Film Review - X-Men: Days of Future Past

Good Days Are Here

Film: X Men - Days Of Future Past

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence

Directed by: Bryan Singer

Duration: 2 hrs 10mins

Rating: * * * 1 / 2

Among the currently running franchises, X-Men is one of those that rarely disappoints. Mathew Vaughn gave us a cracker in the form of X-Men- First Class and this film, the 7^thin the series, is among the best so far if not the best. The script is taut and they have crammed in so much in two hours,it hardly gives you an opportunity to feel restless or bored at any point. The mutants are well and truly in top form.

Ten years and five films later, Bryan Singer returns as a director (he made the first X Men film followed by X-2) and he will also be at the helm of X -Men Apocalypse set for a 2016 release.

Since the story, collective and individual, has progressed quite far, there is no point in doing a recap and this film cuts straight to the chase. The Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) along with the other mutants, Magneto, Storm and of course Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) are under attack from Sentinels who are robots and are much stronger a force to resist.

The Mutants stand a chance to survive only if they travel back in time and alter the past so that the present circumstance can be avoided. Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) has the ability to transport a person’s consciousness back in time. Logan volunteer’s for the same and having been sent back to the early 70s his prime mission to stop Raven aka Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from committing a murder.  For that he needs the help of the Professor Xavier (James McAvoy), who is much younger then along with Magneto (Michael Fassbender) who is kept in a high security prison, because of his involvement in the assassination of none other than JFK.

Peter Dinklage plays a scientist who designs the Sentinels that are inducted in the U.S army under instructions of President Nixon. 

Days of Future Past has some terrific action scenes like the ultra slow motion sequence in the prison where time is frozen or the finale where virtually a stadium is airborne. But at the heart of it, it also has a screenplay by Simon Kinberg that is engaging. It also helps that X-Men has some fascinating charactersand they are allowed to flourish, although not all of them get a chance. Storm (Halle Berry) for instance has a very minuscule role.

Those who don’t know the history of the previous X-Men films might be a little lost because there are plenty of earlier references and some are very smartly used. That line and scene for example, where the young Professor reminds Wolverine of their brief meeting when they came to ask him for help is a hoot.

It also helps to have such a talented cast. Fassbender as the young Magneto gives his character just the right shade of grey while James McAvoy admirably fills in as the young Charles Xavier. You can rely on Jennifer Lawrence and Hugh Jackman is eminently likable as always.

X-Men: Days of Future Past is one of the best mainstream Hollywood flicks this year and that is a good reason to watch it.