The latest episode in the series marks a welcome return to form.Never have I seen a movie work so hard to wash away the stink of one of its predecessors. You see, while most of the six previous X-Men films were generally well received by audiences and critics alike, 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand, the third effort in the long running franchise, proved to be an exception. Almost ten years after its debut, fans still take to social media on a regular basis to lament what a disaster that movie turned out to be, what with its bungled storyline and gross mishandling of beloved characters. Well, it’s apparent that the creative team behind X-Men: Days of Future Past have taken all those criticisms to heart, because they have their merry mutants in this latest installment of the X-Men saga act with one singular purpose in mind: to travel back in time and do whatever it takes to prevent X-Men: The Last Stand from ever happening.
Now, obviously, trying to erase the psychological scars of a terrible film from the public’s mind can’t be the actual plot of a movie. No, that goal has to be dressed up in a story somehow. To that end, the narrative of X-Men: Days of Future Past begins in a near future in which the world has been taken over by giant robots known as Sentinels. The prototypes for these mutant-hunting machines had originally been constructed by the world’s governments following an incident in 1973 in which the shape shifting mutant Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) publicly assassinated the robots’ creator, Dr. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage). Unfortunately, in the decades following their activation, the Sentinels self-evolved beyond their original mutant-only programming and began to murder ordinary humans whose DNA showed a potential to conceive mutant children. They also began to imprison any humans sympathetic to the mutants’ plight.
With much of the unpowered human population enslaved and the mutant race itself nearing extinction, the last surviving X-Men, including a few old fan favorites such as Storm (Halle Berry) and Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page), concoct a desperate scheme in which they hope to send the consciousness of the elder Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back in time to 1973 to inhabit his younger body. Once the transfer is completed, all Wolverine will need to do is enlist the aid of the younger Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) to help him track down Mystique and prevent the assassination of Trask. Doing so would not only prevent the future events depicted at the start of the film from ever coming to fruition, but could potentially eradicate certain other things from the timeline, like say much of what fans hated about X-Men: The Last Stand. The problem, of course, is that by the end of the events depicted in 2011’s X-Men: First Class, the younger Professor X and Magneto had become sworn enemies, so even if they choose to believe Wolverine’s story, getting them to cooperate with one another will be highly unlikely, if not impossible.
For a time travel story involving a multitude of characters and storylines from six previous movies, it’s a surprisingly easy set-up to follow. The filmmakers do an excellent job of keeping the main plotline intelligible even to new viewers. That’s not to say the movie is completely accessible to those uninitiated to the X-Men universe, however. The full impact of certain scenes rely heavily on the viewer’s familiarity with what has come before. For instance, it helps to know Wolverine’s history in order to understand why seeing a certain individual’s name tag rattles him so much he almost ruins the entire mission, or why the photographs of certain mutants killed by Trask drive Mystique to such a rage. And without having seen the previous movies, newbies will most certainly sit befuddled during the final pre-credits scene while others in the audience cheer wildly. Overall, though, the movie will likely work for fans and newcomers alike.
Well, that is as long as they don’t dwell too much on all the plot holes and unanswered questions regarding the series’ new timeline that will inevitably come to mind after they’ve left the theater. This is both a time travel movie and an X-Men story, after all, so such things, and the nerd rage which accompany them, are pretty much inevitable. Also, given the unfortunate real life allegations currently plaguing the film’s director, it might have been wiser if the filmmakers had chosen to edit out the scene in which the camera lovingly lingers on Wolverine’s bare bottom. The moment brought a few uncomfortable snickers in the screening I attended, not to mention a couple of derogatory comments directed toward the accused Bryan Singer. Didn’t anyone involved realize such reactions were likely given the nature of the charges the man is facing? Bad call.
Still, despite its missteps, X-Men: Days of Future Past is easily one of the best entries in the series. Singer seems to have finally recovered from the slump he went into after directing the dreadful Superman Returns and delivers some of his finest imagery to date. The depiction of the massacre of the X-Men in the future is both visceral and devastating to anyone with an attachment to the characters. Better still is the scene in which the newly introduced character of Quicksilver aids Wolverine and Professor X in breaking Magneto out of prison. His antics are one of the most giddily enjoyable displays of super heroics yet put to the screen, and they are guaranteed to make super speed one of the most desired super powers amongst kids everywhere. After Quicksilver’s scene ended, I admit I actually felt a moment of pity for the makers of The Avengers 2. Even if their alternate take on the character ends up being truer to his comic book roots, they still have to be sitting there wringing their hands wondering how their version can possibly be as crowd pleasing as this one.
What ultimately makes X-Men: Days of Future Past work, however, is not the occasional action scene, but the acting. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen lend their usual gravitas to the elder Professor X and Magneto, Jackman comfortably inhabits Wolverine once again, and Peter Dinklage convincingly portrays the villainous Trask as a man convinced he is the hero of the movie. It’s the trio of Lawrence, McAvoy, and Fassbender who own the movie, though. Amidst all the time travel, giant robots, and weird makeup, the personal conflicts of their characters keep the film firmly grounded in the human element.
Even during the obligatory big finale, when there are plenty of fireworks going on in both the past and the future, the movie wisely keeps the focus on the inner turmoil experienced by the central characters. Mystique’s choice and the future ramifications of it are the obvious center of attention (you don’t get Jennifer Lawrence in your movie these days without giving her something interesting to do), but, personally, I found myself more involved with the dilemma confronted by the Professor. Given the nature of his mental powers, the easiest solution to preventing the horrific Sentinel-filled future would be for him to “play God,” seize control of Mystique’s mind, and tinker with it a bit to get the desired results. But, in reality, God doesn’t really play that way, does He? Instead, our creator has willed that we humans should be free to make our own choices so that we might of our own accord choose the right path–or not, as we so often do. So, in a sense, the Professor is faced with the choice of “playing God” and forcing a decision on Mystique, or conforming to God and allowing Mystique to choose her own path, even if that path leads to a future filled with murderous robots. It’s an interesting ethical dilemma to see played out in a big blockbuster like this.
So come for the spandex and spectacle, and stick around for the story. X-Men: Days of Future Past may be a little confusing for newcomers, but for fans of the series, it’s just what the doctor (or Professor as the case may be) ordered. Well, unless they happen to be among the minority of fans who actually enjoyed X-Men: The Last Stand that is, because this film can’t wait to use its powers to scour away the memories of that one.
In a world he didn’t create, in a time he didn’t choose, one man looks for signs of God in the world by… watching movies. When he’s not reviewing new releases for Aleteia, David Ives spends his time exploring the intersection of low-budget/cult cinema and Catholicism at The B-Movie Catechism.
