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The great secret of the original X-trilogy is that none of the films are
particularly good. Bryan Singer’s original “X-Men” movies of 2000 and 2003 (“X2:
X-Men United”) are distinctly underwhelming. We will not even speak of what
Brett Ratner did in
“X-Men:
The Last Stand” (2006). The whole thing hit a nadir with
X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a movie so monstrously bad even Jenny McCarthy
wants her kids vaccinated against it. The entire franchise was hovering on the
edge of extinction. And then something remarkable happened:
X-Men:
First Class. This soft reboot served as a prequel to the previous films, and
it established a whole new tone. The film was fun, and it embraced just the
right hints of camp - the villain had a swinging submarine lair! Even the
costumes were better; no longer were the X-Men defined by a steel grey and
pleather black aesthetic, an ugly remnant of the 90s. Then came
The Wolverine,
another fun entry in the most lifeless superhero franchise of them all. It
seemed like the people behind the scenes had, after four films and most of a
decade, finally figured it all out. Then they brought back the guy who set the
look and feel of the previous crummy movies, and I despaired.
That's why it’s a pleasure to report that he returns to the series at his best.
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” continues the resurgence of the franchise that
Matthew Vaughn began with “First
Class” (2011). In fact, it’s good enough even to persuade a doubter like this
one to go back and revise his assessment of Singer’s first two entries. “Days”
is basically a sequel to both “X-Men:
The Last Stand” and “X-Men:
First Class,” a time-travel tale adapted from a 1981 comic book arc that’s
been substantially reworked by Simon Kinberg—not merely to update it (the
“future” in the comic was 2013!), but to shift the lead role to the movies’
breakout star Hugh Jackman. In a dystopian age when mutants, along with their
human helpers, are being systematically killed by armies of huge flying robots
called Sentinels, Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Erik Lensher, aka
Magneto (Ian McKellen), who have at last buried the hatchet, concoct a desperate
survival plan as a last resort. They use the power of Kitty Pryde (Ellen
Page)—who was actually the protagonist in the comic—to implant the mind of
Jackman’s Logan, aka Wolverine, into his 1973 body. With knowledge of what a
disaster the assassination in that year of Sentinel creator Boliver Trask (Peter
Dinklage) by shape-shifter Raven/Mustique (Jennifer Lawrence)—the third element
in a not-just-romantic triangle with Xavier and Magneto—will cause for mutants,
Wolverine must persuade young antagonists Xavier (played now by James McAvoy)
and Lensher (now Michael Fassbender) to join forces to stop her, and in the
process perhaps prevent the creation of the Sentinel force—changing history,
it’s hoped, for the better.
Both men prove difficult to convince—Xavier because, in order to regain use of
his legs he’s taking a drug that eliminates his mental powers (and is still
grieving the loss of Raven to the dark side), and Lensher because he’s
imprisoned in a fortress-like cell deep under the Pentagon for a crime that
won’t be revealed here. But happily Wolverine is able to recruit a young fellow
named Peter (Evan Peters), who will later be a pal of his under the name of
Quicksilver—happily endowed with super-speed—to aid in Magneto’s jailbreak—a
sequence that’s perhaps the single best example of the picture’s capacity for
blending superlative action, clever humor, deft camerawork and sharp editing (as
well as Peters’ scene-stealing ability in this instance) into one seamless and
delectable whole.
Leaving the proto-Quicksilver behind (something one might regret), Xavier,
Magneto, Wolveri ne,
along with Xavier’s amanuensis Hank McCoy, aka Beast (Nicholas Hoult), are then
off to the Paris Peace Conference of 1973, where Mystique’s assassination of
Trask is scheduled to occur. Things do not go entirely according to plan, of
course, and all the major characters will eventually find their way to
Washington D.C., where they, the prototype Sentinels, the White House, Richard
Nixon (Mark Camacho) and a flying football stadium will figure in a rousing
finale.
What sets “Days of Future Past” apart from most comic-book films isn’t merely
that it continues the serious message of the earlier installments in the “X-Men”
series, a plea for understanding of those different from ourselves. (It’s a
theme, in fact, that runs through not only the “X-Men” films, but much of Bryan
Singer’s other films as well.) Or even that the characters are more human than
cartoonish. Some other comic-based films have those virtues too, though most ion
lesser measure. What rather distinguishes it is that it’s beautifully made in a
classic sense. It avoids the herky-jerky, half-held camera style that’s becoming
commonplace even in big-budget action films; Singer and cinematographer Newton
Thomas Sigel opt instead for elegant compositions and images one can actually
see and savor. And despite a temporally convoluted plot that could easily go off
the rails, Singer and editor John Ottman (who also contributed the excellent
score) manage to keep the narrative smooth and coherent. Simply put, if you
accept the admittedly far-fetched premise of this “X-Men,” it actually makes
sense, even if you know nothing of the comic; that’s no accident, but the result
of intelligent directorial control.
The performances are first-rate, too. McAvoy and Fassbender face off against one
another splendidly, while Stewart and McKellen do a far mellower version of
their dance in the future scenes. Happily McAvoy and Stewart, thanks to some
temporal magic, share a scene
together; a pity that Fassbender and McKellen don’t have a similar opportunity.
(Maybe next time.) Jackman is more subdued than usual in this role, but he is
the restraining force here, after all; and much the same could be said of Hoult,
though when he turns into Beast restraint goes out the window. Like him,
Lawrence spends a good deal of time in transformation mode, which doesn’t give
the now-celebrated young actress as much chance to go for broke as she has in
some other roles. But she’s certainly fully up to the part. So is Dinklage, who
makes an odiously self-confident villain, and Camacho does an eerily impressive
take on Nixon. The hook-nosed president is only part of the period detail one
appreciates in the film, with John Myhre’s production design and the other craft
contributions all spot-on, down to the inevitable lava lamp and the evocative
but not show-offy costumes of Louise Mingenbach. The usual army of
special-effects techies are to be found in the credits, and they’ve all done
their jobs well (even the 3D is intelligently employed), though one of the happy
circumstances of Singer’s film is that their creations are never allowed to
overwhelm the characters and the story.
Franchise fans will be happy to see cameos by some old friends in familiar
roles, like Halle Berry as Storm, Anna Paquin as Rogue, Kelsey Grammer as the
elder Beast, and even a couple of uncredited folks from earlier installments one
might never have expected to see again. There are also plenty of new mutants in
the future scenes, often biting the dust, but presumably we’ll be seeing more of
them in later installments. None of them has the opportunity to make the sort of
impression Peters does, but they might get their chances in due course. And
there definitely will be a next time. Singer has made what is not only the
second best film in the entire “X-Men” series, but one that rivals the best
super-hero movies of the past. Inventive and slick in the best sense, it
continues the franchise's rejuvenation and whets the appetite for more. |
