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  1. #1
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    X-Men: Days of Future Past Review

    This was one of my most anticipated movies of the summer. I was so thrilled to get Bryan Singer back in the director's chair and was confident he and Matthew Vaughn (who did X-Men First Class as well as the criminally underrated Stardust) would come up with a great story here (a story based on a successful comic book storyline). I was eager for the merger of the old characters from Singer's X-Men movies with Vaughn's reboot featuring quality actors James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence. So, I was dying for this flick.

    And it largely lived up to my expectations. This film is going to do big business and is a real crowd pleaser.

    I don't want to give too much plot away but do need to explain a bit of what is going on in the film. The movie is set in the future, where super-advanced robots capable of adapting to their opponent's strengths are destroying all mutants. They are also destroying any normal humans who might someday parent a mutant or who sympathize with mutants. It is a future holocaust. Even with their tremendous powers, our X-Men heroes are largely just cannon fodder for these robot Sentinels. Professor X knows the moment the Sentinel program really took off and turned a corner from just being an advanced robot into an adaptive killer. It happened in 1973 and he wants to use Kitty Pride (Ellen Page) to send Wolverine's consciousness back in time to his 1973 body so Wolverine can stop the key event that happened back then. The 1973 timeline centers around Wolverine's interactions with the younger versions of Professor X, Magneto, Beast, and Mystique.



    Side note: I feel like a maximum comic book geek even explaining that above paragraph! Rest assured that what happens makes sense even if you are not someone who reads X-Men comics

    The film does a nice job of integrating the two timelines, though after the first fifteen minutes, the stuff going on in the future is largely pushed into the background. It is worth noting that despite this being a film about altering the past to create a new future, what happens in the future matters and they do a good job of checking in every now and then with the future characters.

    Any story about time travel can be really risky and run into awkward plot moments that make the story suddenly more awkward than fun. This film does a very nice job of avoiding those perils. I also like that the story plays with the notion of how difficult it is to "correct the past" making Wolverine's mission none too easy to accomplish. This is not just a "go back and kill Hitler as a baby and you will stop the rise of the Nazis" kind of story. There is a lot of nuance to it.



    Ok, I am really rambling. This review sucks. For some reason I am having trouble marshalling my thoughts. I think it is because I really only want to talk about the story (which was really compelling) but can't do that because you all have not seen it yet. I want to talk about Magento's motivations and reasons for some of his radical actions. I want to talk about alternative ways the 1973 characters could have impacted the timeline. I want to talk about so much about what I saw on film... but it will only spoil things for you, so I won't go there.

    The bottom line about the film is that the story was solid and made sense, the acting was good, the film moves at a brisk pace, and Bryan Singer is to be praised for again recognizing that characters -- not spectacular effects -- are what matters in a good comic book movie.

    One last note -- I just cannot stop without mentioning Quicksilver. This is a young mutant in 1973 who is basically faster than The Flash. He is only in the movie for about fifteen minutes and he absolutely steals the film. It bugged me that Wolverine and Professor X don't keep using him for the rest of their plans in the film, though his ridiculous speed almost makes everything too easy. He has a scene during a raid on the Pentagon that is about as much fun as you have ever had in a comic book movie. By the end of it, the entire audience was laughing and cheering. That one scene makes this entire movie better than most other action films.



    So, where does this flick rank among the X-men films? It is not the brilliance that was X2, but is fairly close. I would put it solidly alongside the original Xmen film and First Class, both of which were very good movies. If you are even a mild comic book movie fan, you will like it. Go see it!

    -Jason "the final 5 minutes contain ridiculous cameos... lots of fun, and there is an end credit scene -- enjoy!" Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  2. #2
    Jason, I am no expert on movie reviews (let alone movies), but your reviewing style and ability (if there is such a thing) have really matured. I feel that you started out as one of us -- a poster who loved movies and was very good about writing about your thoughts, but as a hobby.

    Over the years, you have really found a voice and a style that takes the review beyond the talented-amateur feel that is so common on the internet (whether on sites like this, or places like Huffington Post, Grantland, etc.) We do not always have the same taste in movies -- I don't like some of the ones you love, and love some that you didn't particularly care for -- but your reviews hit the most important point for me: over the years, I have developed a pretty good sense of whether I will like the move from your review.

    I don't follow many reviewers, because I usually don't get to that place. For years, I subscribed to the NYT, and so was very familiar with AO Scott's work. I stopped reading his reviews, because they didn't help me decide whether to see a movie.

    At any rate, I imagine that it is sometimes a drag to write these up, but I wanted to say that I really appreciate the time you put into these, and find a lot of value in them. I'm sure a lot of other people do, as well.

