X-Men: Days of the Future Past Movie

“I don’t want your suffering! I don’t want your future!” – Young Charles Xavier

X-Men: Days of the Future Past (“DOFP”) is incredible. Director Brian Singer does an excellent job with the film. An assist needs to go to Matthew Vaughn, who directed X-Men: First Class (“First Class), for collaborating again with Singer on this sequel by helping to write the story this time. The Days of the Future Past storyline is one of the most well known in the X-Men universe. Initially, I did not feel optimistic about the use of the storyline for the cinematic universe. First, Singer’s X-Men (2000) and X2: X-Men United (2003) (“X2”) are good films but they are tame enough to be kid friendly. Consequently, I was skeptical on whether Singer could do the post-apocalyptic future ruled by the Sentinels justice in DOFP. It needs to be dark with almost no hope. I am pleased to say that Singer creates a haunting dystopian future that gives me the chills. As a viewer, you can definitely feel that the heroes are desperate and in dire straits. My other concern was that the film would try to do too much with too many characters since it has a future timeline and a past timeline at its disposal. It is the same fear I had going into the Amazing Spider-Man 2 and my worst nightmare was realized. However, DOFP does much better. It wisely focuses on the most intriguing characters which includes Logan/ Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Charles Xavier/ Professor X (Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy), and Erik Lehnsherr/ Magneto (Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender).  It builds a stellar plot around them rather than trying to start an exhausting number of storylines with as many characters as possible that do not go anywhere. Nevertheless, it still uses the supporting mutants in spectacular action sequences that make sense and blends in to the overall plot. I commend Singer and his team for not forcing in thrilling action scenes just for the sake of having them in their movie. As a X-Men fan, I also appreciate that the movie is able to create a different version of the Days of the Future Past story arc but still stay true to the source material. From this perspective, the film does well to put Raven/ Mystique at the center of the plot since she is a critical character in the storyline in the comics and the animated series. Of course, it makes even more sense to focus on Mystique now since the character is played by Jennifer Lawrence and she is arguably the biggest name in Hollywood today. With the introduction of time travel, the film also does an excellent job addressing the question of whether destiny has already been determined before we are born or whether our actions can change fate. This theme fits in very well with the main characters. The main antagonist of the film is Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), who creates the Sentinels. While Peter Dinklage’s incredible acting ability is underutilized in his role as Trask, the prospect of a hellish future dominated by Sentinels is enough to fill the void of a true villain. Overall, I highly recommend this movie to all X-Men and comic book fans. I also recommend it to any moviegoers looking for an entertaining and intriguing comic book movie. The film simply delivers. I watched it a second time and I liked it even more the second time.

The first aspect of the film I like to applaud is its portrayal of the desolate, dystopian future that is ruled by the Sentinels. True to the comics and the 1990s animated series, it shows a world ravaged by war. Mutants are rounded up into internment camps for termination. The shots of the devastation in a futuristic New York City are sickening. It looks like hell on Earth as it is supposed to be. In response to their fear of mutants, human beings allowed the Sentinel program to flourish. They allowed an army of these robotic monsters to be created with the purpose of hunting down mutants in the name of safety and security. The Sentinels do not stop at just mutants. They also target human beings that carry the X gene who can breed future mutants. Although humanity eventually comes to their senses and most humans come to the aid of the mutants, it is too late. They surrendered their freedom in the name of security. It is a theme that is still relevant in the real world today. Since mutants are overmatched by the Sentinels, it is no wonder that normal human beings are slaughtered trying to help the mutants. The beginning of the scene shows the remnants of the X-Men trying to survive and continue the final resistance. The first action sequences show the Sentinels attacking their stronghold in Moscow. The X-Men include some familiar faces from the original trilogy with Bobby/ Iceman (Shawn Ashomre), Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page), and Colossus (Daniel Cudmore). They also include some new faces with Blink (Bingbing  Fan), Sunspot (Adan Canto), Warparth (Booboo Stewart), and Bishop (Omar Sy). Of course, the new character that gets a X-Men fan boy, like me, pumped up is Bishop. He is one character I wish the film spent more time on but it is good to see him even in a minor role. I also understand that the movie is already at an appropriate length and does not need to be much longer. From this first battle, it is clear how horrifying and overpowering the futuristic Sentinels are. These X-Men are thoroughly defeated and brutally killed. These Sentinels show no mercy as they have no qualms about ripping mutants in half, ripping off limbs, or decapitating their foes. If those techniques do not work, they can also transform their arms to knives to impale victims or use a heat beam like the one from the Destroyer in Thor. These advanced Sentinels remind me of Nimrod from the comics and the animated series. While they may not be quite as indestructible as Nimrod, they have similar firepower and there are many more of them since they are now the standard Sentinel in the future. For all these reasons, the future exceeds my expectations in terms of how dark and terrifying it is. You definitely do not want to live in that misery.

