In the distant future the world is torn apart by war. The human prejudice against mutants escalated so far as to create robots known as Sentinels; changelings that adapt to mercilessly track and kill mutants. When they begin to target humans too, Professor Xavier and Eric Lehnsherr work together and send Wolverine's mind back in time to the eve of the Sentinels' creation by Dr. Bolivar Trask. But that's the easy part; Wolverine must convince a traumatised young Xavier, rescue an imprisoned Magneto, and find the mutant who can disguise herself as anyone before she can doom all of their futures.
When this film starts, and the opening titles start with that familiar victorious theme from X2 (John Ottman returns for this film's score) I knew things were going to get good! We are shown the bleak future left for our heroes, Iceman, Xavier, Magneto, Storm, Wolverine, Kitty and some new faces as they are attacked repeatedly from super-advanced machines. There is something of an exposition dump during this sequence, which I found a little nebulous to grasp at first. But once they send old Wolverine back to the 1970s, things get interesting.
This film has a great sense of humour. Something of a mix between Matthew Vaughn's First Class (he assisted writing this film) and Bryan Singer's first two movies. We see Logan pre-Weapon-X days with bone claws, but with the memories of future events, confront our heroes from Vaughn's prequel, a confused and troubled Xavier (James McAvoy) and a deceptive Magneto (Michael Fassbender). The film isn't suffering from lame "Oh, its Wolverine in the 70s!" jokes but there is a sense of fun throughout events. Especially when they enlist the help of one mutant named Quicksilver. Possibly the most riotous fun the entire series has ever had!
Of course, things get intense too, Singer has always had an edge to his X-Men films, and Days of Future Past has some pretty unpleasant, brutal sequences! Even the not metal-infused Wolverine gets beaten up badly!
I would also say that for once Magneto doesn't steal the show. There's a lot more focus here on Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique (probably because of her rising stardom) and McAvoy's Xavier, which I appreciated; throughout the films the Professor has had very little to do. This film isn't just action and powers being thrown around, the characters do have something to say.
The film's strength lies in what some might consider its only weakness. Like the roots of a tree, the story links and curls around previous adventures, combining virtually all of the films into one massive experience. As it stands on its own, it is a blasting, continuous adventure giving only brief moments to pause, but if someone has followed all of the films to date (to some extent including the Wolverine films too) they will love it.
I was grateful I'd watched the old films again, though Logan's time traveling allows for brief flashbacks (or is that flashforwards?) to remind us of events past and future. I do love films that act as sequels and prequels.
All of our favourite characters and actors are back in surely one of the most star studded comic book films yet, and amazingly it doesn't collapse under the weight! Sure, there are a couple of lingering questions on my mind, but not enough to detract from the overall entertainment.
I'll definitely be watching it again! Is it as good as X2 in my mind? I don't know yet, but it sure feels like the good old days are back again: good, solid and exciting entertainment!
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