At the Theater - "X-Men: Days Of Future Past" - After an 11-year hiatus, Director Bryan Singer returns to the franchise he established and popularized with 2000's "X-Men" and 2003's "X2: X-Men United"- although decidedly entertaining, the time-travel nature of the film acts as more of a reset mechanism, effectively correcting a series of continuity errors and creative fumbles brought upon the franchise by Director Brett Ratner's immensely problematic (and downright lame) "X-Men: The Last Stand" (2006). Those claiming Singer, along with screenwriter Simon Kinberg, have righted the ship for the heroes in their collective form simply haven't seen Matthew Vaughn's "X-Men: First Class". The franchise was already in capable hands- audiences just didn't respond as strongly to the younger cast and fresher faces who replaced their seasoned counterparts- that, and Hugh Jackman's popular "Wolverine" character had but a brief cameo. Vaughn took the fall for the lesser box-office receipts while Singer returns to benefit from a story which combines the younger cast with the established superstars. C'mon, Man!
The film opens in an apocalyptic 2023, where a massive army of mutant-exterminating robots, known as "Sentinels", have turned against their human handlers to rule the world. With their numbers shrinking and their mutant powers showing little effect against the highly adaptable, stories-high drones, the last remaining X-Men devise a plan to send Wolverine back to the year of 1973 in an effort to alter history and the fate of the world.
Hugh Jackman (Prisoners) essentially headlines as "Logan/Wolverine"- this is the Aussie actor's seventh turn in the role and he's as charismatic and as brawny as ever. There's plenty of acting talent spread throughout the film, though Jackman's presence is by far the most commanding. Naturally, Jackman's bare ass elicited several audible approvals from female audience members. The last few times I've seen him in films, I've found myself wishing he would headline a reboot of the Dirty Harry franchise- he seems tailor made for it.
James McAvoy (Atonement) returns as the younger version of "Charles Xavier/Professor X", with Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) and Nicholas Hoult (About A Boy) reprising their roles as younger versions of "Eric Lehnsherr/Magneto", "Raven Darkholme/Mystique" and "Hank McCoy/Beast", respectively. All four actors put in rock-solid work, with a wealth of screen-time and a number of sequences dedicated to showcasing their diverse mutant powers in spectacular fashion.
It's understood that Jennifer Lawrence is a hot commodity right now, though I believe Rebecca Romijn outright owned the role of Mystique (and always will), for myself. Jennifer Lawrence is a very pretty and talented girl, though Romijn is one sexy WOMAN...even with all the prosthetic scales and blue body paint...
Peter Dinklage (HBO's Game Of Thrones) makes a handful of appearances as the mutant-hating, military scientist, "Bolivar Trask"- he's effective for what the part calls for, though there's nothing really dynamic from him here.
The Sentinels of the future are entirely CGI creations that feel like... well, entirely CGI creations- they're adequate and merely serve an obligatory visual purpose as a result. On the flipside, the Sentinels of 1973 are created using a combination of CGI and practical prop effects- the problem here is that they're woefully underutilized.
Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: First Contact) and Ian McKellan (The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug) return as the elder versions of Professor X and Magneto, respectively, while Halle Berry's (Monster's Ball) "Storm", Ellen Page's (Juno) "Kitty Pryde", Daniel Cudmore's "Colossus" and Shawn Ashmore's "Iceman" all have appearances within. There are four late-film cameos of past X-Men movie franchise vets that I won't bother to spoil here- they're appropriately brief, yet welcomed.
New mutants to the fold include Omar Sy (The Intouchables) as "Bishop", Bingbing Fan as "Blink", Booboo Stewart as "Warpath", Adan Canto as "Sunspot" and Evan Peters (Kick-Ass) as "Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver"- most audiences will find that a slow-motion sequence involving Peters' Quicksilver as he dispatches several Pentagon security guards, all playing out to Jim Croce's "Time In A Bottle", is the certified highlight of the film. It was poetry in motion, the stuff of movie magic and I wish the filmmakers involved with these various Superhero franchises were given more creative license to try sequences of this nature. I'll use this opportunity to shout out a big Fuck You to the powers that be at Marvel who unceremoniously crapped upon Director Edgar Wright's (Hot Fuzz, Shaun Of The Dead, The World's End) long-gestating vision for a future Ant-Man film- it's some kind of shame when big money and formula win out against inspired creativity and outside-the-frame thinking. It's a current trend that shows no sign of letting up, with movie audiences and film in general losing quite a bit in the process.
X-Men: Days of Future Past abides by it's share of formula and is hampered by a somewhat anti-climactic final showdown, though a healthy balance of performance-driven drama, playful humor and entertaining spectacle makes it one of the better films in the franchise. Audiences should expect many references to the historical events and fashions of the early 1970's complete with a levitating Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. Bryan Singer is back in his comfort zone (didn't this guy give us 2013's Jack The Giant Slayer?) and the extensive cast of characters is utilized in a satisfactory manner. It's not quite the game changer I was hoping for, though I enjoyed it for what it was worth and will definitely purchase it on Blu Ray. X2 is still my favorite X-Men film, but here's to hoping 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse will change that.
If you're so inclined, stay through the credits.
Highly Recommended
8.5 out of 10
Director: Bryan Singer
Cast: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Nicholas Hoult, Anna Paquin, Peter Dinklage, Shawn Ashmore, Omar Sy, Evan Peters, Josh Helman, Daniel Cudmore, Bingbing Fan, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Lucas Till, Ellen Page, Patrick Stewart, Ian Mckellen, James Marsden and Famke Janssen and Kelsey Grammer
Run-Time: 131 minutes
MPAA: Rated PG- 13 for sequences of intense sci-fi violence and action, some suggestive material, nudity and language
For what it's worth-
X-Men (2000) - 7.5
X2 : X-Men United (2003) - 8.5
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) - 6.0
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) - 5.0
X-Men: First Class (2011) - 8.5
The Wolverine (2013) - 8.0
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