events that transpired when we last saw them in X-Men: First Class? Well, if you are not familiar with the storyline, I will not spoil it for you here, but I will let you know that a very clever explanation is given with some graphic detail as well.
While the three old friends are getting reacquainted for the first time, we meet Dr. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), who knows of the mutant race, due to the events in Cuba that happened during First Class. Trask is using his research to target mutants for complete extinction by using captured mutants that he has tested and studied to pinpoint and also help adapt his Sentinels.
One person knows of Trask and is ready to kill to ensure the safety of all mutants, Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence). Mystique uses her powers to find out all the information she can to understand and reveal the genuine destruction Trask is ready to impose on her brethren. She finds out all that he has done to make his Sentinels a reality. This is a very interesting chain of events, and it also helps tie together more loose ends between the first X-Men movies and X-Men: First Class.
There is one missing piece to the puzzle, though; where is Magneto? Young Magneto (Michael Fassbender) is being held prisoner in the most confined and impenetrable cell the world has ever known, and when Logan hears that there is no way to get him out, he comes up with an idea, an old friend who is younger can help them to get Magneto out of his current confinement; enter Quicksilver (Evan Peters).
Now people have been questioning the casting and the importance of Quicksilver in DOFP, but I admit I was pleasantly surprised with how everything played out. The scenes that followed added a genuine humorous tone to the movie and were much better than people could have assumed. The way everything played out in breaking Magneto from his cell had so many different elements to it, words can’t do it justice, and even the choice of the right song adds so much more to the scene.
We now have all of our key elements in place, and the movie really starts to move forward. The tone changes at times, but the way X-Men: Days of Future Past plays out is something that fans have been waiting for since X2.
X-Men: Days of Future Past will satisfy the urge of fans of all the X-Men movies that came before and have more than enough for everyone to enjoy. The twists and turns are definitely fun for all. One of the most surprising aspects, for me especially, was the humor that was placed throughout the movie. There were some lines added for those who know the entire storyline. The dialog and carefully placed clues do a great job of tying all the movies together; while somehow making the X-Men: The Last Stand something we can now all forget.
I found some flaws from the original story, but nothing took away from how much I enjoyed the film. I conclude with letting you know, stay after the credits so you can see what may be in the new future for the X-Men. X-Men: Days of Future Past is a breath of fresh air for the X-Men franchise as a whole, and I for one am excited to see where Bryan Singer takes us from here!
