In the not too distant future, the fate of all sentient life on earth rests in the hands of the X-Men. The sentinels, a group of robotic mutant hunters designed by Bolivar Trask have become the de facto rulers of the planet. Originally design to seek and eradicate all mutant kind, the androids turned on humanity when they finally became sympathetic to the mutant plight.
Professor X, teamed with former foe Magneto has a plan. He will transfer his consciousness back in time into his younger self in order to prevent Mystique from killing Trask and initiating the Sentinel Program. However, Kitty Pryde has never sent anyone back into time more than a few days and she doesn't believe that Xavier's highly developed brain can stand a 40 year trip through time. Thus, the rapid healing Wolverine is sent back to 1973 in order to reteam Xavier with Magneto in a combined effort to stop the shape-shifting mutant.
Days of Future Past is based on the 1981 Uncanny X-Men storyline of the same name developed by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. Except for possibly the Dark Phoenix Sage, that time traveling adventure is perhaps the most iconic X-Men tale of all time. I know the cover for Uncanny X-Men #141 surely is the most copied and tributed cover to feature Marvel mutants. Quite a bit of that seminal work is used in this film. But since when has Kitty Pryde had the ability to send people back in time? I've never seen this occur in any X-Men title and I've read my fair share!
The film is heavy on action and adventure. I saw this film on DVD and unlike Amazing Spider-Man 2, I didn't feel like any of the CGI special effects looked fake. Even it's choreography was quite good. Especially, the character Blink and her ability to create portals in order for mutants to evade the sentinels. It was like watching poetry in motion.
One aspect that this film got a lot of grief was over some of the casting. While we get the best of both X-Men series in this movie, including the younger and older versions of Professor X and Magneto, along with fan-favorite Wolverine, Storm, and Colossus, many hated the character of Quicksilver. The character, played by Evan Peters was criticized for being too young and immature. But, that kinda was the point of the character and his super-speed abilities were really needed to help speed up a very stagnant part of the movie. Plus, I liked that it's alluded to the Magneto might be Quicksilver's dad as in the comics.
While I overlooked the casting choices, I did have some issues with plotting. The futuristic parts of Days of Future Past are set some time after the events of X-Men 3. We know this because, in one scene, Wolverine has flashbacks to having killed Jean Grey at that movie's end. So, how come Professor X is alive and in his Patrick Stewart body? Didn't Jean vaporize him into a billion atoms in X3? I know that it's hinted in X3 that the Professor X took over someone else's body during the chaser scene, But wouldn't he then look different? To the film's fault, it's never explained how he got his new body back.
There is supposed to be a director's cut of this movie, called the ' Rogue Cut' as a good 20 minutes of the character Rogue played by Anna Paquin was cut out due to time constraints. (The film is almost 2 and a half hours long.) So, maybe Xavier's return along with Magneto regaining his magnetic powers are going to be revealed in that edition on the film. I look forward to it when it drops sometime this summer.
The ending of this film takes the X-Men franchise into two different directions. The New Class cast is due to appear in a third film, rounding out that trilogy. But I feel that the story of the original X-Men film trilogy's cast isn't over. Since Wolverine was essentially the main character link between both film franchises, hopefully, Hugh Jackman's swan song as Logan will explore just how the timeline has changed. (I hope not to spoil too much but I will say that if like me, you were angered by a certain character's death in X3, then you're going to love the end to this film.)
Worth Consuming
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
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