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| Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, and James McAvoy |
I proudly boast that I have seen every single X-Men film and I thoroughly enjoyed them all, especially the much aligned X-Men: Last Stand. But with
Days of Future Past, I think this may just have become my favorite. You see, when it comes to science fiction, one of my most favorite movie plots deal with time travel. So when I first heard that DOFP would merge the future XMen with XMen of the past, my interest was immediately piqued. The time travel theme was developed in a very creative way, a believable way, and if I didn't know that the franchise was dependent on the survival of key X-Men, I would have been very sad it all didn't pan out right.
Without giving away too much of the plot, DOFP involved having Wolverine go back in time to prevent a very pissed off and determined Mystique from assassinating the scientist who would go on to create the Sentinel machines which were designed to destroy all mutants. But what she could not possibly know is that through her actions, her DNA, her very existence would be used to improve and further develop the Sentinel program which would ensure that program's success in destroying her kind. Prof X and Magneto in the future realize the role they both played in having all mutants be on the rapidly developing and devastating path towards complete extinction.
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Because young Charles was an emotional wreck in 1973, and with Magneto incarcerated a hundred floors beneath the Pentagon, only Wolverine could go back and recruit their help to stop Mystique. The special effects, and the sometimes crowded but effective action packed scenes with multiple mutants and their special powers were amazing. The Sentinels were so powerful, you wondered just how could the mutants change their future. The introduction of Quick Silver (Magneto's son that he didn't know existed) was short and brilliant and provided just the right amount of laughs in an otherwise very dark and pessimistic story.
I think that the primary reason why so many people like the X-Men is because there are times when we all feel like an outsider or different from the others. The X-Men magnifies this feeling by ten because we see laid out right in front of our eyes, the outcome of systematic mistrust and mistreatment of other people and other species, simply because they are different than us. And what is different than the majority tends to cause fear, judgments, anxieties, and persecution in the minds of the weaker people. Just when you thought Magneto was being a selfish ass, even through his dramatic actions and regardless of who gets hurt, he has a point. If only the reality in X-Men could become the reality in our reality, which is, don't judge a person by their appearance and their abilities - the world would be a much happier place.
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Considering how crowded the film was of X-Men, I felt that the usage of Michael Fassbender was fair, and he got third billing behind Hugh and James, with Jennifer coming in fourth. Going into fan girl mode, Michael as Magneto was exquisite at times, especially during the scene where he was tending to a flesh wound. And unlike in First Class, I think Bryan Singer made a wise decision in wanting Michael's Magneto to sound more European to blend better with the established speech pattern of the older Magneto played by Ian McKellan. As the end of DOFP has served, future X-Men films will be quite interesting and I hope Singer is able to continue to direct them because I really like his style and vision for this franchise.
Score: 5
