Released: May 2014

Run Time: 131 minutes

Directed By: Bryan Singer

Distributed By: 20th Century Fox
in Association with Marvel Entertainment
and Bad Hat Harry Productions

Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi violence and action,
some suggestive material, brief nudity and adult language

And Hugh Jackman’s naked ass.

“It’s not their pain you’re afraid of. It’s yours, Charles. And as frightening as it can be, that pain will make you stronger. If you allow yourself to feel it, embrace it. It will make you more powerful than you ever imagined. It’s the greatest gift we have: to bear their pain without breaking. And it comes from the most human part of us: hope. Charles, we need you to Hope. Again.”

Question time, my fellow gamers; how do you erase the mistakes of the past (X-Men III: The Last Stand), while still respecting the good bits that came before it without completely whitewashing the whole thing with a movie-style reboot? You delve deep into the comic lore and put some shine on one of the best X-Men storylines of the last three decades. Based on the 1981 storyline written by Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin, the story envisions a future where humanity is brought to its knees after Sentinels, created by scientist and entrepreneur Bolivar Trask (played in the film by Peter Dinklage), have all but eliminated the mutant race. These robots, however, also target any humans who MAY one day give birth to mutant offspring and any humans sympathetic to the mutant plight are also targets for elimination or arrest.

Entire metropolitan cities are wiped out in months, bodies unceremoniously dumped in landfills, those few who have not been enslaved or incarcerated live in the ruins and scrape together whatever is useful, all the while the worst that humanity has left is now unquestionably in charge. But even in the darkest night, there is still hope. What few mutants still left have come together for one last shot at changing this future imperfect: by sending someone back into the past to alter or even stop what is to come. The deviation between comic book and movie should be noted however. Originally, it was Kitty Pryde herself that went back in time, not movie hunk Hugh Jackman, once again reprising his role as Logan/Wolverine. But it still works. What doesn’t? His naked ass when he first wakes up in the past. Ladies, more power to you but… middle aged man ass just… just isn’t my thing.

Right, anyway, moving on.

“When you sent our soldiers to Vietnam without the proper weapons to win the war, you underestimated your enemy. Do it with this enemy and it won’t be some skirmish halfway across the globe. This time, it will be for our homes, our streets and by the time you see the need for my program, it will be too late, and you’ll have lost two wars in one lifetime.”

The clever thing pulled off in this film is its equivalent of “The Avengers” moment when they link the “older” X-Men storylines with the “younger” X-Men: First Class cast. I mean, I know certain liberties where taken with certain characters (I really don’t recall Charles Xavier ever having hair in the comics, even in those brief flashbacks to his youth), but I have to say that James McAvoy’s portrayal of a young, depressed-addled Xavier hiding away in a near-deserted and dessicated School For Gifted Youngsters as impressive, powerful at times. The highlight of that portrayal being when he meets his older self, played too sparingly by Patrick Stewart. Because of this, I’m personally torn by which professor I prefer more, Stewart or McAvoy. Both are excellent in their parts. And that scene alone was the highlight of the entire experience.

But I have to say that, while I respect Ian McKellan’s portrayal of an aged Magneto, it’s Michael Fassbender’s darker, almost tragic take on the master of magnetism as being a personal favorite of mine. Here we see a Magneto in his prime, at the apex of his powers who’s not afraid to do drastic, and downright criminal, things to save the mutant race. Part of me can see the nobility in him, but part of me can still see the extremism as being detrimental to what he’s ultimately trying to accomplish. Preservation of mutant-kind, by enslaving and subjugating the rest of humanity for the crimes of a few.

“I don’t WANT your suffering. I don’t WANT your Future!”

The one character I outright didn’t like? Jennifer Lawrence’s portrayal of a younger Mystique. Was it bad? No. But she’s just… she just doesn’t fit well with the character. I’m spoiled by the silkier, more seductive Rebecca Romijn. That fits. That made sense. “Blue Katniss”‘ attempt to seduce men across the film just felt… bad. I’m sorry, people might like her, they may find her portrayal better than the original, but I didn’t. In fact I found it to be even poorer than her first attempt at the character when she was in X-Men: First Class. I think it’s the still-teenage look; the high cheekbones, the chubby-ness of the face, the too-young-to-be-walking-around-in-strategically-placed-latex.

All in all though, there are some genuinely funny, sad, and inspiring moments in the story. Seeing a young Xavier crawl out of his own personal and emotional wreckage to change the future by changing the past, while taking the experience from his older self to embrace the pain of an entire race subjugated and hated simply by being born differently than what is considered “normal” is touching. The parallels between how mutants in the Marvel Universe are treated like the modern societal “outcasts” of homosexuals and lesbians, these so-called “deviant and strange” fellows who, despite never really hating the world, are hated by many, is all too apparent. Even in this, the 21st century, we still have idiots out there preaching hate and dogma against them. As if they’re entitled to do whatever, whenever and to whomever without consequence. But let a “mutant” out there attempt to do the same? God forbid, the moral fabric of reality is torn asunder and all is lost.

No wonder Jesus wept.

“The future: a dark, desolate world. A world of war, suffering, loss on both sides. Mutants, and the humans who dared to help them, fighting an enemy we cannot defeat. Are we destined down this path, destined to destroy ourselves like so many species before us? Or can we evolve fast enough to change ourselves… change our fate? Is the future truly set?”

Final Thoughts: All in all though, I found X-Men: Days of Future Past to be an excellent restart to the franchise. It all but erased the mistakes made in the third film, while still leaving enough open to pursue fresh new things for either the older, or younger, versions of our favorite mutant super-heroes. Would I recommend this film? Oh hell yes. Hell yes. In fact I’d recommend watching it multiple times to really catch the subtle things you might have missed the first time you watched it. And as it’s been a running thing with most of these Marvel movies, the end-credits sequence really sets the stage for something even more powerful to look forward to. I won’t spoil it for those of you who haven’t seen this movie. But I will say this.

“The end is nigh.”