Of course, the Days of the Future Past storyline is about time travel and changing the past. In the film, Kitty has evolved powers. In addition to being able to phase through objects, she has the ability to send one of her teammate’s consciousness back in the past for a couple of days. Accordingly, she sends Bishop back whenever the Sentinels attack in order to warn the team of any impending Sentinels attack so they can leave the base beforehand thus reversing any damage the Sentinels may inflict on them. While the trick is a lifesaver, it is not enough to change the bleak outlook of the future. When Kitty and the team rendezvous with the rest of the team in Charles Xavier/ Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Erik Lehnsherr/ Magneto (Ian McKellen), Logan/ Wolverine, and Ororo Munroe/ Storm (Halle Berre), they discuss a more impactful and desperate measure. They want to send one of their consciousnesses back into the past 50 years to alter the course of history to prevent the Sentinels from ever becoming so powerful or prominent. It is very similar to the original Days of the Future Past storyline from the 1980s comic books when Kitty is sent back in time to switch bodies with her younger self in order to warn the X-Men. The main difference in the movie is that Kitty needs to maintain the link to keep the individual in the past. While Charles is the obvious choice, sending someone’s consciousness into the past 50 years and maintaining the link will cause irreparable damage to his brain. As such, Logan becomes the default choice. I like this explanation for many reasons. First, Hugh Jackman has been great as Wolverine over the many X-Men films. Even in the terrible X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Jackman gives the viewer a reason to watch the movie. The opportunity to watch him star alongside the younger Charles and Erik, played brilliantly by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbenger, cannot be missed. In the animated series, Bishop is sent back into the past through a time machine and a temporal band that allows him to stay in the past. For the film, it makes sense that Logan’s consciousness is sent into the past but Kitty needs to maintain the link. It creates a sense of urgency for Logan to affect the past quickly before the Sentinels find the X-Men stronghold and kill everyone in the future. It also sets up exciting, epic battles in the past and the future occurring simultaneously in the climax of the film.

Next, the actors that have played Charles Xavier/ Professor X and Erik Lehnsherr/ Magneto are perfect for the roles. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are great in the original trilogy. While I would have liked to see more of them in DOFP, the movie is long enough. I still enjoy the older Charles and Magneto teaming together again in the future in an attempt to save the world. While they have both been dedicated to their individual causes, I like that they acknowledge the fact that they have wasted most of their lives fighting each other when some of that time could have been better spent teaming together to make the world a better place. It adds an element of predestination in the movie. While Logan is being sent into the past to give the younger versions of both men knowledge of the future, the question remains whether the two men will lead their lives much differently given a second chance. There is a thought in the movie presented by Hank McCoy that you can cause a ripple in the river of time but the current of the river will correct its course and continue to flow in the direction it is always intended to go in. In other words, a person is destined to be who he is and cannot change. On the other hand, I am under the belief that most of a person’s life is under the control of his own personal decisions and there is always hope they will learn, change, and adapt if enlightened by truth. It is an intriguing debate. The film does a great job incorporating both perspectives into its story. Moreover, I agree on concentrating primarily on the past with the younger Charles and Erik. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are fantastic and play their futuristic characters brilliantly again. However, I have seen them in action in three feature X-Men films already so I prefer watching more of the magic James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender had in First Class. DOFP goes in excellent directions with each character. McAvoy’s Charles reflects the times of the movie, which is more than a decade after the events of First Class and at the end of the Vietnam War in 1973. In this time, Charles is a broken man. He lost most of his precious students to the war efforts since they were drafted into the army. Of course, he also lost his closest friend, Raven, to Erik at the end of First Class. He is accompanied by Hank. While Hank does what he can to help Charles, it is not enough. Charles’s lost of hope parallels the sentiment of the era when the American people distrusted the government for bringing them into a war it created and they deemed unjust. Naturally, his pain is only amplified by his mutant abilities to hear others’ thoughts thus have many voices in his head. Similar to many people during that era, he resorts to drug use which also subdues his powers. This story arc is very intriguing because it makes Charles more realistic and human. While he is destined to be the eternal optimist in the future, life often throws us challenges that force us to question our faith in the world and ourselves. As a result, it is a nice touch for the film to show Charles dealing with the same issues. Moreover, it is ironic that Logan is the person who needs to guide Charles back in the correct direction since Charles helps Logan to mend his mind in the future. Of course, there is a well placed cameo in First Class when Charles and Erik approach Logan to recruit him for their team but Logan rudely responds “Go fuck yourself”. If Charles remembers the encounter, Logan may have an even more difficult time convincing Charles to help.

