X-Men: Days of Future Past
Though its arc in the comics only comprises two issues, the “Days of Future Past” storyline is one of the most iconic in the X-Men franchise. The threat of a mutant genocide at the hands of the robot Sentinels has been a staple of almost every incarnation of the X-Men franchise, and now it’s finally time for X-Men fans to see classic narrative on the big screen.
While the film X-Men: Days of Future Past has to carry a lot of baggage from the X-Men franchise, it manages to handle the weighty mythos with flair and provide the movie fans have been dreaming of for decades.
Just like the “Days of Future Past” comics, the film features a group of mutants struggling to survive in an apocalyptic future dominated by the nearly indestructible mutant-hunting Sentinels. With little hope left for the small band of survivors, the group realizes that the only way to defeat the Sentinels and restore the world is to make sure the Sentinels were never commissioned in the first place.
To accomplish this, mutant Kitty Pryde sends Wolverine’s consciousness back in time to prevent the event that catalyzed humanity against the mutants and caused the dawn of the Sentinels: the murder of Sentinel inventor Dr. Bolivar Trask at the hands of Mystique. However, to change the past, Wolverine must convince the younger versions of Professor Charles Xavier and the evil mutant Magneto to put aside their differences and work together before the future catches up to them.
From its inception, the movie finds itself in a tense position. There have been four other X-Men films and two solo Wolverine movies in the past 14 years, which have resulted in plenty of lore — some of it contradictory — that Days of Future Past must contend with. The bulk of the film acts as a sequel to 2011’s X-Men: First Class, but the movie has the more difficult role of incorporating characters and plot elements from X-Men, X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand in order to effectively carry out the futuristic dystopian plotline.
The movie gets dense when it actively struggles to find its place among these worlds as well as within the world of the original comic storyline. The first few acts of the movie are a bit slow as the movie positions itself in the continuity, using dialogue to make up for the 10 years that have elapsed since the events of X-Men: First Class.
However, when the movie settles into its own world and the tempo picks up, Days of Future Past doesn’t back down.
Because it draws extensively from the past movies, this film picks up some of the best parts of its predecessors. Perhaps one of the greatest things about more recent X-Men films is the way they are grounded in a particular historical moment to draw out poignant parallels with the events. In First Class, this meant the big climatic battle happened during the Cuban missile crisis.
Taking place largely in 1973 during the final days of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, this film is grounded in the hopelessness sweeping America at the particular historical moment, as well as the desperation of the government to regain the people’s trust. This setting expertly drives home the movie’s themes and sets this one apart from some of the more tiresome superhero films of late.
Because the film is dabbling in two separate timelines, the cast is huge. Fans will be delighted to see a who’s-who of mutants showing off their unique powers in full CGI glory as they take on the terrifying Sentinels. Additionally, actors from both iterations of the franchise return, delivering solid performances all around.
Early on, the film rests its weight on Hugh Jackman to set the stage, and Jackman delivers in true Wolverine fashion, transitioning between the ghastly future and the funky past with the sarcastic humor and cocky aplomb fans have come to expect and adore.
The major figures that return from First Class deliver solid return performances. Jennifer Lawrence’s star power has exploded since her first appearance as blue mutant Mystique; she returns better than ever with a darker, more menacing edge. James McAvoy builds the emotional backbone of the film with finesse in his portrayal of the grief-stricken young Xavier, while Michael Fassbender perfectly mimics Ian McKellen’s sinister nonchalance. But of course, it just wouldn’t be the perfect X-Men movie without veteran actors Patrick Stewart and McKellen rounding out the cast as older Xavier and Magneto.
The biggest breakout star is Evan Peters as Peter Maximoff, known in the comics as Quicksilver. A rebellious teen who can move at lightning speed, Peters steals the scenes from his much more established counterparts with both his awesome powers and smart delivery.
The film manages to balance the physical conflict with the thematic conflict that has long been at the heart of the X-Men series. Though the fight scenes are top-notch and the effects are a delight, the film really digs deep at the source and asks the questions that have long made the comics so popular. Specifically, the movie probes the question of whether mutants and humans could live together like never before by exposing its deadly consequences. And though it plays around a bit with the source material in a way that might rankle some very hardcore fans, this is a nearly perfect X-Men film.
Synthesizing 14 years of films and delivering ample nods to more than 50 years of comics, X-Men: Days of Future Past combines rich action sequences with solid character drama, giving fans the X-Men movie they’ve wanted for a long time.
