Before I begin my review of this movie, I want to briefly discuss my experience with the X-Men. I started reading comics when I was 5, but I first became aware of the X-Men really with the animated series. To this day, it is still one of my all-time favorite cartoons, and while Spider-Man, Captain America, The Avengers, and FF were the main comics I read, the X-Men were just under them. I love the X-Men. But, my experience with the film series isn't as positive as many X-Men fans. I would rate the other movies as follows:
X-Men - 3/5 (Cookie cutter movie with very generic style, music, and characters)
X2: X-Men United - 4/5 (Major improvement, but still has several things that bother me)
X-Men: The Last Stand - 3/5 (While the story is EXTREMELY flawed, it has great action and showcases the team element of the X-Men strongly)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine - 1/5 (Garbage)
X-Men: First Class - 4.5/5 (Great movie and first time I felt like I was truly watching the X-Men)
The Wolverine - 4/5 (2nd best entry in the series for me, and Jackman grew into Wolverine)
I'm not that attached to the original X-Men trilogy, as you can see by my ratings. When Singer was announced for this movie and was replacing Vaughn, I was sad to see Vaughn go because he added a style to First Class that X1 and X2 were lacking. That being said, Days of Future Past is both a great sequel to First Class, as well as a love letter to the series. It really brings the series full circle.
The greatest strength that not just First Class, but the whole series has had is the relationship between Charles and Eric. First Class did this relationship better than any movie has, but this film does a great job at continuing that story. Here, we find Eric and Charles torn apart by their differing world views, fighting for the same goal in their own ways once again, but we also see both Charles and Eric trying to help one another in their personal lives. We see Magneto play a game of chess with Charles shortly after an argument they have. We see Charles ultimately forgive Eric for his actions in the past. Their relationship has a lot of depth and complexity, and just enhances the experience.
Another thing I feel this movie did better than the original films is the Wolverine dilemma. Wolverine has to be the prominent character. He is the face of the series afterall. But, this film wisely fits him into the movie without him outright stealing the film. In fact, when the plot threads come together finally, Wolverine is largely uninvolved! Everything concludes without relying on the Wolverine crutch, and it is such a breathe of fresh air! Finally, Bryan Singer allowed us to enjoy Wolverine without shoving him in our faces.
There also were great new characters added into the film. While new comers like Bishop and Blink mostly just offer visual flair, we also get the additions of the VERY entertaining Quicksilver, who steals the show when he is in the movie, and our main antagonist, Boliver Trask. Peter Dinkage is a great actor. It is no surprise to me that he was great in this movie. Boliver Trask is a very solid villain. Like William Stryker in X2, he has that great mix of fear and admiration of mutants that leads him to create these robotic monsters. The audience can't help but understand why someone would want to kill him, but the entire plot hinges on his survival. I like that very grey idea.
The film focused far more on the Past, but I have to say that the distant future scenes are tremendous. These Sentinels of the future FEEL invincible. The X-Men FEEL overmatched. The entire look and design of the future is wonderful. I guess some can argue that the future isn't in the movie enough, but I think less was definitely more here. Using it much more would likely have made the film feel less focused. Now, the very ending of the film does raise many questions, but honestly, I would like them to leave it open ended. This film feels like the conclusion for the original characters in many ways, and I would like it left that way. But, naturally, the First Class characters and our favorite claw slashing mutant are left with interesting angles for future stories.
Leaving the theater, I found myself enjoying the X-Men film series more than I previously have, and I am not just talking about the fact that the last 3 entries were solid. This film made me LIKE the other movies more. At least while I was watching the movie. That is probably the highest compliment I can give this movie. I would struggle to think of things I disliked about it. While Singer has been popular for a long time for his work on the series with fans, this is the first time I can honestly say that I agree. I would like to see this again before considering where in my top comic book films this would go, but I what I think I CAN say is, this is the best X-Men film to date.
Overall rating - 5/5
