X-Men: Days of Future Past

 

Expectations:
Holy moly! I could not wait for X-Men: Days of Future Past! When you go to the movies as much as I do, that giddy, movie-going feeling is diluted a bit, particularly in the summer months. From now until the end of August, I will likely grace the movie theater at least once a week, which means I will see many good, bad, and mediocre films. I will be excited about many and reluctant about a few, but there is absolutely no film that will get me as excited as I was for the X-Men se-pre-quel that I have been waiting on for about two years. In fact, I don't think I have been as excited for a film since 2012's The Dark Knight Rises. I love all of the mutants, and the entire X-Men storyline (yes, even The Last Stand). So, as you might expect, I anticipated great things with X-Men: Days of Future Past. I mean, come on! All of the freaking mutants, young and old, on one screen! It was sure to be absolutely brilliant!

Plot:
It was absolutely brilliant! I have no clue how Simon Kinberg and Bryan Singer were able to tie together the separate time periods and storylines as seamlessly as they did. Add to that their ability to create infinite potential storylines, and you have what could only be described as genius. For years, I've been baffled by the fact that the X-Men franchise was unable to become what Disney's Marvel franchise has become over the past few years. The answer may be found in the fact that Disney owns half of the world already. Regardless, I am certainly hopeful that the amazingly in-depth storyline of Days of Future Past doesn't fly over the heads of those who know no better than Captain America = Good and Loki = Bad. In my opinion, the Avengers will never be able to pull off a story anywhere close to the greatness that the X-Men just unleashed.

Characters:
What makes the X-Men franchise so fascinating is the vast potential of new and old characters that could be brought in out of nowhere. Honestly, I wish there was an X-Men TV show. I would watch the crap out of that! Here are a few high/low-lights of the Days of Future Past cast...

Negatives:
With such a large cast and so much going on, it would be impossible for Singer to bat 1.000, but he gave it his all. Unfortunately, there was one character that felt out of place for pretty much the entire film, and that was Nicholas Hoult's Beast/Hank. While his presence was necessary for a good portion of the storyline, he lacked an original storyline. On top of that, his infatuation with Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique/Raven was definitely forced, which distracted from the story at hand. Aside from Beast, the only other character who wasn't great was Lucas Till's Havok/Alex. With the quick deletion of many First Class cast members, his short time on screen was mostly just an annoying tease. I wanted to see more Havok!

Positives:
Allow me a moment to dote upon American Horror Story's main man and future mega-movie-star, Mr. Evan Peters. While many of you were (are) likely unfamiliar with Peters, he has always been impressive to me, particularly in AHS season 2. In Days of Future Past, Peters' Quicksilver/Peter singlehandedly created the most entertaining moments of the entire film, without a doubt in my mind. I can't wait to see what his future has in store! Additionally, James McAvoy (Professor X/Charles) was able to blow me away, yet again. McAvoy was my favorite part of First Class, and I'm glad that he was given such a large spotlight, yet again, in the sequel. Of course, Michael Fassbender was great, but I do think he was a bit underused in this film... Though, the movie couldn't go on forever.

Conclusion:
If there were a 2014 film that I wished went on forever, X-Men: Days of Future Past would be that film. Kudos to anyone involved in the making of this gloriously perfect film. Sure, there were a few hiccups, but, considering the task at hand, the filmmakers did a great job. After both The Avengers and The Dark Knight, I had a moment of realization that I would never be impressed by those sets of superheroes to that level, ever again. However, leaving the theater on Friday night, I could think of nothing but future possibilities for the X-Men franchise. Days of Future Past may have been good, but I truly believe that the future of the X-Men franchise will kick the butt of the franchise's past... a past that I already loved. X-Men: Days of Future Past gets 4.34 out of 5 stars. Go watch it!

A special side note:
X-Men: First Class was actually the first film that I reviewed on my blog. It is pretty easy to tell that I had no clue what I was doing, but, if you want, you can check it out here.