X-Men: Days of Future Past

MY RATING: MUST WATCH

Bryan Singer returns to save the X-Men!!! In X-Men: Days of Future Past we get to see the cast of the original X-Men Trilogy meet the cast of the X-Men: First Class in a prequel/sequel/reboot instalment in the X-Men franchise. It can be a little confusing in terms of where this movie is placed in the timeline and how its events affect the overall sequence of events but I as far as I am concerned, this movie is just so incredible that I actually enjoyed it better than Captain America: The Winter Soldier. 

X-Men: Days of Future Past has all the elements of a great superhero movie. The script has to be one of the most well-done I've seen, especially with the element of time travel involved. Time travel tends to confuse the audiences but I am glad that the time travelling element of the story is well-thought out and well-executed. 

There was a lot of character development in the film too, which in a way made the film feel very mature. We see Wolverine step out of his comfort zone and be the person of guidance for once. We also get to see Professor X in is lowest point in his life and Mystique's internal struggles that has developed her from the innocent friend of Charles Xavier in X-Men: First Class to the cold-hearted figure we've known in the original X-Men Trilogy 

The action scenes were amazing, especially the battle between the X-Men and Sentinels in the future. I was so stoked to see Iceman's upgraded powers and also the new additions Bishop, Sunspot and Blink in action. The battle was both intense and heartfelt and the future sentinels do present themselves a formidable adversary. 

There was also a considerable amount of humour added to the film which helped lighten the tone a little. Most of it is tied to the character Quicksilver which is undeniably one of the highlights of the film. Quicksilver such a quirky character and the scenes of him running around in slow-motion is simply the most entertaining part of the film. 

In addition, with a huge ensemble cast, I am glad that the film managed to find the balance between characters and give each character an adequate amount of screen-time. The pacing was also well-done and no scene felt out-of-place or unnecessary to the story.

Lastly, what I am most happy about this film is the fact that it brings the X-Men franchise onto the right track after it has been messed around by several directors and writers. It is sort of Bryan Singer's way of saying "Move aside, this is my franchise!" Sure, there are going to be several minor continuity issues with this instalment of X-Men like where did Wolverine get his adamantium claws back after loosing them in The Wolverine, but its best if we look past these details and focus on the overall picture.

In all, X-Men: Days of Future Past is undoubtedly my favourite X-Men movie as well as my favourite superhero movie of 2014 thus far and it will definitely give anyone watching it a thrilling, entertaining and rewarding time at the cinema.

SPOILER WARNING FOR THE CONTENTS BELOW

Before I start my spoiler talk I would first like to sincerely thank Bryan Singer for the millionth time for saving the franchise and righting all the wrongs done to X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Due to the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past, history is rewritten and the events of the X-Men Trilogy and the two Wolverine spin-offs cease to exist. Well, the plus side to this is the presence of of Jean Grey and Scott Summers in the new future as they would not have died in The Last Stand. Seeing Jean Grey and Cyclops at the end of the film was absolutely rewarding and it felt as if Singer placed a bandage on a 7 year old wound. The down side to this would be that the first two X-Men movies, directed by Singer himself, are gone in the timeline. I guess it is a sacrifice Singer had to take to steer the franchise back into the right direction.

There were many easter eggs planted into the movie relating to previous films and the X-Men comics. One is a comment made by Quicksilver to Magneto during the prison break that his mother met someone who could bend metal like Magneto, a nod to the comics where Quicksilver is the son of Magneto. Also in the new future, we see Kitty Pryde and Colossus together teaching a class, hinting a possible relationship, which is another nod to the comics. We get to see references to X-Men: First Class when Magneto breaks into a vault in the Pentagon to reclaim his helmet. Stowed along with Magneto’s helmet were Havok’s costume, one of Angel’s wing and the coin that killed Sebastian Shaw. In addition, the Sentinels in the future habor the powers of several mutants seen in previous films due to the ability to shapeshift. Powers include the long claws of Lady DeathStrike, Iceman’s frost abilities, Sunspot’s fire abilities and the ability to turn their skin into metal like Colossus and diamond like Emma Frost.

Lastly, in the post-credits scene we get to catch a glimpse of Apocalypse, the main antagonist in the next instalment X-Men: Apocalypse releasing in May 2016. In that scene, we see Apocalypse assembling the pyramids of Egypt using his telekinetic powers while crowds of people worship him, chanting his name “En Sabah Nur”. We also see his four horsemen at the side. Apocalypse is the first mutant and he is considered to be the “Thanos” of the X-Men universe. I am so excited to see the X-Men take on a much powerful adversary and I really do hope that X-Men: Apocalypse would be as good, if not better than X-Men: Days of Future Past.