Viewed in
2014
Formats
Movie theater.
Premise
Based on the X-Men comics, mutants from a dystopian future send Wolverine back to the 1970's to change the course of history, starring pretty much everyone from ALL the previous movies.
Loved
Mega-X-Men reunion, Magneto.
Liked
Solid time-travel story.
Disliked
Too many characters, lack of heart.
Thoughts
I really enjoyed it.
The best part about the movie was seeing so many familiar faces all in one story. Obviously, not everyone got their moment in the spotlight. But even in fleeting flashbacks or cameo, it just added to the coolness and nostalgia of everything (good and bad) since the very first Bryan Singer entry back in 2000.
Even given their limited screen time (the film is a brisk 130 minutes), the cast was fantastic and well-cast. Michael Fassbender stole the show again, even against another great screen presence in her royal Katniss, Jennifer Lawrence. He just reminds you why you don't mess with Magneto. While there was more plot than pathos, James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart knocked their time-bending tete-a-tete out of the park.
Story-wise, it was strong. The butterfly effect of time-travel logic was pretty easy to follow. I don't feel like it necessarily pooh-poohed all the previous X-Men movies with a massive retcon reset, it's just a different timeline. I also liked the funny Quicksilver subplot, which definitely added some cheeky levity to the epic.
For the most part, I was in favor of the brisk pace of the movie, not bogging itself down to explain every mutant's powers. However, the large menagerie of characters and time-travel elements did lead to some confusion. Like why did Wolverine lack adamantium when he went back in time? How did Kitty Pryde gain conscience-time-traveling powers? What the hell was Bishop's special ability?
Basically, just know who are the major players, and the rest is set decoration. Though I must say that it was exhilarating to see Blink's mutant powers fully realized on the big screen.
Comparing it to X-Men: First Class, it lacked the character development and heart of the first prequel-ish trilogy. You'd think there would be plenty of emotional baggage from Xavier's and Magneto's fallout, but I frankly didn't feel much in Days of Future Past.
It sucked that twice Kitty Pryde had been shunned from being the main character as originally told. But I totally understand the economics of spotlighting Hugh Jackman and Jennifer Lawrence, and the writing was strong enough not to just shoehorn them in. But it was still disappointing that the movie franchise didn't reflect the diverse, compelling female characters from the comic book universe.
As a fan of the comics, animated series, and movies, X-Men: Days of Future Past was another strong entry in the franchise. The cast reunion factor brought all sorts of tingly nostalgic feelings. In addition, the cast was superb, especially Fassbender, the story was solid, and action was well-paced.
