Movie Review: X-Men: Days of Future Past

xmen_days_of_future_past_ver6**Warning** This review is by a casual fan!  I’m not a comic book aficionado by any means

four and a half stars

Despite an incredibly stupid name (seriously, days of future past? What does that even mean) the newest X-Men release is crushing at the box office and killing with reviewers as well.

The plot is a little complex, and there are literally thousands of characters, so I am going to simplify as much as I can. In the future, the evil humans are at mutant hating again, and this time the have developed giant robots to keep the mutants in check. Of course, in any movie with robots, the robots go batty and wipe out half of humanity instead. So, they do what anyone would do. They send Hugh Jackman to the 1970s to stop the humans from using the robots in the first place.

Is anyone reminded of Terminator yet?

Anyway, the plot, while convoluted, still manages to come across cleanly. While it should be difficult to keep all the characters straight, each brings their own unique slant to their rolls, so it really isn’t that hard. Hugh Jackman is at his Wolverine best, arguing with people and sauntering around in a leather jacket. My biggest complaint about the characters was the significant lack of Storm time, which I find to be the best female character in the X-Men.

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Jennifer Lawrence as bad girl Mystique certainly makes up for it. Quicksilver (Evan Peters) was another great addition to the cast, and he easily has one of the best scenes in the movie.

Excellent special effects are to be expected in this rendition and you will not be disappointed. There is a lot of action, but it is all well choreographed and extremely entertaining. A few great scenes include the sudden stopping of time, Magneto’s prison break and pretty much any scene where Wolverine kicks someone’s ass.

This is not a disappointing addition to the franchise, not like the Origins movie or even worse The Last Stand. This was probably one of the best additions of the franchise, actually. Despite the fact that this could have gone horribly wrong, considering the cast of thousands and the convoluted plot, it didn’t.

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Instead, it’s an entertaining, utterly watchable thrill ride that gives some great new characters, while reuniting us with some of our old favorites. This was a stand out movie because it covered all the elements. Great direction, effects and stars make this movie memorable without making it too loud. I doubt this would have been done half as well if it weren’t for director Bryan Singer, who handled the first X-Men movie. Singer’s gift for pacing keeps the movie clear when it should be convoluted.

The theater has been packed with super heroes saving the world this spring, and sometimes it’s hard to find a standout in all that mess. But this newest edition of X-Men is a stand out movie. The script was well written, the dialog was cleaver and Wolverine is at his snappy deadpan best.

While it has a silly name, it kind of fits, once you watch the movie.  Watch the official trailer below;

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