REVIEW #60 X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

X-Men days of future past is a film released in 2014 and directed by Bryan Singer. Wolverine travels back to 1973 to stop Mystique from assassinating an experimental scientist, whose death ultimately leads to the creation of the Sentinels that will wipe out all mutants in the future timeline. 

CAST & THE ACTING 

What I loved about Days of Future Past is the fact that it blends the cast from the original X-Men films with the new younger castings! So we see both James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender and Ian McKellen as Magneto, Hugh Jackman returns as Wolverine and we even see Halle Berry return as Storm, Anna Paquin returning as Rogue and Shawn Ashmore as Iceman. This film is filled with acting talent which not only makes for a great film but also delivers a huge sense of nostalgia. I enjoyed McAvoy’s portrayal as a more troubled Charles Xavier which was a complete contrast to the usual calm and collected character we had seen in previous X-Men films. Hugh Jackman delivers a strong performance, again proving why he is the perfect Wolverine in what would be his second from last outing as the iconic mutant character. 

PLOT & THE STORYLINE 

I thought this was a great storyline, the time travel aspect was kept simple which avoided any major plot holes. As I mentioned above, it gave the audience an opportunity to see the old and new X-Men cast all in one film which made it exciting from the get go. It also introduced one of the most iconic villains of the X-Men in the Sentinels, robots that can adapt to mutant powers, which makes them extremely difficult to beat. I also felt like it did explore the personal battles that the characters had as well, with Charles Xavier’s addiction to the substance that not only helped him walk again but also stopped his powers meaning he no longer had to listen to the millions of voices that were in his head. It also touched upon Magnetos struggles since the events of First Class and how Raven has gone down a darker path to try and help her fellow mutants. All these sub plots helped build better character arcs and by doing that got me more invested into these characters. A big example is how they touched upon quicksilver being Magnetos son, in my opinion it makes the audience connect with the character more because it shows he is not just there for comical purposes.

CINEMATOGRAPHY & SPECIAL EFFECTS 

I thought the cinematography and effects were great, there was some absolutely stunning scenes and some really good special effects in this film. One scene that stands out the most is the quicksilver scene when they got to break Magneto out of prison. Visually it was amazing and I think it’s probably one of my favourite speedster scenes from any comic book film, up there with The Flash’s origin scene in the Justice League. It was just constructed so well and it looked so convincing! There were of course other moments like the Sentinel battles with the future version of the X-Men, that was done really well, showcasing a lot of the mutants abilities whilst also displaying just how powerful these sentinels were. So I have to give credit to Newton Thomas Sigel who was in charge of cinematography and Richard Stammer who I believe was supervisor for special effects on the film.

OVERALL (8.7/10)

I do love this X-Men film and I think it has to be my favourite one because it mixes the old cast with the new. With most films where time travel is at the forefront it usually creates a lot of plot holes and although there may be a couple, I do think they done really well to keep it nice and simple which made the storyline easy to follow. There were some visually outstanding scenes in this film, especially Quicksilvers scene in the prison! The special effects were great and they looked really convincing, highlighting the array of powers the mutants have but also just how powerful the Sentinels are. There are a lot of interesting sub plots which explore individual characters and their personal struggles which I enjoyed because it allowed the audience to connect with those characters a lot more. So I would definitely recommend this film for sure!

Thanks for reading.

Callan