X-Men - Days of Future Past

Many things occurred in the year 2000 that changed the way we look at the world. Known as the International Year for the Culture of Peace, the beginning of the millennium saw the first year of Vladimir Putin’s reign, the tumultuous election of George W. Bush Jr. and an understated blockbuster by the name of X-Men made its debut. Watching it today, the film can be underwhelming, especially in comparison to its above-the-cut sequel, yet it still holds a special place both in my heart and the emergence and popularity of superhero films.

Fast-forward to the year 2014 and the X-Men has become an immensely popular film franchise with a spotty history as far as quality. Taken as a whole, the canon set by Director/Producer Bryan Singer and 20^th Century Fox is a prime example of what a comic-book expanded universe can be. Still there were problems including the death of not one, not two but three important characters and the incredibly shoddy treatment of a fan favorite from the Marvel Expanded Universe.

Looking at you Deadpool!

Is it safe to say that X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) is the greatest mulligan ever made? After all, it’s a sequel, its part of an extended canon and universe and with its play on time-travel it’s also a reboot. It’s also marvelous to boot featuring soundly made special effects, seamless period detail (a large swath of the movie takes place in 1973) and a great plot paying proper lip-service to many of the most popular characters from the comic-books. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Professor X (Patrick Stewart/James McAvoy), Magneto (Ian McKellen/Michael Fassbender), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Storm (Halle Berry), Beast (Kelsey Grammer/Nicholas Hoult), Quicksilver (Evan Peters), all have their moments to shine.

Juggle this Superman/Batman

Director Bryan Singer and scribes Simon Kinberg, Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman wisely weave a story that is properly weighty with big stakes and big pay-offs all while being a character centered tale. There is a reverence and respect for the characters as well as a respect of an audience that has been burned by the X-Men movies of the last decade. The Avengers (2012) may have mastered the ensemble superhuman savior shtick but The X-Men are now juggling with fire batons (as well as ice batons, telepathic batons etc.). With the power of a salient, timely and timeless message of inclusion and tolerance this new installment may be the new standard in superhero franchise films. It’s certainly the blockbuster to beat in 2014.

I have always has an affinity for the X-Men films, comic-books, cartoon series and memorabilia. Unlike many things you love starting at the age of ten, the characters have grown and evolved with me while keeping true to a core message that I still believe and probably will never grow out of. We still do not live in a culture of peace, yet through the stories we tell, maybe we can discover a world where special abilities can mirror our presumed faults and turn them into positives…and of course if the stories become bad we can always tinker a bit.

About 1.21 gigawatts of tinkering

Final Grade: A