X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST review - Warped Factor - Words in the Key of Geek.

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X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST review

Nathan Browne went to the multiplex last night. No prizes for guessing what he saw! Here's his review of X-Men: Days Of Future Past.


I loved X-Men, I loved X-Men 2 even more. Then The Last Stand arrived and I left the cinema utterly disappointed, because, well, Ratner! Fortunately First Class gave me a renewed passion for the franchise and so - like I expect many of you did - I queued up on opening night to watch X-Men: Days Of Future Past with very high expectations. Did it live up to those expectations? In a word, yes!

Bryan Singer's triumphant return to the movie franchise he created is arguably the strongest entry to date. It's not a direct sequel to First Class but does bridge the gap between that and the earlier trilogy. Story wise, Days Of Future Past is about a battle for Mystique's (Jennifer Lawrence) soul. Something she did in 1973 has created a hellish future, so the 'future' Professor X (Patrick Stewart) sends Logan (Hugh Jackman) back in time to stop her, meaning that the Sentinels will not be created and the future will be changed. Like any time travel movie you could pull it apart and come up with all kinds of errors, but that doesn't matter because it's a heck of a lot of fun and very easy to follow.

Back in 1973 Logan enlists the help of Xavier the younger (James McAvoy), Beast (Nicholas Hoult) and Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender). In typical Magneto fashion, he has his own agenda, and will do whatever is necessary to ensure the survival of his species. So we have Magneto as the devil on one of Mystique's shoulders and Xavier as the angel on the other.

All four of the main stars are on top form throughout the two hours, McAvoy especially. Hugh Jackman has spoken recently about how he's now more invested in the character of Wolverine than ever before, and it shows, I'd say it's easily his best performance to date. Jennifer Lawrence and Michael Fassbender are both predictably solid, although do not get as much screen time as I thought they would, but in a movie packed with so many mutants there was always going to be casualties. Many of the rest of the cast appear in no more than smaller cameo roles, which probably works out for the best otherwise we would have an overcrowding problem. However, I would've loved to have seen more of Evan Peter's Quicksilver, the scene where he breaks Magneto out of the Pentagon is amongst the highlights of the movie, I really hope he comes back for more and is given a larger storyline.

Days Of Future Past appears to be an action packed blockbuster, but at its heart it's a character based sci-fi drama. The 'future' scenes can be quite dark in tone, but in typical Bryan Singer style he adds a fair bit of humour, although not so much as to distract you from the drama. I can not recommend this movie enough. If you've not already been to see it then here's what I'd suggest. Watch your DVD's of X-Men, X-Men 2 and First Class (not The Last Stand because, well, Ratner!) before viewing Days Of Future Past. It will only add to the experience.

Walking out of the cinema, it's hard to believe there was ever a time when I couldn't have cared less if they never made another X-Men movie. Like Hugh Jackman, I'm more invested in the franchise than ever before. The release of X-Men: Apocalypse can not come soon enough.

I'd give X-Men: Days Of Future Past 9 out of 10.

What did you think of X-Men: Days Of Future Past?

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