I'm a huge fan of the first two
X-Men films, and was disappointed to see this franchise crumble under the weight of
X-Men: The Last Stand, and
X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Going into this, my main concern was how can Bryan Singer flesh out a large group of characters, and bring a time traveling story together, without it feeling convoluted? Thankfully, the two mesh together very well, in which I found myself being hooked the entire time.
The story is loosely based on the 1981 story arc, by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. Although I've only read bits and pieces of it, the films title alone gave me an idea of what this was about. In a very brooding post apocalyptic future, the X-Men have come together to send Logan back in time to the year 1973, to stop the Sentinels from wreaking havoc amongst the mutants. Logan, Charles and Hank share a great amount of time together, and their chemistry was top notch. And I'm truly impressed with how James McAvoy and Micheal Fassbender portray the younger versions of Charles and Eric, who completely engage themselves in these roles. Jennifer Lawrence returns as Raven, who simply now calls herself Mystique. She kicks a lot of ass here, and she's very cold yet heartfelt to an extent, but really having the audacity to take out Bolivar Trask, played by Peter Dinklange. His character is played out to be the main villain, ultimately that's not the case. But I didn't mind it, as I was still intrigued by his character no matter what his motivations were.
I was glad to see the original cast back on screen together as well, Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry along with the welcoming presence of Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Drake/Iceman and Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde. Who've all done a great job with their roles, bringing a great sense of life to these characters. John Ottman, who is known for his iconic X-Men theme from
X2, makes his return to score the film, and I couldn't be more excited to hear it again, along with bringing in really light and intense themes. But the biggest surprise to me, was Evan Peters as Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver. Who I thought at first judging by official stills, looked awful. Which I now find extremely silly, as Quicksilver is the main highlight of the film. His scenes where amazing, and I even found myself bursting out laughing, really well done and I can't wait to see more of him.
Getting towards the end of the film, I was begging to see how the story panned out. Without spoiling anything, I can tell you this, I couldn't help but have a huge smile on my face. To see a story like this all intertwine together, is truly exceptional. Bryan Singer has done a hell of a job, and I'm glad that this payed off, a very well made comic book film from beginning to end.
X-Men: Days of Future Past is in my opinion the best X-Men film yet, surpassing
X-Men: First Class and
X2: X-Men United. This franchise is back to form, and to full effect and I can't wait to see 2016's
X-Men: Apocalypse.
RATING: 5/5