Director Bryan Singer picks up the reins of the X-Men
franchise for Days of Future Past, a
story that brings together the disparate elements of the franchise into a
single narrative. With mankind and mutant-kind on the edge of extinction by an
army of machines known as the Sentinels, Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and
Magneto (Ian McKellen) join forces in an effort to undo the past and safe the
future by sending Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back into the past to convince the
young Xavier (James McAvoy) to help him stop the murder that causes the
creation of the Sentinels.
It is remarkable just how much the film benefits from Singer
and writer Simon Kinberg’s return. Having been joined at the hip for the first
two instalments (arguably the strongest of the franchise), they return to bring
the collective elements of all the films back together, simultaneously redeeming some of the flimsier elements, tying up loose ends and paying homage to each and
every previous film. Another welcome return to the film is John Ottman as
composer: the reprisal of the X-Men 2
theme as the opening credits rolled was all I needed to re-assure me that I was
in for a treat.
Where characters are concerned, we have a whole rogues’
gallery of past and present faces to enjoy. Stewart and McKellen reprise their
roles with ease, Jackman is still the definitive Wolverine and James McAvoy was
born to play the young Xavier. Whilst
some of the newer characters don’t have much in the way of development, their
unique abilities make them interesting to watch, especially Quicksilver, who
delivers the majority of laughs in the movie. Peter Dinklage, still riding high
on his success in Game of Thrones also
puts in a fine performance as the suave but suspicious Bolivar Trask. Everyone involved
appears to be having the time of their lives, and all give it their best acting
chops despite increasingly ridiculous circumstances.
The blend of the past and future storylines is a seamless
integration of the best parts of the X-Men story, the 1970’s sections keeping a
high level of period detail and the future setting basking in a darkly
apocalyptic style. But perhaps the strongest of many brilliant elements of the
film is that while it does have its share of loud, effects heavy moments, the
climax ditches the bombastic headache that most blockbusters would opt for and
instead provides a quieter, more thoughtful finale that manages real moments of
genuine emotion and darkness while giving cause for a smile here and there.
X-Men: Days of Future
Past is a remarkable achievement in superhero movies, providing terrific entertainment,
genuine emotional weight and managing to balance a wide spectrum of characters
without sagging under the weight. It gives an entire franchise a clean slate,
looks back lovingly at the past whilst opening up a whole host of opportunities
for its future.
5 stars
5 stars
