IMDB Synopsis
The X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.
X-Men: Days of Future Past realizes some of the most interesting ideas we've ever seen in a superhero movie. Period.
In this review I'm going to try to do the same thing the movie does. Which is, beat you over the head with plot real quick, then get to the fun stuff... In 1973, Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) assassinates a politician, which sets off a chain reaction that leads to the development of anti-mutant killing machines called Sentinels, designed to pin-point the mutant gene and take down the target. What the humans overlooked was that the mutant gene is in all of us, just waiting to be unlocked. Whoops!
Jump about 50 years into the future. Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) discovers that she, and her small band of mutants, can avoid detection from the Sentinels by sending one of her pals a few days back into their own past consciousness, so he can warn them to get the fuck out of dodge before the Sentinels show up. Going back anything more than a few days would rip a person's mind apart at the molecular level... ENTER WOLVERINE!!! whose cells would regenerate just as fast as Kitty Pryde rips them apart. Now, we can send Wolvey way back into his 1973 consciousness to stop Mystique and prevent the chain reaction from ever happening..
Set in the mid 1970s, X-Men: Days of Future Past once again works actual events from American history into the plot. The Vietnam War and the JFK assassination are worked used in fun and entertaining ways. However, much like First Class's Cuban Missile Crisis set piece, the way these real life events are handled leaves a little more to be desired.
It's really great to get a super hero, or action movie these days that's more than just aliens or some monster destroying a city. The only building we see destroyed in Days of Future Past is used to set up one the best super hero movie moments since The Joker flipped a transport truck, back in 2008. As much as it's connected to the real world, it's still one of the more "comic booky" movies we've seen from the X-Men, in a good way. Not as slap-sticky as The Avengers. But, not as grounded as Nolan's Batman.
Days of Future Past really cuts the fat, character wise. We spend almost all of our time with young Prof X (James McAvoy), Magneto (Michael Fassbender), and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). James McAvoy is kind of shit, but it helps that he rarely has a scene without Wolverine in it. Fassbender is sick. Magneto is handled perfectly in these movies. Oh and... Quicksilver. IS. DOPE! I was laughing at how awesome this guy is. Even after hearing other sites and podcasts loving him, I was still in hysterics.
Getting through the plot was a little jarring, but necessary. I allowed myself to "Give in" to some of the more obscure ideas, and found that their really enjoyable. Michael Fassbender rules my balls. The Sentinels of the future are dumb, but the OG Sentinels are awesome. Look forward to seeing more Quicksilver in X-Men: Apocalypse.
X-Men: Days of Future Past is a lot of fun, and it gets you thinking about some cool ideas, which I can't wait to chat over a beer and a podcast. But, it's not perfect.
I'm giving X-Men: Days of Future Past 4/5
For more on X-Men: Days of Future Past, stay tuned to The All Range Mode Podcast
Thanks for reading!
Joe
The X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.
X-Men: Days of Future Past realizes some of the most interesting ideas we've ever seen in a superhero movie. Period.
In this review I'm going to try to do the same thing the movie does. Which is, beat you over the head with plot real quick, then get to the fun stuff... In 1973, Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) assassinates a politician, which sets off a chain reaction that leads to the development of anti-mutant killing machines called Sentinels, designed to pin-point the mutant gene and take down the target. What the humans overlooked was that the mutant gene is in all of us, just waiting to be unlocked. Whoops!
Jump about 50 years into the future. Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) discovers that she, and her small band of mutants, can avoid detection from the Sentinels by sending one of her pals a few days back into their own past consciousness, so he can warn them to get the fuck out of dodge before the Sentinels show up. Going back anything more than a few days would rip a person's mind apart at the molecular level... ENTER WOLVERINE!!! whose cells would regenerate just as fast as Kitty Pryde rips them apart. Now, we can send Wolvey way back into his 1973 consciousness to stop Mystique and prevent the chain reaction from ever happening..
Set in the mid 1970s, X-Men: Days of Future Past once again works actual events from American history into the plot. The Vietnam War and the JFK assassination are worked used in fun and entertaining ways. However, much like First Class's Cuban Missile Crisis set piece, the way these real life events are handled leaves a little more to be desired.
It's really great to get a super hero, or action movie these days that's more than just aliens or some monster destroying a city. The only building we see destroyed in Days of Future Past is used to set up one the best super hero movie moments since The Joker flipped a transport truck, back in 2008. As much as it's connected to the real world, it's still one of the more "comic booky" movies we've seen from the X-Men, in a good way. Not as slap-sticky as The Avengers. But, not as grounded as Nolan's Batman.
Days of Future Past really cuts the fat, character wise. We spend almost all of our time with young Prof X (James McAvoy), Magneto (Michael Fassbender), and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). James McAvoy is kind of shit, but it helps that he rarely has a scene without Wolverine in it. Fassbender is sick. Magneto is handled perfectly in these movies. Oh and... Quicksilver. IS. DOPE! I was laughing at how awesome this guy is. Even after hearing other sites and podcasts loving him, I was still in hysterics.
Getting through the plot was a little jarring, but necessary. I allowed myself to "Give in" to some of the more obscure ideas, and found that their really enjoyable. Michael Fassbender rules my balls. The Sentinels of the future are dumb, but the OG Sentinels are awesome. Look forward to seeing more Quicksilver in X-Men: Apocalypse.
X-Men: Days of Future Past is a lot of fun, and it gets you thinking about some cool ideas, which I can't wait to chat over a beer and a podcast. But, it's not perfect.
I'm giving X-Men: Days of Future Past 4/5
For more on X-Men: Days of Future Past, stay tuned to The All Range Mode Podcast
Thanks for reading!
Joe
