X-Men: Days of Futures Past
3/4
Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nichoas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan
Rated PG-13 for Sequences of Intense Sci-Fi Violence and Action, Some Suggestive Material, Nudity and Language
The X-Men were interesting because they were so varied. There were a lot of them, and their powers varied from psychic powers to being able to change form to any person. The first three were fun, and so was "X-Men: First Class" (from what I remember). The new "X-Men" movie brings both franchises together, and as far as crossover movies go, it's a lot better than "The Avengers."
That's because this one tells a story instead of remaking a movie that came out a year before (it also helps that Bryan Singer knows what he's doing behind a camera, unlike Joss Whedon). Unlike movies such as "Man of Steel" or "Pacific Rim," this movie has a plot with complexity. It's not Shakespeare, but it keeps things interesting.
The movie kind of reads like "Terminator 2: Judgement Day." In the future, the world is decimated by The Sentinels, a race of machines that were created to hunt down mutants but ended up enslaving the world. In a last ditch effort, Professor Xavier (Stewart) and Magneto (McKellan) send Wolverine (Jackman) back in time to prevent Mystique (Lawrence) from assassinating Dr. Bolivar Trask (Dinklage), the Sentinels' creator. You see, Trask kidnapped mutants and experimented on them (to the point where they died), and Mystique wants revenge. But killing him would show the world that mutants are dangerous and would have put the Sentinel program into production, thus leading to complete devastation. Wolverine is the only one who can survive the trip back in time, so he must convince the feuding younger versions of himself (McAvoy) and Magneto (Fassbender) to band together to stop Mystique.
There's a lot going on in this movie, and director Bryan Singer avoids falling into the pitfalls that most movies about time travel fall in because he ignores the paradoxes and chaos theory. Wolverine is in the past to prevent the Sentinel project from realization. Nothing more is added because nothing more is needed.
The cast ably slips back into their roles, although many have brief appearances. Singer concentrates on the past because that is where the meat of the story is. Unfortunately that leaves Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan and the modern-day mutants with not a lot to do (Halle Berry is on-screen for so little time that the only reason I can think of for her to be included was a love letter to fans). Still, they're in it, and that's good enough.
The film's problems lie at the beginning and the end. The film's foundation isn't strong enough to lend much weight and urgency to the proceedings. I never felt the sense of loss that the characters do. A little more time developing the present-day situation would have made the mission more desperate. It also robs the ending of a lot of its power. This has an effect on the meat of the story, but not much.
The climax is also problematic because one of the character's motives for what he does is unclear. I didn't know what he was trying to achieve, and that left me scratching my head as I was admiring the special effects (which are pretty impressive).
If there is a want of feeling in this movie, it's acceptable nonetheless because the story is engaging nonetheless.
Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nichoas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan
Rated PG-13 for Sequences of Intense Sci-Fi Violence and Action, Some Suggestive Material, Nudity and Language
The X-Men were interesting because they were so varied. There were a lot of them, and their powers varied from psychic powers to being able to change form to any person. The first three were fun, and so was "X-Men: First Class" (from what I remember). The new "X-Men" movie brings both franchises together, and as far as crossover movies go, it's a lot better than "The Avengers."
That's because this one tells a story instead of remaking a movie that came out a year before (it also helps that Bryan Singer knows what he's doing behind a camera, unlike Joss Whedon). Unlike movies such as "Man of Steel" or "Pacific Rim," this movie has a plot with complexity. It's not Shakespeare, but it keeps things interesting.
The movie kind of reads like "Terminator 2: Judgement Day." In the future, the world is decimated by The Sentinels, a race of machines that were created to hunt down mutants but ended up enslaving the world. In a last ditch effort, Professor Xavier (Stewart) and Magneto (McKellan) send Wolverine (Jackman) back in time to prevent Mystique (Lawrence) from assassinating Dr. Bolivar Trask (Dinklage), the Sentinels' creator. You see, Trask kidnapped mutants and experimented on them (to the point where they died), and Mystique wants revenge. But killing him would show the world that mutants are dangerous and would have put the Sentinel program into production, thus leading to complete devastation. Wolverine is the only one who can survive the trip back in time, so he must convince the feuding younger versions of himself (McAvoy) and Magneto (Fassbender) to band together to stop Mystique.
There's a lot going on in this movie, and director Bryan Singer avoids falling into the pitfalls that most movies about time travel fall in because he ignores the paradoxes and chaos theory. Wolverine is in the past to prevent the Sentinel project from realization. Nothing more is added because nothing more is needed.
The cast ably slips back into their roles, although many have brief appearances. Singer concentrates on the past because that is where the meat of the story is. Unfortunately that leaves Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan and the modern-day mutants with not a lot to do (Halle Berry is on-screen for so little time that the only reason I can think of for her to be included was a love letter to fans). Still, they're in it, and that's good enough.
The film's problems lie at the beginning and the end. The film's foundation isn't strong enough to lend much weight and urgency to the proceedings. I never felt the sense of loss that the characters do. A little more time developing the present-day situation would have made the mission more desperate. It also robs the ending of a lot of its power. This has an effect on the meat of the story, but not much.
The climax is also problematic because one of the character's motives for what he does is unclear. I didn't know what he was trying to achieve, and that left me scratching my head as I was admiring the special effects (which are pretty impressive).
If there is a want of feeling in this movie, it's acceptable nonetheless because the story is engaging nonetheless.
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