I will admit up front, I haven’t seen any of the other X-men flicks. But the good news is that this one stands alone and begs me to watch the others to see what I was missing. In Days of Future Past, Wolverine is sent back in time to 1973, so the characters that populate this series are youngsters and their relationships with one another are not yet certain, which makes for a great introduction to the mutant clan. And it is a LOT of fun with a fabulously yummy cast too boot. Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy — what could be wrong with that? And Jennifer Lawrence proves once again that she is a force to be reckoned with.
The gist of the story is that back in the Nixon era evil scientist Dr. Bolivar Trask played by the wonderful Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) created a way to rid the earth of mutants by harnessing the DNA of Mystique to build an army of super soldiers. Only in the future, it has gotten so out of hand (think Terminator) that humans and mutants alike are about to be exterminated. So it is decided that Wolverine is the only one of the X-men who can go back in time to stop Trask and save the world. And so he does.
I stay away from a lot of super hero movies these days because they tend to favor special effects over story, but X-men: Days of Future Past is an exception. It has a smart story told through a goodly amount of effects that don’t overwhelm the narrative. And the characters are real human beings with a range of emotions that color their actions. This film is graced with some of my favorite actors and they’re given roles worthy of their talents. All in all, it’s a great ride and except for the little ones, it is a film for the whole family. The geeks will love it because they relate to the mutants. The other guys will appreciate the fights and Jennifer Lawrence’s outfit, and the chicks will be fine watching Hugh and Michael and James for a couple of hours. And people who have seen the others in the series will no doubt pick up on a lot of references that flew over my head, but everyone will have a good time. Go, see, enjoy!
Two out of two chicks agree… X-Men is a winner. This movie is basically a sequel to X-Men: First Class, which was a prequel to a bunch of other X-Men movies. Arty Chick is right – this one stands on its own, but also has some X-tra benefits for those who follow the franchise.