X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST Review

Everything about our comic book movies that we receive these days are dictated by what works in others and what has become outdated, but when it comes to the X-Men films they are the ones who set the trend of what has now been flourishing (for the most part) for nearly fifteen years. With their latest installment they continue to be able to change with the times while also sticking to their roots and using what has come in the past to influence the relationships between the characters and make the impact of the events that occur in the latest installments all the more powerful. I was a big fan of First Class three years ago as it was able to give the series a much needed fresh start after the perceived misstep of The Last Stand (which wasn't ALL that bad) and the definite blow that was X-Men Origins. Not only was the series getting a fresh start, but it was also a chance to see what has always been the core of the franchise, the relationship between Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr, blossom and become the iconic battle of ideologies that guided each of the original X-Men trilogy films. In saying that the X-Men films continue to adapt to the current climate of superhero films is to reference how this latest installment, which is technically the sequel to First Class, incorporates the idea of continuity and world building. The idea to bring in everyone from past films, essentially creating an all-star roster for an embodiment of everything the past films have been leading up to is the new niche studios are pushing after the success of not only The Avengers, but the Fast & Furious films. The X-Men have always been an ensemble though so their way of putting a spin on this approach is to connect the original franchise with that of the First Class world and in doing so have created a universe where every X-Men film that has been made can co-exist in the same space (except for maybe Origins, but that bears little matter here) and in that regard Days of Future Past doesn't quite feel as spectacular or as epic in scope as it probably should, but it is still highly entertaining and more satisfying on a level that leaves us with a film that will resonate with us the more we watch it rather than becoming less impressive over time because it's nothing more than empty spectacle.

First Trailer for X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

Bryan Singer kicked off the super hero film wave way back in 2000 and even as the super hero genre has become its own and still thrives, arguably better than it ever has, Singer's X-Men crew have been through several ups and downs together, but have not re-grouped entirely since 2006's The Last Stand where director Brett Ratner took over and things only went downhill from there. In 2011 though director Matthew Vaughn re-invigorated the mutant franchise with his take on the origin story of the two distinct leaders of the mutant revolution: Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Erik Lensherr aka Magneto (Ian McKellan). The film was both critically and financially successful which of course means a sequel, but this isn't like any other sequel. Singer has now returned to the world he began and has combined both his cast and the First Class recruits to tell a time altering story that has Hugh Jackman's Wolverine sending his consciousness back to 1973 so that he might help a younger Charles (James McAvoy) and Erik (Michael Fassbender). The suspected villain in all of this is Boliver Trask (Peter Dinklage) who may or may not be constructing large robots that look eerily similar to sentinels. The trailer delivers more than I expected, but with a quieter, darker tone than I've seen in any of the previous X-Men films. I absolutely loved the first X-Men and X2 is still arguably one of the best super hero films ever made which only garners more excitement to see what Singer has done with a cast and scale as large as this one. X-Men: Days of Future Past also stars Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Shawn Ashmore, Omar Sy, Halle Berry and opens in 3D May 23, 2014.