This is the king of the summer movies (thus far). As soon as the credits began rolling, I knew that I will watch this movie again. It is among the best of the X-Men films (arguably the best), and gets almost everything right. From it’s complex characters, to intense action sequences, the film is quite a ride.
The Story
I loved the story told in this movie. It weaves the old X-Men cast with the new, and connects them through time travel. It wisely utilizes it’s time travel for some clever scenes, and even avoids plot holes. The time travel is really great, and the outcome is simply fantastic. The main problem I have with the story is the beginning. Everything begins happening at once, and it felt a bit rushed. There should have been something in previous films to bridge the gap, but it is not a major complaint. This story is by far the most emotional of the franchise, but it still leaves room for some humor. I thought both aspects of the narrative were handled very well, and even some historical events were intertwined within the narrative. I thought the evens were cleverly utilized, and gave the audience a good laugh. Once again, the ending of this film is superb. It left me with a huge smile across my face, and I simply did not want to leave the theater.
The Main Mutants
One of my complaints with the film is the inclusion of new mutants. I think they were randomly inserted in the film, and it was hard for me to care for the fate of their characters. However, I thought several of them were really cool. I thought Blink was the coolest, and her power was very well utilized. Many of the older X-Men characters also made appearances, but I will only touch on the main ones. First of all, Wolverine is the character that connects the old cast to the new. Hugh Jackman does a fantastic job as usual, and is even allowed some quieter moments. The true stars of the film are Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy, and they are both fantastic. They are in every way equals to Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, and each of them are given some great scenes. Jennifer Lawrence was also great as Mystique. She brought much more complexity to her character, and I am very interested where she will go from here. Finally, I will mention Quicksilver and Evan Peters. I thought he looked ridiculous prior to seeing the film, and I have to admit to being wrong. He was the best part of the movie, and had some of the best scenes. I wish he was in it more, but I think he will have a more prominent role in the next film.
Minor Complaints
While I thought the film was great overall, it still had a few missteps. Starting of with Bolivar Trask. He was a very bland villain. There was no real motivation behind his motives, which took me out of the movie a bit. However, Peter Dinklage does a great job in the role that is given to him. My other small complaint is the special effects. Often they were good, but there were moments where I did not think they were quite as impressive. I think with the 200 million budget, they could have fleshed out the effects.
Closing Remarks
Overall, I really enjoyed X-Men: Days of Future Past. I think it was very well written, well paced, and well acted. While it does have a few missteps, nothing was big enough to detract from the overall experience. I will definitely see it once more in theaters.