X-Men: Days of Future Past

   Before I start the review I thought I’d give some background on my history with the X-Men and superheroes in general. Growing up I was a huge comic book fan, I used to ride my bike to my local comic shop frequently and have a blast looking at all the cool stuff. While I was more into Marvel then DC, I bought a little bit of everything. I would buy third party comics like Dark Horse and Image and more from more obscure comic companies. My favorite Marvel comics were Spider Man, the Avengers, and Thunderbolts. I was into X-Men, but not so much the comics, I think I had a few but I was more about the 90s cartoon, the video games and the toys. When the first Bryan Singer X-Men movie came out I was pretty excited, the idea of a live action X-Men film was awesome, even if, re-watching the movie today, it’s not that great. Still, the first Singer X-Men movie was important because it helped create the superhero movie renaissance we are enjoying today. 

   X-Men: Days of Future Past was released in the summer of 2014, I was too busy doing other stuff last year and did not get a chance to watch it, until a few days ago when Netflix delivered the disc to my house. After such a long wait, was I happy with the movie? In a word, yes.  

   The movie takes place partly in the future, where we see the X-Men facing tough times. A war with highly advanced robots called Sentinels has wiped out nearly all mutants and humans alike. These are bleak days, and the surviving X-Men are in a constant struggle to stay one step ahead of their inhuman pursuers. Eventually our heroes decide to send Wolverine into the past so he can prevent this grim future, in a battle that will unite life long enemies Professor X and Magneto. 

   I enjoyed this movie about as much as the last X-Men movie, which was X-Men: First Class. Both movies are solid additions to the X cinema verse, although neither film is enjoyable as, say, an Avengers, Iron Man or Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Fox does moderately good work with their franchise, but they’re no Marvel Studios. 

   I didn’t find a lot of flaws with the movie, aside from a goofy/ridiculous plot the only main fault I had with the film was it’s focus on the character of Mystique, specifically the idea that she was involved in a kind of love triangle with Professor X and Magneto. The last X-Men film did spend a little time on Mystique, but not in the way that Days of Future Past suggests. To suddenly overstate her relationships with Prof. X and Magneto felt strange to me, and somewhat forced. I kept asking myself at what point did Mystique suddenly become such an important character. 

   The effects and action were fun, especially if you want to see scenes of the X-Men being slaughtered by robots. The fight scenes are also somewhat inventive, as you get to see mutants using their powers to aid one another in cool ways. This film also introduces some new mutants, including Bishop, Sunspot, Warpath, and Blink. There is also a great sequence featuring Quicksilver, who basically steals the whole movie. The upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron will also feature the character of Quicksilver, and I have to say, Days of Future Past sets the bar pretty high in this regard, I doubt Avengers 2 will have as memorable a version of the character as the one seen in this film.

   Would I recommend this movie? That depends on how much you like the X-Men and superhero movies in general. If you can’t get enough superheroes then you’ve probably already seen this movie, but if you’re on the fence and you like the X-Men then I would say yes, this movie is worth checking out. If you aren’t a big fan of costumed heroes or are starting to suffer from superhero exhaustion then you might want to skip this one. As someone who grew up with these characters I was pleased enough with the movie, though your mileage may vary.