There future malleable, especially if you’re an X-man. Bryan Singer and crew reunite for the best entry in the X-men film franchise.
The film is a return to form for the X-Men, especially after the nightmare that was “X-men: The Last Stand.†It resets the film series and allows creators to reshape the world these mutants live in. If this is any indication of where Fox is taking this universe then I feel assured that the future is now bright.
The film is a loose adaptation of the integral “X-Men: Days of Future Past†storyline written by Chris Claremont which pits the X-men and humanity facing extinction at the hands of the feared sentinels.
The film differs from the source material in which Kitty Pryde is sent back in time, instead opting for fan favorite Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) in order to change a pivotal moment in time that triggers the anti-mutant hysteria and leads to the dystopian future they now want to change.
Simon Kinberg and director Bryan Singer manage to keep the movie concise and clear with a few clunky moments that do little to derail this monster of a movie. Yes, you will have the constant reminder that the future is dark and bleak; but it serves the purpose to remind you what these heroes are fighting for.
Kinberg hit it out of the park when he had each member of the cast fulfill a specific role. This gives each character’s appearance on film more meaning rather than just fan boy satisfaction.
The film finds future Wolverine, Fulverine? waking up in his younger body in 1973. J Logan sets out to find the younger Xavier (James McAvoy) who has become a shadow of the man we met in the excellent “X-Men: First Class.â€
Xavier has become a recluse since the events of the Cuban missile crisis. The only thing keeping Xavier and his school from becoming a full fledge blight on society is Beast (Nicholas Hoult).
McAvoy is masterful as Xavier who has lost his powers due to Beast’s miracle cure all which silenced for good the voices Xavier had trained so hard to keep out.
A major factor in his fall from grace is the loss of Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), who Xavier cared for as a sister. McAvoy imbues Xavier with a solace that could only be described as a man broken and without direction since she left his life and joined Magneto’s cause.
However, Mystique and her hatred for Sentinel creator Dr. Bolivar Trask(Peter Dinklage) is the lynch pin in the events that trigger the dystopian future and the one person they must reach in order to prevent the dark days from coming to pass.
Logan gathers the best of the first class in order to track down and stop Mystique. Jackman and his merry band even turn to their former friend turned enemy Magneto.
But first they have to recruit a hilarious and charming young speedster in the form of Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver (Evan Peters) in order to break out Magneto out of jail. The master of magnetism has been imprisoned at the base level of Pentagon for the role he allegedly played in the JFK assassination, for those of you who saw the viral video they released months ago.
This sequence turns out to be the key sequence in the film. The Pentagon prison break sequence manages to be funny visceral and full of tension.
Once freed the movie eloquently becomes three films rolled into one. The mutant’s race against time to stop their former colleague, Mystique, restore young Xavier’s hope and prevent the X-Men of the future from being wiped out.
In the hands of a less experienced director, the film would have been a disaster. However, Singer deftly handles the dense sci-fi/time travel plot. Credit also goes to screenwriter Simon Kinberg for his ability to balance the world and events out in order to avoid confusion.
The franchise is back in good hands and if Fox is smart, their Fantastic Four reboot could lead to an interesting universe should these characters cross. I hope that Singer remains in charge and Kinberg and Vaughn return with fresh installments of the First class series and maybe a New Mutant film, hey I have a soft spot for the ’90s.
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