With all the hype surrounding this summers blockbuster sequels it goes without saying that a lot of hopes and dreams were riding high on the shoulders of everyone involved in Fox's 7th big screen outing for the X-Men. Bryan Singer himself must've been sweating adamantium bullets, not only being held under the gun by the studio to lead their next big moneymaker, but most importantly and fortunately for us because of his deep and honest desire to make the most accurate and cohesive comic book-to-film adaptation in the history of cinema. So the real question here is: Did Singer finally step up and gave us the X-Men film fans have always wanted? Let's find out.
The film is based on Chris Claremont and John Byrne's 1981 Uncanny X-Men storyline, Days of Future Past. Which sees the mutants taking on a desperate mission into the past, to save the world from a bleak and genocidal future. Simon Kinberg penned the script, based on a story by Kinberg with Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman. The film opens in New York as Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) narrates about the the bleak world they now live in. The sentinels have been hunting down sentinels and putting some of the surving humans and mutants in concetration camps. What could have been simply played as an all out action film instead retains laudable cultural context, as returning director Singer tackles his source material with a slightly more fun, enjoyable tone without losing an ounce of the serious realism or societal commentary which permeated his first effort. As prejudice towards mutants becomes more pronounced and the rift between them and "normal" humans grows ever larger, morally ambiguous fields emerge and extremes are taken by both sides of the issue to eliminate the other, giving the film ample opportunity to touch upon issues of discrimination.
The direction, cinematography, choreography of action sequences and the overall style of the film are exquisite. Blink's (Fan Bing Bing) teleportation stunts and Sunsopt's(Adam Canto) fire domination left me breathless. The fight sequences and special effects are a sight to behold, without the overdose of CGI that many new films drown in, showing yet again that a good director and creative vision are essential to the action/adventure and sci-fi genres. The cinematography is rich and colorful, painting a warm picture of safety with interior and exterior shots of Xavier's School for the Gifted and, at the same time, hinting at an ominous mystery with the cold shots of the Temple the mutants are hiding in the future. The film was basically story integrated with a lot of action. The action sent my already quivering spine shaking all over again. The future sentinels were brutal, mostly emotionless terminators whose one goal was the extinction of mutants. Quicksilver's breakout scene was the highlight of this film that was met with cheers and applause from the audience. The attack on the temple is perfectly suspenseful and is one of the best action pieces of this year, it's also great to see the likes of Colossus brawl one on one with sentinels. He was a lot better untilzed this time around. The climax was also much better than the other X-Men films and the film continuously builds and delivers with some stunning set pieces. The music is fantastic, John Ottman delivers a driving score that works well at moving between being both delicate and heroic.
The emotional depth of the piece is exceptional, particularly today, when frequent gratuitous violence in action and sci-fi movies often detracts from any involvement that the audience might have with the characters. The X-Men films draw on universal themes of individualism and isolation, themes that the this this film emphasizes than the previous ones. The X-Men must join forces against the sentinels created by Boilivar Trask (Peter Dinklage). From internal conflicts to romantic relationships, the world of mutants is parallel to our own world, making the film relatable on many levels. The seriousness is still here which means there's more great drama. The whole idea of being an outcast and isolated are played throughout in a nicely understated fashion. The film's script tries balances its wide array of characters just so unlike the slightly rushed and chaotic feel of the third instalment, as each character shines given their appropriate moment without the film ever feeling cluttered or imbalanced. Similarly, many knowing winks of humour result from throwaway references for fans of the comics without ever jeopardising the credibility of the film. The film similarly boasts more streamlined action setpieces than its predecessor , as the CGI is seamlessly melded with practical effects and makeup, culminating in a laudably realistic depiction of superpowered beings in a frighteningly real world.
But what really bothers me Bryan Singer's seemingly boundless ability to misinterpret the true spirit of the X-Men comics. He still misunderstands some of these characters. But unlike other directors from the past who have butchered comic book adaptations, Singer's interpretation of the characters makes you question the changes that were made especially if you're a hardcore X-Men fan. Because to me, at times it felt that Singer was trying to hard too appease the fanboys and detractors who have not been pleased with how he has handled the X-Men franchise and completely missing the point of what truly makes the X-Men who they are. It seems like he had a checklist, ticking off things that needed to be fixed and things that would make fans happy. Some of the lot of the characters in this film are criminally underused. Brian Singer is still responsible for the terrible characterizations, ****** costumes, misrepresented powers and blatant unneccessary source material deviations. Warpath, Storm,Bishop, Sunspot were all underutilized. Wasted potential there. I mean Havoc and Toad appear in one scene and there are gone. Really?
The quality cast inhabit the potentially daunting material with a passionate urgency, fusing potentially laughable subject matter into an affecting and exhilarating work. The acting is still sublime and of course, have to emphasize Hugh Jackman who is still absolutely brilliant as Wolverine. Both in bringing out the animal sides during the fight sequences but also in keeping the character human like in the comics. The actors are fantastic. Fassbender and McAvoy still delivering amazing performances meanwhile Stewart and McKellen give their reflections in the same excellent way that in the trilogy . Jennifer lawlence's Mystique is now much more in line with Rebecca Romijn's Mystique from the original trilogy. Nicholas Hoult did a great job (despite the obvious CGI during his transformation scenes). Other castmembers like Fan Bing Bing, Omar Sy, Daniel Cudmore, Shawn Ashmore, Ellen Page, Adam Canto and Booboo Stewart all did their best despite being barely given any enough screentime.
Besides the lack of character development of some characters, I found the pace was a bit off at times (this is very very minor), undersused characters and some things that could have been explained a bit better, overall it's a brilliant superhero film. Once I sat down in the cinema time just slipped through my hands like sand, I didn't even notice it go past. X-Men: Days Of Future Past is the pinnicle of these movies and is the best film in the franchise. The film was a truly an ambitous and entertaining film and I'd recommend it to anyone. It's an improvement upon the last film and I'm very much looking forward to the next installment in the X-Men franchise. I think the director (Bryan Singer) and the cast all deserve a round of applause. The 3D didn't do anything for me, so I recommend watching it in 2D. Hoever, Singer has yet to deliever the definitive 'X-Men' film.This is how close as we're gonna get to an 'X-Men' film as long as Singer is still around. So at this point take it or leave it. This film is darker, not everyone makes it out alive. It sets up one of the best story lines the comics have ever introduced, Age of Apocalyse. Stick around for the mid credits scene!
With exquisitely thrilling action to put most summer blockbusters to shame and an undercurrent of thought provoking profundity which could give most dramas a run for their money, X-Men: Days Of Futire Past proves an almost faultless piece of quality film-making as well as easily one of the strongest comic book adaptations ever released. Even those usually put off by Singer's take on the X-Men will have much to appreciate and will be hard pressed to find a film nearly as bombastically satisfying as this film.
t:
