X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

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X-Men: Days of Future Past Movie Review

X-Men: Days of Future Past is a 2014 superhero film directed by Bryan Singer and starring Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence and Michael Fassbender. It is the second best entry in the franchise.

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“The past: a new and uncertain world.

A world of endless possibilities and infinite outcomes.

Countless choices define our fate: each choice, each moment, a moment in the ripple of time.

Enough ripple, and you change the tide… for the future is never truly set.“

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Yes, only ‘X-Men: First Class’ is a better movie than this one and I just love that film. But Days of Future Past surprised me with is quality and watching it for the second time, it is as good as it was before and it makes me realize how disappointing ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ is and how it didn’t close this trilogy in a satisfying manner.

Wolverine goes back to 1973 to change history and prevent doom for both humans and mutants. The film definitely has a couple of time travel trappings in it, but it is better executed than most time travel stories and actually only further strengthens this whole franchise which is so admirable as it easily could have been a filler. Some of the highlights are the first scene which is exhilarating in action, the meeting of Wolverine and young Charles was so well done and of course the scenes with Mystique were terrific.

She is the focus of this movie which was an interesting choice. I still do not like Jennifer Lawrence in this role, but the character herself is excellent and watching her struggle whether or not to kill Trask was done in a very dramatic, realistic manner. The conflict here is so well established. Speaking of Trask, I found him disappointing. I guess it was interesting to have a more real villain instead of the over-the-top and usual one, but he was still too boring and was frankly a bit forgettable even though Peter Dinklage is solid in the role.

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The mature versions of characters weren’t as well utilized here because the movie is overstuffed with too many characters. That is definitely a problem, but I actually liked that the film focused more on history instead of the future and I liked that it was both a sequel to ‘The Last Stand’ and ‘First Class’, but much more to the latter film. As for Kitty, I really liked her and she had an interesting power plus I always like seeing Ellen Page in a movie.

Watching Erik and Charles together is again the highlight, so well executed are their scenes together. They had a lot of troublesome shared history and it shows in their interactions in this movie. Their scenes were the most emotional and serious of the film. Storm is as boring as ever, but Beast is actually really good here and better than usual. Wolverine is so good and used in just the right amount of time, but I also loved that he was an essential player in this story which was a refreshing thing to see. And Quicksilver is as great as everyone said he is. Funny and amusing, he is such a great comic relief and his now famous action sequence is truly one for the ages.

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Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are as great as usual, but Bryan Singer did a great job as the director here. The film is very well edited for the most part, but a bit rushed at times. It had too many characters in it, but it is still visually great with a good score as well and its opening title sequence is actually fantastic and so inventive as the 3D in it was gorgeous. The humor was excellent as some of the lines and moments really made me laugh and the ending is heartwarming and funny at the same time. The dialogue is also terrific and the script is actually pretty clever in its politics and social parallels. The action is as great as usual and some sequences were jaw-dropping in their terrific, entertaining execution. All in all, it truly is one of the best that the series has to offer.

X-Men: Days of Future Past is definitely a bit rushed at times and it has way too many characters in it, but most of them got their moment to shine with Mystique, Charles, Erik and of course Quicksilver being the highlights. The film is not only funny and entertaining owing to excellent humor and action, but it also has good dialogue and a strong, clever script leading to the second best entry in the franchise.