    To bad you're not better at our movie contest, though.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by cato View Post

    Over the years, you have really found a voice and a style that takes the review beyond the talented-amateur feel that is so common on the internet (whether on sites like this, or places like Huffington Post, Grantland, etc.)
    To bad you're not better at our movie contest, though.
    Or, if you've ever bludgeoned your brain with fighting through a Harry Knowles review on Aint It Cool News, there's also the UNtalented-amateur feel. Want a rambling soliloquay for 1000 words describing what the reviewer had for dinner, how his nachos are sitting on his stomach, what he remembers about his dad doing when he first saw a certain sci-fi movie containing a given actor back in 1976, and how the producers of the movie he's about to review are buddies/ticked him off but that won't affect the review? Read Harry. Want unnecessary and awkward sexual references? Harry's your man. Various four letter words smattered in for no real reason? Harry again. Godawful grammar that is so bad it that it's an insult to use the word "grammar" to describe it. Harry Knowles is your guy. Rampant hyperbole? Harry Knowles supplies that in abundance. Left-wing political insertions so devoid of fact as to Harry Reid blush? Harry Knowles hits the issues too. A review that ultimately tells you more about whether Harry was properly comped and coddled by the production company than anything else? I give you Harry Knowles.

    I've weaned my review reading down to Jason's, Drew McWeeny on HitFix (used to be on Aint it Cool News under the pseudonym Moriarty), and AO Scott.

  4. #4
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    Ok, you guys are making me blush. Thanks for the kind words. Most of my reviews I put up here are dashed off in 30 minutes or so when I have the time for them. You guys are waaaay too nice to me. I merely try to convey whether the film was any fun to watch and what kind of viewer might enjoy it. Thanks, a thousand times thanks, for even reading them.

    -Jason "I still think this X-Men review is one of the worst I have ever done... I rambled and didn't really have a coherent point" Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by davekay1971 View Post
    Godawful grammar that is so bad it that it's an insult to use the word "grammar" to describe it. Harry Knowles is your guy.
    [Ironic Grammar Nazi] Shouldn't this sentence have a question mark at it's terminus? [/Ironic Grammar Nazi]

    Heh heh heh heh...

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by AncientPsychicT View Post
    [Ironic Grammar Nazi] Shouldn't this sentence have a question mark at it's terminus? [/Ironic Grammar Nazi]

    Heh heh heh heh...
    As you could tell from my post, I am in awe of Harry Knowles. It's inevitable that I should strive to emulate him!

  7. #7
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    Looks like I am not alone in really liking this flick. It is at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and a very strong 71 on Metacritic. Both scores make it the best reviewed film of the summer among pictures in wide release (not counting small, art-house fare).

    I am betting a lot of you go to see it tonight or this weekend. Please post your thoughts in this thread. I'd love to talk about it.

    -Jason "by the way, the film never even tries to explain how Professor X is back in his body. He died at the end of X3 and his consciousness went into a new body and they don't even begin to address this" Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    -Jason "by the way, the film never even tries to explain how Professor X is back in his body. He died at the end of X3 and his consciousness went into a new body and they don't even begin to address this" Evans
    There's a deleted scene that has Wolverine create an alternate timeline in which director Brett Ratner does not exist.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by brevity View Post
    There's a deleted scene that has Wolverine create an alternate timeline in which director Brett Ratner does not exist.
    I want to live in a world where X3, Tower Heist, the Rush Hour films, and Red Dragon all do not exist... please!!

    Brett Ratner hasn't done a single worthwhile thing in his career. Ok, maybe one of the Rush Hour flicks was sorta fun, but everything else has sucked... hard!

    -Jason "in July, a Hercules film he directed (starring The Rock) is coming out... it looks just awful" Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  10. #10
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    Feb 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by AncientPsychicT View Post
    [Ironic Grammar Nazi] Shouldn't this sentence have a question mark at it's terminus? [/Ironic Grammar Nazi]
    At least you used ironic correctly :P

  11. #11
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    Feb 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    -Jason "by the way, the film never even tries to explain how Professor X is back in his body. He died at the end of X3 and his consciousness went into a new body and they don't even begin to address this" Evans
    It's the X-Men, these things happen.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    Jason "in July, a Hercules film he directed (starring The Rock) is coming out... it looks just awful" Evans
    Now the question is: will it be worse than The Legend of Hercules, which came out in January?

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    I want to live in a world where X3, Tower Heist, the Rush Hour films, and Red Dragon all do not exist... please!!

    Brett Ratner hasn't done a single worthwhile thing in his career. Ok, maybe one of the Rush Hour flicks was sorta fun, but everything else has sucked... hard!

    -Jason "in July, a Hercules film he directed (starring The Rock) is coming out... it looks just awful" Evans
    Money Talks is not terrible

  14. #14
    That was awesome. Ultimately, any storyline involving time travel to change history has the same two problems no matter how well it's done:

    1. It doesn't make any sense.
    2. The character deaths and such in the future that gets changed don't matter.

    But, it was still cool. There were lots of clever things. The portal mutant is my new favorite hero - too bad she probably won't be in another movie.

