X-Men Days of Future Past Review

The very first "X-Men" film, which was released back in 2000, not only became a surprise box office hit, but was the movie that started the age of comic book movies that we are still in. Back then "X-Men" was a big risk. Super-hero films hadn't really been a big box office draw since nearly ten years beforehand with "Batman Returns," and not only that, but how could a team of superheros be successfully brought together in one 90 minute movie? Sound familiar? Really, Bryan Singer managed to do with "X-Men" what Joss Whedon managed to do in "The Avengers," just 12 years earlier and with less-developed CGI. The film was a hit, Hugh Jackman's career began (remember there was a time when the Internet hated the news that Jackman was casted as Wolverine?), and super-heroes were back in style (something that was really set in stone when "Spider-Man"was released in 2002).

Fourteen years and six films later, "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (DOFP for short) is the most ambitious comic book film to be brought to the cinema (that is until "Civil War" is announced in 2018). The old cast from the original trilogy that includes Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, and Ellen Page  shares the film with the new cast from the brilliant prequel film, "X-Men: First Class" that includes James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, and Nicholas Hoult. A new addition is the always excellent Peter Dinklage as the creator of the mutant-hunting Sentinel robots, and at the center of the all the time-traveling action is Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. But this film is not Wolverine's story, as much as it is Young Professor X's story. Many noted that "X-Men: First Class" served as a kind of origin story for Magento, as we really got an insight to his beginnings and his journey to becoming the villain we all know him to be. The same can be said for DOFP as being an origin story for Professor X. Even though we have already been introduced to McAvoy's character, it isn't really until this film that we see the compelling story of grief and struggle that the Professor has to get through to become the wise and compassionate man we know he will become. More on that later though, first let me give a brief, spoiler-free, plot outline:

The year is 2023, and the future is a dark time for mutants and humans alike. The Sentinel robots have been upgraded with the ability to adapt to any mutant power, basically making them unstoppable, and so they have managed to wipe out almost all of the mutants on Earth (ones that don't resist are put in prison camps). With these machines everywhere, and only the most vile humans left serving as the leaders of this apocalyptic world, the few remaining X-Men develop a plan to use Kitty Pride's evolved time-traveling powers to send someone back fifty years to 1973 in order to stop the assassination of Boliver Trask by the shape-shifting Mystique, an assassination that will convince the government of a need for the Sentinel Program. Of course, the only one whose mind would be able to survive the trip is the slow-aging Wolverine, and so he is sent back to unite a young Professor X and Magneto at a time when they couldn't be further apart to end the future war before it ever begins. Don't worry about being confused by all the rules of time-travel as they are pretty clearly explained in the beginning of the film and it isn't really as complicated as one might expect.

Right from the opening scene of the film, which begins as the old trilogy did, with a narration from Patrick Stewart's Professor X, it clear that Bryan Singer is back in the director's chair and he is ready to deliver another great X-Men film. DOFP has a very classic feel to it, with many visuals, lines of dialogue, and even camera shots echoing back to the first two X-Men films. And when the opening credits begin, and John Ottoman's "Main Theme" that hasn't been heard in ten years powerfully plays as the title flashes across the screen, it's just so exciting and serves as an indication that Singer is ready to restore the X-Men franchise to its former glory.

Of course, the strength of the X-Men films has never come in the form of its action scenes. Now that's not to say that there isn't any good action, quite the opposite, DOFP has some exciting set pieces, the greatest involving the super-fast, scene stealing Quicksilver (played by Evan Peters). But the true strength of the franchise has always been found in the performances and the drama (both of which are superior to most other comic-book films).

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen were the power-house anchors of the original trilogy, so it is great to see them back in this film giving dedicated performances to such great characters. Even though we do not see them as much in this film, they make the most of the scenes that they do have. Speaking of dedicated, there is probably no actor more dedicated to a role in the comic book movie world than Hugh Jackman. This marks his 6th time playing Wolverine (7th if you count his cameo in "X-Men: First Class"), and it is clear that he still enjoys it. There are still plenty of great one-liners that he throws out, and it's excited that in this film Jackman gets to take his character in a direction that hasn't been taken before--the role of a mentor (even though patience isn't Wolverine's strongest suit).

James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender proved that they could be strong anchors, just as Stewart and McKellen were, in "First Class" and both continue to shine here, but it's McAvoy who gives the film's most compelling performance. After the events of "First Class," his character is left physically and emotionally broken, and McAvoy brilliant portrays a Professor X that we haven't seen yet, a Professor X that is struggling with his ideals, with his grief, and even with drug abuse (a drug that allows him to walk but blocks out his powers). His journey through DOFP is a heart-felt one, and one that matches Patrick Stewart's.

