Director Bryan Singer has returned with his most ambitious X-Men film to date and, quite possibly, one of Marvel’s finest films. X-Men: Days of Future Past is a two hour action packed film with some familiar faces from the original cast and the cast of the prequel, X-Men: First Class.
The film opens with the future, in which power absorbing Sentinels are wrecking havoc and doing all that they can in their power to destroy mutant kind.
In order to stop this terrible future, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine must go back to where it all began: the 1970s. His mission involves reuniting a younger Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender).
The mission is simple: they need to stop the newly dangerous Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from assassinating the creator of the Sentinels, Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), a man who wants nothing more than to rid the world of mutants.
How does it compare to its predecessors?
If you forget all of the questions associated with time travel then you end up with one of the best X-Men films to date. Arguably the original cast don’t gain the chance to shine through as much, with their screen time lacking in comparison to the First Class cast.
But the line up of the younger actors continues to impress, particularly McAvoy and Fassbender. McAvoy brings a new troubled depth to Xavier as a man who seems to have given up all hope, whereas Fassbender plays Magneto with menace and finesse that lifting up a stadium is no bother.
But it is Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique who has made quite the transformation from Charles’s sweet sister to a woman hell bent on getting what she wants and doing what she thinks is right.
The addition of Evan Peters’ Quicksilver was one many fans were apprehensive about, but he was a scene stealer. He also managed to bring humour to a very serious film during his short section surrounding the deflection of bullets.
As a plus there are the cameos at the end of the film where Wolverine is back at Xavier’s school. The scene brings another emotional element to the film, showing a depth to the gruff Wolverine who has returned for his seventh outing.
X-Men: Days of Future Past had a lot to live up to. After the failure of that terrible Wolverine film and the shakiness of X-Men: The Last Stand, the latest offering is in a league of its own. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen both deliver worthy performances of their characters, but it is the younger cast who take control of the film.
Days of Future Past already looks as though it is about to become this year’s summer blockbuster and it is certainly one of Marvel’s best films of the year. Now the wait is simply on until Guardians of the Galaxy hits the big screen.
Kettle Rating: 4/5
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