So comic book movies have always been hit or miss. It wasn’t until recently with movies like Iron Man that Hollywood seemed to pull their heads out of their collective asses and got things right. So did they get it right with X-men Days of Future Past? No, but yes at the same time. Allow me to explain.
I sat through the first half of the movie bored out of my mind. It had a strong plot but it was pieced together like an expressionist painting. I could tell what it was trying to be but it didn’t quite look right. The story jumped at weird spots and there were some scenes that I could have done without entirely.
The character development was fine for the most part with a few exceptions. Magneto could have been better. He kept his cards a little close to his chest which made some of his decisions feel like he did it for the hell of it. The thing I always loved about him as a bad guy was his complexity but it felt like the writers of X-Men DOFP just assumed too many people would be familiar with him. It’s a shame because Michael Fasbender is a fine actor. I also had a problem with Beast. It felt like he was there just to help push Xavier around and fly the blackbird. All of the great characterization he had in the last movie was nowhere to be seen. Peter Dinklage is a fantastic actor, but the character of Trask felt weak. There was one good scene near the end where he mentions why he’s working on the sentinel project, but it’s too little, too late.
I was also quite disappointed by the sentinels in the future part of the movie. However, the sentinels from the past were great. They were just what I expected. They weren’t quite what the old X-Men cartoon from the 90’s showed us, but they were close enough. The future sentinels though were a little too overpowered. It was like Nimrod made love to a 3D printer and they kept popping out OP robots. The future sentinels were so bad I was waiting to see Michael Bay’s name pop up in the credits (but it never did). For any of you who were confused by the Nimrod comment, read the DOFP comic or anything that has Nimrod in it.
The last complaint I have has nothing to do with the movie as much as it has to do with Hollywood politics. There were certain actors who were only in a couple scenes who get top billed over other actors who were in a majority of the movie. Forgive my bitching about this but it just doesn’t seem fair. Omar Sy plays Bishop (who is bad ass in the movie) and Bingbing Fan plays the role of Blink (who is also quite awesome) but an actor (who will remain nameless for spoiler reasons) gets top billed over them and this person was only in ONE scene! But I digress…
The only parts of the first half that were actually worth watching were the awesome introductory fight scenes and a very, very funny scene involving Quicksilver. But other than that the movie could have very well started at the hour mark and I’d have gladly paid full price to be fully entertained for an hour and ten minutes than sit around for half the time sipping on iced tea just to stay awake. Okay, I feel a little bad saying that those were the ONLY two good parts of the first half. Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique) was amazing, but she shined the brightest later on in the movie.
Okay, let’s talk about the second half and how it was everything the first half should have been. The plot picked up speed and it didn’t feel forced. Everything seemed to flow naturally and the movie found its stride. There was way more action AND character development because this movie understood that yes, you can have both at the same time. X-Men: DOFP had some impressive visuals and the CG helped show just how powerful of a mutant Magneto really is.
The way the main conflict resolved was so satisfying that I’m still thinking about it days after seeing the movie. There were a plethora of other ways the movie could have ended but I think the writers found the perfect solution. It not only wrapped up the main storyline but also tied in a few of the side stories. Best of all, it didn’t feel forced. There was no Deus Ex Machina (when a character of thing is suddenly introduced to solve an impossible problem) or forgotten story lines. Everything came to a satisfying end that allowed me to walk away without flipping any tables or throwing any popcorn at the screen.
As I look back at what I’ve written so far it seems like my review is teetering between recommending this movie and saying you should pass. So keeping that in mind, allow me to say this: If you’re a fan of the franchise, Marvel/comic book movies, or just thought the trailer looked awesome, then go see this if you haven’t already. However if you’re not sure then pass on it. Unless you’re gung-ho to go see it, then it’s not worth the price of admission. Wait for a matinee or, better yet, rent it when it comes out.
X-Men: Days of Future Past was so close to being great that it makes me sad to think about what it could have been. If it wasn’t for the boring first half then my nerd boner for this movie would be uncontrollable. But the fact of the matter is that the ball was dropped big time. This wasn’t as big of a failure as The Fantastic 4 2 or the first Hulk movie, but this wasn’t great like The Avengers or Thor 2.
My final score: 7 out of 11