In addition to the acting, the other thing that makes this film so great is the drama, the rich story-telling. In DOFP, the main characters aren't fighting against a clear-cut villain, instead they are fighting for the soul of Mystique, who is struggling in trying to find out who she wants to be. Professor X wants her to have hope in humanity, and show them that mutants can be trusted allies, but Magneto wants her to be the ruthless killer that he is, to shows humans that mutants are the superior species. And of course, the path that she chooses will have a serious effect on the future. The social commentary, expressed through the conflicting worldviews of Professor X and Magneto (which was originally written to parallel that conflicting views of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X), is as strong as ever and fuels the film's heart and soul. The film speaks on something that we all can relate to. How do we confront those whose ideas, morals, and worldviews differ from our own? How to we respond when we are mocked for our beliefs, our political associations, our skin color? Do we respond with aggression, hatred, and violence, or with forgiveness and love? These questions can give us a lot to think about and discuss when watching the X-Men films, and especially DOFP.

The X-Men franchise is the longest running comic book series so far. Sure, there were a couple of stinkers in the middle, but it has still produced five good to great films. "X-Men: Days of Future" past has all the best parts of the franchise, a compelling story backed up by strong performances and exciting  (and at times brutal) action scenes. Ten years after leaving the X-Men films, Bryan Singer has come back and delivered the greatest entry in the X-Men canon yet, and has given the series quite a bright future. A+

Godzilla: A Classic Blockbuster That Makes Us Wait (And Why That is a Good Thing)

This post contains minor spoilers for Godzilla and MAJOR spoilers for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. 

Gone are the days when we barely knew anything about a movie before we sat down in the theater to see it. This isn't really too new of a thing, but ever since the rise of the super-hero blockbuster in the early 2000's, movie trailers have been showing more and more until we have practically seen most of the film before it comes out. Take for example the marketing for "The Amazing Spider-Man 2", in the first trailer for the film, we got a first look at more of Spider-Man swinging around, some interaction between Peter and Gwen, and a little look at Jamie Fox's Electro, and that was fine! Nothing in the first trailer was too much, instead it was fairly standard footage that you would expect to see in a Spider-Man trailer. It was everything that followed the first trailer that was too much. After about three more trailers and over ten clips, the marketing had shown us too many of the funniest one-liners, most of the best actions scenes, and extended peeks at the two other villains including Green Goblin, which practically took away any suspense there would have been about him turning to the dark side if it hadn't been spoiled in the trailers. By comparison, remember "Spider-Man 3", when we didn't even see what Venom looked like until we actually saw the movie (as bad as it was...)? And heck, we practically saw Gwen's death in the trailers! 

It has become quite rare to see an action scene in a movie that we haven't at least seen a part of in the trailers. We can't actually be surprised by something we haven't seen yet, and that applies to about 95% of modern blockbusters. A film that is part of that rarer 5%...Gareth Edwards' "Godzilla," a film that not only gave very little away in the marketing, but even makes you wait awhile in the actual film to see the action and destruction you have come to see. 

See this is another problem with the majority of action films today, they immediately throw action at us without any explanation, and without any time to develop a story or develop characters. The newest Godzilla film is the exact opposite of this. In fact, you have to wait till almost halfway through the film to even see the monster himself! And while a lot of people are complaining about this, I loved that we had to wait so long to see him. In the first hour of the film, the director is making a point. He is saying that, "Yes, this movie is about a giant monster that causes destruction, but its also about the people that witness this destruction as well!" Almost any other director would have just thrown in Godzilla wreaking havoc from the first five minutes, and continued the carnage for the whole two hours. Edwards instead chooses to develop his human characters and tell a larger and story. One of my favorite scenes didn't even have Godzilla, just a very compelling and emotional scene with terrific acting by Walter White. 

But he is also teasing the appearance of Godzilla. He throws in little sounds and movements in the water. And this creates such terrific suspense and anticipation, that when we finally see him, and he lets out his terrifying roar, it is such a satisfyingly epic moment! My theater even erupted in applause cause it is such a classic moment! 

(Spoilers) And the same goes for the action sequences. I has NO IDEA that there were even other monsters in this film, and that Godzilla is supposed to be the " hero" that fights them! And that is a testament to how well the marketing kept the best parts of the film under-wraps. How often do you never even get to see the villains of a movie in the trailers? Pretty much never...but you don't see them in the "Godzilla" trailers. Instead people like me went in thinking that Godzilla was the "bad guy," only to find out that I would be rooting for him to save the human race in a death-match that was not teased at all in the trailers, making it all the more exciting.

Many people are not going to be happy with "Godzilla" because for an action/destruction film, only forty minutes tops of the two hour film contain action and destruction. And many will also not like how we have to wait so long to see him in the first place. But I applaud this movie for doing what so many modern blockbusters are so afraid to do--make people wait for what they want, keep us in the dark to the climactic battles and action set pieces that make these films so exciting. I was so excited watching "Godzilla" because I really had no idea what was going to happen and when. In "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," I knew that Harry was going to turn into the Green Goblin, I knew when and where Spider-Man was going to fight all the villains, I knew Gwen was going to leave Peter for Oxford University, and I knew that she was going to die. There were no surprises about "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" which is probably why I was a little disappointed by it. I love movie trailers and abundant action scenes as much as the next Hollywood junkie. But we should want more films to be like patience-demanding "Godzilla," so that the concepts of suspense and anticipation can be thrown back into the modern summer blockbuster.