To all my fan(s) out there, my apologies for the long hiatus. I've been pretty busy over the last few months with graduating high school and preparing for the next chapter of my life. But don't worry, I've been watching plenty of movies. I've got a lot to say about the latest kaiju movie, Godzilla, but that's for another day. Anyways, over the last nine days, I've been on an outdoors trip which did its best to culminate my high school career and provide a nice segue between my irresponsible adolescence and college. It also snapped me back into a creative mindset, because I spent all this time around three friends who only talked about media, literature, and writing. During which time struggled to keep up. Hence here I am again with you all. This is, hopefully, the resurgence of Not Another Movie Review.
So, onto X-Men: Days of Future Past (DOFP). We all know it. Brian Singer's first two shots at Marvel's mutated crew were shams. The X-Men was ok, but X2 left much to be desired (although worlds better than Last Stand). Since then, there have been plenty of shitty X-Men movies tarnishing the franchise, like Origins: Wolverine. But X-Men: First Class was somewhat of a gem. Great Director/Writer in Matthew Vaughn, and new talented actors like James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, and in turn a new hope for the series. However, when I had heard that Brian Singer would be resuming his directing role in the sequel, I thought everything would fall apart. I was pleasantly surprised. DOFP impressed me with a compelling (if unbelievable) storyline, a creative blend of old and new age heroes, and a certain air of dedication and enthusiasm that Singer lacked in his previous installments. Granted, some of that might be due to more writing help from Vaughn.However, there were a lot of disappointing and confusing plot points/holes, and forgive me because this might take a while and be a bit incoherent. First of all, since when can Kitty Pryde do anything other than phase herself and others through matter? Why does magneto seem to have so much more power in the past (and almost useless in the "present"), when he is younger and less experienced? Most importantly, why wont anyone listen to Peter Dinklage? He's, like, the most commanding dwarf known to man. The biggest bother to me, however, is the time travel aspect. Supposedly, Pryde can send someone's consciousness back in time. The "present" X-men intend to use this to give past Wolverine the information that "present" Wolverine has. This would allow past Wolverine to know what happens in the future and give him a plan to stop it. What I can't figure out is why Logan needs to be under this trance state during the process. Essentially, once past Logan alters the timeline, "present" Logan and everyone with him should dissappear and reappear somewhere else depending on what past Logan does. If your argument is that Logan's consciousness needs to be there the whole time to carry out the task, then I must bring this up. Past Wolverine is all but killed 15-20 minutes before Mystique shoots Magneto and saves the future timeline from destruction. Therefore, no more need for Wolverine. And don't even get me started on Jean. Jean's transformation into Phoenix is due in large part to manipulation from Magneto. In the end of the movie, Magneto walks off, still a bad guy, and in the "present" timeline, Jean is still alive and not evil. On top of that, Charles read's Wolverines mind, therefore knowing everything that will happen from that point on. In effect, no more X1, 2, or 3.
But enough about that, it made for good drama and an exciting plot. There are a few things that are necessary to bring up. 1: Michael Fassbender is an incredible villain, and an even better Magneto. 2: McAvoy should never try heroin. 3: Bobby is lame and so are the random new mutants. Oh, and Evan Peters makes a perfect Quicksilver. His laid back attitude juxtaposes nicely with his quick wit and mutant ability. I loved him in the American Horror Stories series, and couldn't wait to see him in this film, and he didn't disappoint, proving to be funny yet effective. Peter Dinklage also provided a typically awesome supporting role, although he doesn't really triumph at any point in the film. If you want more, check out some great lines from Game of Thrones. What really tied the movie together was a combination of strong performances from the guys you'd expect. While Hugh Jackman continues to get more jacked, Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart can finally pass the torch confidently to Fassbender and McAvoy, whose portrayals did them justice.Even with the somewhat confusing plot, X-Men: Days of Future Past really shines through the thick of the other movies in the franchise. While I wouldn't put it ahead of First Class, I would say it is a worthy continuation of the reboot. As far as I'm concerned, as long as Matthew Vaughn is somehow contributing to the script and the director and actors have as much enthusiasm as in this film, we are good to go.
