X-Men: Days of Future Past - 12A ? Film Review
Posted on: 2014-05-29
Our rating:
A reboot/sequel/prequel that more than delivers the goods, it even comes with the now obligatory post-credits sequence with a teaser for the next instalment, X-Men: Apocalypse ? although this time it's a long wait for not very much.
You certainly have to hand it to the top men at Marvel for exhaustingly milking the franchise cash cow. In a relatively short space of time we've had Iron Man 3, The Wolverine, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Amazing Spiderman 2.
Bryan Singer returns to helm the latest instalment of the X-Men universe, Days of Future Past, establishing the future world of 2023 where mutants have been hunted to near extinction by an unstoppable army of killer robots.
Amongst the twists and paradoxes of the occasionally labyrinthine plot, to prevent their demise Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is transported, through the power of his mind, back into his 1973 body. His mission: to change the course of history and prevent the mutant's impending annihilation.
The potential complexities of separating the franchise into its young/old counterpoint contingents are effectively remedied by banding the whole lot of them together. So here we have Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy as Charles Xavier and Sir Ian McKellan and Michael Fassbender as Magneto, an admirable acting foursome if ever there was one.
Singer himself appears to have been suitably rejuvenated during his absence from the franchise, having tackled the hugely enjoyable Jack The Giant Slayer in the interim, and now returns with batteries fully recharged for what is probably the best instalment since X-Men 2.
The film kicks off with a wildly entertaining barnstormer of an opening, throwing us into a melting pot of mutant madness as they fight off an army of Sentinel robots, kicking butt and leaping through time portals. It's a neatly choreographed sequence and a tantalising sneak peak of things to come and a director at the top of his game.
The twists and turns of the plot are smoothed out by the return of some familiar, enigmatic characters, most notably Wolverine - back in classic side-burned, cigar-chomping, claw-flicking mode – who was in need of a reboot after his travails in spin-off features.
It also reinforces its previous incarnations themes of embracing diversity and individuality amidst an age of tired mediocrity and bland conformity, this time tagged with extra grace notes of the importance of hope, self-belief and finding your way in a frequently perplexing world.
McAvoy and Fassbender also add a real, extra dynamic to their characters, imbuing them with gravitas and power and an emotional depth that transcends usual comic book portrayals. McAvoy in particular has always been great at depicting guilt-wracked and anguished, and a meeting of minds with his older self to set him back on the right path is particularly moving.
Amidst this there are some added-dimension character licks and twists that exploit interesting nuances – Magneto's even nastier, and Xavier is a whiskey-guzzling depressive who skulks his mansion in a dressing gown. And then there's everyone's favourite shape-shifting mutant, Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), given plenty of acrobatics and bad-guy beating to do here.
Proceedings could have in fact become too intense and heavy but things are kept breezy and effortlessly entertaining in Simon Kinberg's script that alludes to previous movies with a few smart in-jokes.
The 70s setting also helps boost Singer's creative mojo and he clearly has a great time referencing the period, at one point citing Wolverine's zap to the past as one big, bad acid trip, and disgraced ex-president Richard Nixon playing a particularly key role during the film's climactic showdown.
It all plays out at a cracking pace and there's a wealth of characters, which inevitably means some of them get short shrift. Ian McKellen barely gets a look a look in and is woefully under-used, and there's no real conclusive motivation for the main, diminutive baddie, Trask.
But this is just a small gripe for what is ostensibly a hugely enjoyable movie, re-teaming us with some old favourites from the X-Men universe and throwing a few exciting new ones in to the mutant milieu (most notably Quicksilver, whose slo-mo prevention of his friends' bullet-ridden fate is perhaps the highlight set-piece of the entire film).
A reboot/sequel/prequel that more than delivers the goods, it even comes with the now obligatory post-credits sequence with a teaser for the next instalment, X-Men: Apocalypse – although this time it's a long wait for not very much.
3.5/5
Reviewed by Jamie Caddick for 365Bristol
Article by:
Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