    With Star Trek and now this, do we now have a trend of franchises that not only reboot themselves, but give an in-universe explanation for the rebooting? Part of me feels the big point of the movie was to justify bringing Cyclops and friends back for the next movie. I wonder if Star Wars will do something similar.

    What was JFK's power?

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wander View Post
    What was JFK's power?
    Drawing out his Rs an incredibly long time. That and his secret ability to have sex to Marilyn Monroe.

    Though one has to wonder why JFK allowed the US Military to target the mutants in X-Men: First Class.

    -Jason "I agree with you that time travel never makes sense -- did the movie ever even begin to explain how Wolverine suddenly got his future memory back at the end of the flick!?!?" Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    -Jason "I agree with you that time travel never makes sense -- did the movie ever even begin to explain how Wolverine suddenly got his future memory back at the end of the flick!?!?" Evans
    I think this point was established with a somewhat brief comment towards the beginning of the film when Kitty Pride is giving Wolverine the rundown of what will happen to him when he time travels. The idea is that once the future is changed because of past actions, the 'old' future will cease to exist. Wolverine's consciousness, since Pride would no longer be maintaining the time travel wizardry, would get sent back to the future. However, instead of appearing in the 'old' future, where he was originally from, he would appear in the 'new' future. However, his memories of the time gap would all be of the 'old' timeline; he would remember nothing of what happened or what he did in the 'new' timeline after his consciousness teleported back. Everyone else in the world, however, would only remember the 'new' timeline; it would be as if the 'old' timeline never existed. The only person who would know would be Wolverine (Professor X wound up knowing as well, because Wolverine told him what was up, he read Wolverine's future mind, yadda yadda blah blah etc.).

    Does that make sense? It made sense to me.

    That part of the movie that didn't make much sense to me was, and I think you mentioned this Jason, why Quicksilver wasn't used more often. I feel like many of the problems the heroes faced could have been solved rather easily with a little dose of Quicksilver. That's probably the reason why the screenwriters 'forgot' about him, Phantom-Menace-giving-Obi-Wan-Jedi-super-speed-to-get-away-from-useless-droids-but-then-not-using-it-to-beat-the-force-field-panel-timer-so-he-could-save-Qui-Gon-from-dying style. You know, cause that would make it too easy.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by AncientPsychicT View Post
    That part of the movie that didn't make much sense to me was, and I think you mentioned this Jason, why Quicksilver wasn't used more often. I feel like many of the problems the heroes faced could have been solved rather easily with a little dose of Quicksilver. That's probably the reason why the screenwriters 'forgot' about him, Phantom-Menace-giving-Obi-Wan-Jedi-super-speed-to-get-away-from-useless-droids-but-then-not-using-it-to-beat-the-force-field-panel-timer-so-he-could-save-Qui-Gon-from-dying style. You know, cause that would make it too easy.
    Ugh. Writing pet peeve of mine, and rampant in sci-fi/comic book movies. One of the problems of inventing super power/super tech to solve one particular situation is that you then have to incorporate that available power/tech in other situations. And since dramatic tension is pretty hard to keep up when our heroes can just go to the readily available super power/tech and solve whatever crisis they face, it gets tough to keep figuring out new crises where the super power/tech isn't an option. Star Trek Into Darkness ran into that with transporter technology where Khan could transport from Earth to the Klingon home world, but somehow the Enterprise kept having transporter problems that prevented easy solutions to a bunch of different problems, and we ended up with Checkov sounding like an embattled politician's spokesman trying to explain why they weren't using transporters in situation U, V, W, X, Y, and Z. A similar issue now faces Marvel with a joint universe in which Avengers A-D can't be available to help out Avenger E for whatever reason.

    I don't envy writers of these movies trying to work all that out, especially in a movie like X-Men DOFP where you have a dozen or more super powered mutants to keep track of.

  18. #18
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    Feb 2007
    Why is Lieutenant Taylor in an x-men movie? "looo ten ant da-an. You got legs!"

  19. #19
    Best Buy has a blu-ray special of all 4 previous X-Men movies for 19.95 Each movie is on a separate disc with subtitles. Having only seen X-Men2 before, It was great viewing all 4 movies just before seeing this one. Jason, thanks so much for your reviews. You are my favorite current movie critic.

  20. #20

    end credit scene

    Spoiler Alert!!!!


    -Jason "the final 5 minutes contain ridiculous cameos... lots of fun, and there is an end credit scene -- enjoy!" Evans[/QUOTE] Spoiler Alert!!!!




    Enjoyed the movie, agreed with the Quicksilver comments. The end of credits scene - is that Apocalypse? And the four horsemen?

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