Time travel can be awesome. Marty McFly did it in a frickin’
DeLorien, whilst some drunk American’s did it in a hot tub, of all things. What
we have learned from time travel movies is that a) it’s fun, and b) it can get
really confusing. Usually, A overcomes B, and as long as we’re having a good
time we can overlook a little confusion, mainly because the whole thing is
impossible anyway.
“X-Men: days Of Future Past” is inspired by/based on a two
part comic story from the Eighties by Chris Claremont (who cameos as a senator
here), often seen as one of the finest X-Men stories of all time, proving you
don’t need fifty seven issue crossover bobbins with foil covers to get your
point across. In the original, there’s a nasty future where mutants have been
systematically wiped out by giant robot Sentinels, with the whole mess being
traced to a single assassination of a senator in Magneto and his minions. Kitty
Pryde (Shadowkat/Sprite/etc) has her mind sent back in time to her younger self
so she can thwart Magneto’s plans and save the future.
The new version is set some years after the events of “X
Men: First Class”, with Vietnam
a very pertinent part of the background. Xavier has not been at his best since
Magneto crippled him, and with most of his students drafted he’s fallen into a
bit of a blue funk. Meanwhile, genius and general mutant hater Bolivar Trask is
trying to get congress to approve the funding for his mutant hunting Sentinel
robots. Even more meanwhile, we see fifty years into the future, where the last
few mutants are struggling to stop themselves being obliterated by, you guessed
it, mutant hunting Sentinels. Holy time travel plot, Batman!
The film takes this basic idea from the comics, expands on
it, twists it several times and runs with it. Someone has to be sent back to
try and change the pivotal point from the past, and only has a limited time to
do it, but as to who (although I’m sure you already know) and what it is, I’ll
remain spoiler free because I may be a bastard but I’m not a fucking bastard
(name the film).
There has been a few moans that this is a confusing time
travel film, but I didn’t feel so, as long as you just go along with the rules
as set out by the writers. Because there is no such thing as time travel,
everyone has their own rules. What it is, is a strong, character driven film
that is not afraid to have way more dialogue then action, although when the
action comes it’s beautifully handled and often frenetic. There’s an expanded
cast of future X-Men that will delight comic fans, whilst most of the alumni
from “X-Men: First Class” are discarded in favour of a small group. Not
surprisingly, Hugh Jackman stands out a mile as Wolverine. The performances are
boosted by some incredibly good special effects and camerawork, with director
Bryan Singer creating a well structured and well shot narrative throughout.
“X-Men: Days Of Future Past” is a definite success. The return
to the franchise of Bryan Singer is a blessing, as he handles multiple
character drama so well. Unlike the recent Woverine film there is a lot of
respect given to the comics it is based on, even if they have been adapted to
fit the cinematic universe, and the result is a smart, well made, interesting
addition to the franchise. Like “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” it’s
essentially a period piece, and whilst I prefer the former this will certainly
sit in the upper ecelons of any list detailing the best Superhero films to
date.
Trailer:
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