Of course, they also need Erik to alter the past to change the future. It is complicated because he is imprisoned in a heavily fortified location, beneath the Pentagon, for his implication with one of the most notorious and shocking assassinations in the 20^th Century. I always appreciate a touch of historical fiction. Accordingly, Charles, Logan, and Hank need to come up with an elaborate plan to spring Erik. Logan has the idea to recruit the assistance of a young Peter Maximoff/ Quicksilver (Evan Peters) to help. The scenes with Quicksilver are spectacular. The sequences showcasing his super speed in the Pentagon are comparable to the exhilarating opening scene with Nightcrawler in the White House in X2. The Quicksilver scene is a great example where a mutant’s power fits into the context of the plot rather than trying to force it into the film for entertainment value. With the amount of mutants that are and could have been in this movie, I really admire this film not trying to do too much with too many characters and start too many story arcs that do not go anywhere. In addition, the film finds creative ways to kill off characters from First Class and the original trilogy so that we are not overwhelmed with too many characters in this film. For example, some of the mutants from First Class were either killed by war or experimented on and killed since the end of First Class in between the movies and off screen. I also like how it factors into the contrast between Charles and Erik. While Erik’s terrorist approach is clearly too extreme, being the hopeless pacifist that no longer cares and allows terrible things to happen is also not a solution. It is a valid debate that Charles and Erik get heated about during the film. In the original trilogy, Logan and Erik have a contentious relationship. It is interesting to see the younger version of Erik, played by Michael Fassbender, have a similar relationship with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. There are definitely some hilarious, snarky exchanges between the two characters. Another interesting element of Magneto’s role in this film is his trustworthiness. While the group needs his help, it does not really know whether Magneto’s vision of mutant supremacy will take over and he will betray them. In X2, Ian McKellen’s Magneto helps the X-Men then abandons them in the end to further his own agenda to wage war on homo sapiens. Magneto has always been one of my favorite characters in the comic book universe because he is an intriguing anti-hero. One of the quotes from General Zod , in Man of Steel, applies to Magneto: “And every action I take, no matter how violent or how cruel, is for the greater good of my people.” Of course, Magneto is a sane version of Zod. He fights for what he believes is better for mutants. As a Holocaust survivor, he has every reason to fear that human beings will fear and persecute mutants. On the other hand, McKellen’s future Magneto is conciliatory and contrite about the mistakes in his life in his old age during the desolate future. With the younger version of him having the knowledge of the future, it is fascinating to see which Magneto rears his head in the story. It also comments on the theme of whether a person can alter his destiny or whether his life has already been predetermined and he is powerless to prevent the same mistakes from being made again.

One of the better decisions in First Class is the film’s decision to for Raven/ Mystique to have a relationship with Charles then Erik. It adds to the tension between the two friends. Moreover, her decision to ultimately follow Erik’s philosophy and lead helps to highlight the difference between the very different views of Charles and Erik. While Rebecca Romijn is great as the beautiful, heartless assassin that does Magneto’s bidding, Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique adds much more depth to the character. With her ability to shape shift, she is the perfect metaphor for the mutant struggle. While she can use her powers to hide the truth that she is a mutant, she realizes she should be “mutant and proud” and does not allow an intolerant society to prevent her from being who she truly is. Accordingly, I really enjoy that DOFP continues to make Mystique a center of attention. Of course, it also makes perfect sense to showcase the biggest star it has in the cast since Jennifer Lawrence’s popularity has exploded since First Class. It is well deserved since she is one of the best actresses in Hollywood today with her portrayal of Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games, winning an Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook, and receiving praise and an Oscar nomination for her role in American Hustle. In DOFP, Mystique has gone solo with Erik imprisoned. While her tactics have become more aggressive after the tutelage of Erik, she has yet to become the merciless weapon that she is in the original trilogy set in the future. There are still remnants of the naïve, well intentioned girl that grew up with Charles. She has travelled the planet uncovering the nefarious activities of Bolivar Trask. In addition to creating the Sentinels, Trask has also committed unspeakable crimes by experimenting on mutants. While Trask is a symbol of evil and the bleak future of Sentinels, the film could have done more with Trask. Peter Dinklage clearly has the ability to deliver riveting performances like he does as Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones. Nevertheless, the specter of an apocalyptic future is enough to fill the void left by the lack of a compelling main villain. Due to the terrible truths Mystique learns about Trask, she is determined to stop him at all costs. As a X-Men fan, I like that Mystique is directly involved with the events of the future. In the comics and the animated series, she assassinates Senator Kelly. It sparks an outcry of fear and anger against mutants that leads to the full support of the Sentinel program. Since Senator Kelly is already used in the original trilogy, she is responsible for another assassination in the initial, unaltered timeline of DOFP that leads to the rise of the Sentinel program and the dark future. Moreover, she is also a key to the technology of the futuristic Sentinels in DOFP that makes them so deadly and impossible to defeat. The film does an excellent job explaining this change to the story. I appreciate that it makes sense and enhances the storyline and importance of Mystique.

Similar to Erik, Mystique also plays into the theme of predetermination. She becomes a heartless killer by the original trilogy. However, there is clearly a good person that existed as part of her past. Nevertheless, is her destiny fixed? Can the heroes convince her to be a good person again? In order to save the future, are they willing to stop her at all costs if it appears she is unwilling or unable to change her fate? Can they even stop the dark future or is it inevitable regardless of any actions they may take? Along with the brilliant performances from a great cast, these questions are the reasons the film is great. As a X-Men aficionado, I also appreciate that it stays true to the source material while most changes enhance the story. While Captain America: The Winter Solider has been the best movie I have seen so far this year, X-Men: Days of the Future Past is also up to par and I definitely recommend it. X-Men: First Class is still my favorite X-Men film because I like the story slightly more but X-Men: Days of the Future Class is a very close second.

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