 |
| Courtesy of x-menmovies.com |
In this the fifth installment of X-Men movies, they finally
got it right; from a storyline choice.
Whereas they tried, with complete ineffectiveness, to tell the Phoenix
saga in movies past, here they took a well contained, almost minor story of Days of Future Past –
all told, forty-eight pages of comic awesome.
With over forty years of ongoing tales, with countless issues and
storylines to choose from it’s a joy to see something more settled come to
light.
For those of you not familiar with the story as a whole,
being as that the comic was originally published in 1989 (with subsequent
reprints) it’s understandable if you’re not, the tale is set fifty years in the
future. The Sentinel program which was
meant to quell the mutant aberration has turned into something much worse,
hunting and killing not just mutants but those who would someday have mutant
children. Few mutants survived the
onslaught (pardon the pun) and those that did were forever changed.
The movie sets the viewer on a journey back in time to the
1970’s where we are introduced to a drunk, walking Professor Xavier. Taking a serum which allows him to walk but suppresses
his mutant powers, Xavier is lost; devastated by heartbreak.
 |
| Courtesy of x-menmovies.com |
Wolverine/Logan is our main character, mentally sent back in
time on a mission to unite those who couldn’t be move divergent – Xavier and
Lehnsherr (Magneto), in an effort to interject and stop events from unfolding
as they did which led to the future which Logan is sent back from.
Setting aside the time-space-paradox of being sent back in
time (within the same timeline) to alter it – the idea in and of itself is cool
and interesting since it involves mental time-travel, not actual physical
time-travel like Cable/Bishop/Forge undertake at various times in the
comics. (if you don’t know those
characters – GO LOOK THEM UP)
Days is captivating.
Certainly there are plot holes and things that any number of people
could point to as incorrect or simply disliked portions of the movie. I for one wasn’t wild about the ending. But overall the movie is visually dynamic
with amazing special affects and CGI Sentinels mixed with fantastic battle
scenes involving a wide range of mutant powers.
 |
| Courtesy of x-menmovies.com |
The cast of characters is outstanding: Bishop, Sunspot,
Blink and Storm are but a few of the X-Men on display. Blink is an interesting choice – certainly a
fan favorite but most assuredly not part of the original group of characters in
the comic…since the wasn’t invented till several years later during the Age
of Apocalypse story, which on a side-note was probably the best thing
Marvel has done in terms of Universe-spanning stories (with Infinity Gauntlet a
close second). Her inclusion sets up,
potentially, her timeline to be the focal point of the next X-Men movie, which
is already set to put Apocalypse front and center (FINALLY) as the
villain. Magneto, though surely a focal
point in the comics for many years, was overdone to be sure.
There’s going to be a lot of really good movies out this summer: Godzilla (which you can read my review HERE), Guardians of the Galaxy
and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes round out the blockbusters and Days of
Future Past is more than worth the price of admission. Whether you’ve been a fan of the comics for
years, or came along with the movies or even if you’ve never read or seen
anything related to the X-Men before – that’s ok, this movie welcomes you with
open arms. There are a few things you
won’t understand at first, but the plot and overall story doesn’t require prior
knowledge because a lot of it isn’t rooted in existing lore – it’s invented for
the movie.
Go forth, partake and enjoy the fruits of Bryan Singer’s
labor.
BE SURE to stay through the credits…it’s worth it, trust me.
No comments:
Post a Comment